I Can't Believe I Did That!: Instinctive Behavior in Humans

By David L. Carlson

This book explains the origins of what we generally refer to as Human Nature. Despite the tremendous variation in human behavior, there are several distinct traits that are common to our species in general and, in fact, common to all species. These include dominance and submission, aggression, territoriality, altruism, loyalty to family and group, mistrust of strangers and sex drive along with all of our automatic bodily functions such as heartbeat and respiration.

These functions and traits can be all lumped together under one heading that we refer to as the Instinct of Survival and originate in a small and very ancient part of our brain often called the Primitive Brain Stem.

My purpose in exploring these facts relating to human behavior is to inform the reader as to the natural origins of what are often completely illogical, unreasonable and destructive emotions that result in war, hatred, violence, bigotry and destruction. The alternatives of peace, cooperation, reason and constructive action are simply decisions we all can make.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 15, 2008
• ISBN: 9781462838233

David L. Carlson

David L. Carlson has been a filmmaker, musician, car salesman, experience designer and is the co-founder of Opera-Matic, a non-profit street opera company in Chicago. The Hunting Accident is his first book.

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I Can’t Believe I Did That!

Instinctive Behavior In Humans

David L. Carlson

Copyright © 2008 by David L. Carlson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

PROLOGUE

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

I dedicate this book to my wife Mary Jo, without her encouragement,

suggestions and editing I could not have finished it.

PROLOGUE

This is not intended to be a scientific journal. There is no bibliography of source material. In fact, there is no new scientific information here at all. I have merely drawn from many volumes of already established data in an attempt to get a better understanding of human behavior. Anything written here can be easily verified by anyone with a little curiosity about the world of science and the behavior of humans.

Nothing in this writing in any way denies the existence of God or suggests or even implies anything contrary to a belief in God. The whole point is to find some plausible and understandable reasons to explain why we humans engage in the universal responses and actions that have been so prominent throughout the history of mankind.

INTRODUCTION

Why do we behave as we do? There are so many obvious differences among individuals and yet we all share some very basic traits. For instance, we are all very competitive, but why? What is it that drives us to get ahead, to be better at something, anything, than someone else? From global warfare down to sibling rivalry we all compete on a variety of levels every day.

Almost without exception we insist that our territory, our culture, our language, our religion, our way of life in general is the best. All over the world, people feel the same way. No matter what territory we claim as ours, no matter how different our way of life is from all the others, we feel that ours is best. In fact, it’s not just the best, it is literally worth fighting and dying for. It is worth killing other human beings for.

It appears that it is not possible for the majority of us to quit fighting, get along, cooperate, and work together in peace and harmony for the good of everyone. Some people have actually tried this concept but it only works in small groups for the short term. Sooner or later, there is dissension and the group falls apart. This is obviously normal behavior since it happens in any group regardless of their philosophy. That’s why we tend to break up into smaller groups. We want to do things our way and keep things the way we believe they should be. We ask ourselves, Why can’t those other people see that our way is best?

So why has the human species always functioned this way? Ask any number of people this question and they will probably shrug and say, It’s the way we are. It’s human nature. But what is human nature? Where did it come from? Why do we have it? It can’t be the collective result of literally trillions of independent decisions. It must be something inherent, something deep, basic and primal that is common to all humans.

Those of us who live in one of the developed countries of the world actually have all these answers, and many more, readily available. Advances in scientific research in biology, physiology, anthropology and other related fields have led to amazing discoveries and accomplishments such as the mapping of the human genome and DNA testing, giving us some insights into what we are all made of.

Most of us are so busy just coping with life in general, we may not have the time or energy or even the interest to delve into the science of human behavior. But for those with even a little curiosity about basic human similarities and tendencies, the answers are out there if we choose to discover them.

Modern technology is literally astounding. Advances in areas such as communications, computers, medicine and space travel, just to name a few, are all based on laws of physics and chemistry painstakingly worked out, refined and proven by generations of scientists. All of these advances that we take for granted every day are the result of progressive scientific discoveries. How can we reasonably accept all of these amazing inventions and conveniences made possible by science and reject one of it’s crowning achievements; the concept of evolution?

Evolution is no longer just a theory. It is a proven fact. Even if we disregard the vast amount of evidence in the fossil record, all one has to do is look at what humans have achieved by selective breeding of domestic animals in just a few centuries. How many specialized breeds of dogs, horses and cattle exist now because humans restricted mating to only those with certain desirable qualities?

