Page:An introduction to ethics.djvu/64

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INSTINCTIVE BEHAVIOUR
47

stage, though premonitions of it may occur in very young children.

(8) The parental instinct is also late in making its appearance. But it is certainly anticipated in the maternal affection of the little girl for her dolls.

With regard to instincts in general, two things should be remembered. First, the possession of a multitude of modified and modifiable instincts is a mark of distinction between man and the lower animals. The instincts of the lower animals are much more fixed than those of man. Man's instincts are essentially amenable to training; and on this fact depends the possibility of human progress. Again, it should be noted that, as the acquired element is so prominent in human instincts, they vary in their strength and in the manner of their appearance. Human instincts differ greatly from individual to individual both in their nature and in their operation. To use Prof. Stout's illustration, falling in love is instinctive, but we do not all fall in love with the same readiness or the same intensity— or with the same kind of person.

§ 3. The Social Significance of Instinct. The instincts which have been mentioned form the foundation on which all moral and social life is based. Some of them are more directly social in their reference than others, but all have some social and moral importance. From the social standpoint it is convenient to consider the instincts, which we have just enumerated, in pairs.

First we take the reproductive and parental instincts. Their importance for society needs no emphasis. It is obvious that if the sexual instinct