Hard-Wired Guardian Angel

As we've stated previously in this blog, humans have logic, or logos, in common with each other. Our big brains are very good at solving logical problems. So much so that we use logos to make effective arguments when we try to persuade or convince someone to believe what we want them to believe.

We do have other things in common as well. Such as emotion, or pathos. Again, we all have it-- the problem with pathos as the basis of an argument, however, is that among other things we don't all respond to emotional cues in the same way.

Thus, pathos is not a reliable root for an argument, outside of using it to "season" our argument once we have established its parameters. Like a stew, if you will: meat and potatoes-- the logical argument, and then the salt and pepper-- the emotional seasoning for our argument. And much like a stew, a little seasoning goes a long way; a lot of seasoning can ruin the meal.

Sometimes, however, our own logic can betray us. Imagine being in the woods on a hunt 15,000 years ago. Or being on the edge of the woods looking for mushrooms and edible roots and berries. As you are occupied with your task, you hear the snapping of a twig somewhere behind you. Logic kicks in, and your mind starts working on a scenario to explain the snapping sound.

…you realize that thesticksthatarescatteredonthatpartoftheforest'sfloorareonthethick sidesowhateversnappedthatstickbehindyouhastobesubstantiallybiggerthanasquirrelor othersmalleranimalinfactitwouldhavetobethesizeof— and you're dead.

Your logic turned out to be right-- the bear coming up behind you was significantly larger than a squirrel, and with one swing of its claw-laden paw it sent you to your death.

As you can see by that scenario, our logic didn't serve us too well in that case. It was correct, but it was far too slow to allow us to come to the conclusion that we needed to run in that situation, and quickly.

If not logic, what? This is where pathos, or the emotional response-- specifically the startle reflex-- saves the day.

Same setup-- picking mushrooms, or staking prey in the woods, and a twig snaps behind you. Only this time, the emotional response-- the startle-- kicks in, and you jump "out of your skin," as the saying goes, which essentially means you jumped up and to the right, allowing the trailing bear's paw to swipe through empty air that was recently vacated by your startled head.

This is also known as fight or flight, which is a reflex that immediately puts our bodies in the position to fight, or to run, with no logical thought pulling the strings. It's what’s called a hard-wired (non-learned) instinct.

Do we still have them today? Sure, you betcha. You're crossing a busy street, only you didn't see the car speeding up the inside lane, momentarily hidden from your view. The car honks its horn, scaring you and causing you to startle, saving your life.

Survival instinct-- it's what keeps us alive even when the situation might dictate otherwise, and in spite of ourselves. Like a hard-wired guardian angel, if you will. Hard-wired-- meaning, not learned, but inbred. For example, our startle reflex. Ingrained in us since the days we first climbed down out of the trees in Africa, our startle reflex activates-- that's right-- when someone or something startles us.

Beyond the startle reflex, we have an aversion to things that can be harmful to our survival ("our" also mean "as a species"). For example, we have an aversion to cannibalism. Such subject is actually a "taboo," that is to say in addition to being illegal, it goes against our survival (as a species) instinct and mentally and physically repulses us.

As does mating with people (and things) that cannot produce a viable offspring. Romantic love with a sibling? Taboo. Romantic love with a pit bull? Again, taboo. A vacuum cleaner? Taboo. Each of those examples goes against the survival of the species. How many generations would there be to extinction if we didn't have this aversion towards mating with people and things that cannot produce viable progeny? I'd bet the ranch on one... maybe two at the outside.

Killing also breaks that hard-wired survival instinct. It is incredibly hard for one human to kill another human on purpose. That's part of what basic training does for soldiers-- it helps them to get past the "taboo" of killing other humans where it might be “necessary,” such as in the case of war.

We are literally built with this hard-wired system deeply ingrained in us. The question then becomes, with such an autonomic defense system in place, how then are we able to consciously do things that otherwise put our lives in jeopardy, such as smoke, overeat, drive while intoxicated? If our autopilot is smart enough to keep us out of the line of fire, how then is our logical brain unable to do this job, or at least make the job easier?

© Ray Cattie