Qualities and traits such as appearance, size, shape, strength, speed and temperament were selected for and refined in the span of a few hundred years. Think of the differences between Dachshunds, Saint Bernards, Toy Poodles, and Great Danes. They are all descendants of early wolves that were tamed by humans thousands of years ago.

This practice of animal husbandry was well known and well documented by the time Charles Darwin gathered his scientific evidence and published his findings. During his meticulous study of birds and other animals, he correctly reasoned that what humans can accomplish in a few hundred years, natural processes would do in a few hundred thousand years and after a few hundred million years the possibilities would be virtually unlimited. Since Darwin’s time, advances in fields such as molecular biology, genetics, physiology, paleontology, etc. have overwhelmingly proved his theory.

The vast majority of the population of the world is not aware of this evidence and even some who are aware of it reject it because they feel it goes against religious doctrine. But religious doctrine has changed considerably over the years. For instance, just a few hundred years ago, the earth was thought to be the center of the universe and all celestial bodies revolved around it. Early astronomers who contradicted this concept were forced to recant by the churches or face excommunication, torture or death. As late as 200 years ago some churches and cultures still sanctioned torturing and burning women who were thought to be witches.

The two previous examples show how religious and cultural teachings have changed with time. Changes such as these are literally profound because they prove that some doctrine and teachings that were once accepted as God’s will did not come from God at all, but were actually originated by people who may have been convinced that they were speaking for God, but were obviously mistaken.

How can we determine what is true and what is false? The only ideas and concepts we can be sure of are the ones that can be proven. We simply cannot believe everything we are told by people in positions of leadership. Anyone can say anything such as the world is flat or the moon is made of green cheese but that does not make it true no matter who says it. Leaders in any area or profession can be just as wrong as the rest of us. We must base our beliefs on proven facts.

Science is the only self-correcting discipline we have. Each new theory is met with a healthy skepticism and numerous independent experiments are conducted to prove or disprove it. Only those theories that survive this rigid process are accepted as fact.

Changes in church and cultural doctrine may be slow but most cultures and nearly all major religions have amended their teachings to agree with facts established by science. Some of us who are aware of the evidence supporting evolution, and still reject it, may be unwilling to accept the fact that humans have a kinship with other species. Others may simply believe whatever the church elders or community leaders say. But we all know there are many evil, unholy people in positions of authority in all churches as well as business and government.

Shyster evangelists, cult leaders who advocate brainwashing and pedophiles in all walks of life, including the priesthood, are just a few examples of people who are not what they pretend to be. The Ku Klux Klan had many members professing to be devout Christians, including church elders and even some ministers, who terrorized, tortured and murdered innocent humans. Evil people in any profession are perfectly capable of appearing to be genuine believers.

We all want to believe that people in positions of leadership are honest, sensible and wise. We want them to be genuinely concerned about those of us who are affected by their decisions. We tend to trust them if they say what we want to hear or at least something that sounds reasonable and right. When a respected community or church leader is exposed as a fraud, thief, liar or pedophile, we may feel many different emotions ranging from rage to sad acceptance. Some of us feel like gullible saps for being taken in by someone we thought was so trustworthy.

Optimism is a wonderful trait but wishful thinking is just the opposite. Making assumptions and decisions based on wishful thinking can be compared to wearing blinders that allow us to see only that which we want to be true and obscure real evidence and warning signs. With so many different opinions, ideas and concepts in the technological world of today, a healthy skepticism and some requirement of proof are definite assets to forming a realistic outlook.

Eventually, all the major religions and cultures of the world will incorporate evolution into their belief systems and educational processes as the method used by God to create the wonderful diversity of life on earth. If you don’t think so, ask yourself, How many religions and cultures still maintain that the earth is the center of the universe?

Just a little knowledge of evolution can explain so much about human behavior and answer questions that have been baffling people for thousands of years.

CHAPTER 1

The Early Earth

The basic history of our planet has been quite accurately deciphered from the geological record; clues in the rocks and fossils from the past. The record is by no means complete. There are still gaps but archeologists and paleontologists are rapidly filling them in. Despite some missing details the big picture of our planet’s history and the evolution of life on earth are becoming quite clear.

It has been reliably established that our planet and the rest of our Solar System were formed from cosmic debris about 4.7 billion years ago. The early earth was a very inhospitable place. Initially it consisted mostly of rock and iron that was largely molten due to the intense pressure in the interior and constant bombardment at the surface. There was no air or water. The comets, asteroids and other space debris crashing into the planet added a variety of other elements such as carbon,