Literary notes about Instinct (AI summary)
In literature, "instinct" is often portrayed as an inborn force that drives characters beyond the realm of conscious thought or rational deliberation. It appears as a mechanism for self-preservation and immediate reaction, as seen when a character's survival urges compel decisive action ([1], [2], [3]). The term also describes an intuitive, less calculative know-how that informs behavior in both humans and animals, such as the unspoken cues guiding a hound’s pursuit or a mare’s cautious stop ([4], [5], [6]). Furthermore, authors frequently invoke "instinct" to suggest that certain creative, emotional, or even moral impulses are deeply rooted in human nature—sometimes contrasting with reason or learned behavior ([7], [8], [9]). This multifaceted use reflects how writers employ "instinct" as a powerful symbol of natural, unmediated drives that shape both individual actions and broader social phenomena ([10], [11], [12]).
- I did not wish to abandon him at the bottom of that abyss, while, on the other hand, the instinct of preservation told me to fly.
— from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne - The instinct of self-preservation was strong within him.
— from The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad - At this strange moment, an instinct—possibly the mysterious instinct of self-preservation,—restrained Jean Valjean from uttering a word.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - He has been here a week, with the instinct of a hound, hunting by himself.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - Our horses, however, appeared not only well acquainted with the country, but by a kind of instinct, knew which was the best road.
— from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne - Dominicus knew the place, and the little mare stopped short by instinct, for he was not conscious of tightening the reins.
— from Twice-told tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Ten minutes are really sufficient, if one has the instinct for form.
— from Intentions by Oscar Wilde - Here we are told quite plainly what class of men actually owe all their impulses and desires to the instinct of self-preservation.
— from Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - The inquiry leads us to that source, at once the essence of genius, of virtue, and of life, which we call Spontaneity or Instinct.
— from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson by Ralph Waldo Emerson - Chap. xi, "The Instinct of Pugnacity," pp. 279-95; "The Instinct of Pugnacity and the Emotion of Anger," pp.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - Instinct and utility between them can safely be trusted to carry on the social business of punishment and praise.
— from Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking by William James - If fighting were not a possible means of livelihood the bellicose instinct could never have established itself in any long-lived race.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana
