Intelligence or Instinct?

i was thinking that are humans REALLY intelligent? We are governed by our emotions and instinct, mainly the desire to eat, reproduce, and increase our numbers. How do we know that we arent really intelligent but just particularly good at creating ways for the species to survive longer and eat more?

So in other words, is there more to life than food and sex? (besides cars)

 

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Perhaps it would help if you defined "intelligent"...

 

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can we really think for ourselves or are our instincts what governs our actions?

 

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I think that our insticts do have something to do (in a small percentage) with our actions. I would probably guess that knowledge and experience have a bigger role in our actions than inctinct. Instinct would probably make more use when "Survival" issues arise. Just my opinions.

 

I believe you maybe using the term "instincts" in the wrong sense here. Humans don't have any instincts to beging with.

Our survival needs maybe the jumpstart that call for all of our creations but the improvements we make upon them maybe nothing to do with "survival" discretion. For example a car: Neccessity calls for the creation of its birth - 4 wheels, working engine, means to steer the motor, and simple regulations of aerodynamics for promised functionable driving.

All the addons are, therefore, us thinking. We are not neccessarily adding those on for survival because we don't need them at all for survival or basic neccessity. Fine, ancient, wood in Bentlys are not needed, neither are DVD systems in headrests or moonroofs, radio, CD or tape decks......those are us thinking and improving on designs because we do that...we have a tendency to do that with everything not just cars.

We think for ourselves.......as you can see today that most of the new technology today deals with no aspects of survival but more with entertainment because we've got that survival thing down so good. Infact too good. There are concerns we maybe halting our own evolution through our rapid takeover of our own physiology but seriously....evolution is a slow process, no one can his/her lifetime observe the differences or changes ergo we can't know for sure what is happening with human evolution.

 

Nice question. Selfish genes plus cleverness is a dangerous evolutionary mix.

Observation of science and society suggests that what we are most clever at is solving the problems of increasing our population density and therefore pleasing our genes. Almost all out efforts seem to be directed at creating the appropriate technology to do this, or towards solving the problems of having done it already. Personally (like you by the sound of it) I don't call this a sign of rationality, but I suppose that whether it's intelligent or not depends on how you define intelligence.

There seems to be little sign of a positive correlation in humans between cleverness and rationality, and some signs of a negative one.

 

This is a good thread, I didn't know threads like this were in this subforum, i've been boycotting this subforum because I thought it was especially about AI, and I thought that was absurdly ridiculous. Now I see its about other stuff as well.

Anyway, i really want to reply to this thread, and I will, when I feel like it.
But right now I have to play shockwave tabletennis.
I'll be back.