The use of intellect

Primal Behavior Altruistic Behavior
Stealing money Giving to charity
Teasing Complimenting
Refusing to change Trying new thingsRace hatred Tolerance
Butting in Waiting your turn
Running from fire, ignoring others Saving others from fire
Panic at another's heart attack Giving CPR
Driving recklessly Following the traffic laws
Cheating on your income tax Paying your fair share
Dominating a conversation Listening to others
Shooting rabbits in your back yard Adopting a pet
Painting graffiti Cleaning a neighborhood
Assaulting a person for a verbal threat Discussion and debate
Win at all costs Compete with vigor but fairly
Complaining about what others make at work Living within your means
Thinking you're always right Giving others credit
Lying to protect your position Admitting you are wrong
Imposing your belief system on others Living in peace with others
Cheating on your spouse Staying monogamous
Blaming someone Protecting another's honor
Playing hooky from work or school Being dependable and on time


This list could go on endlessly; however, it is clear that the primal behavior is the easier of the two lists. It takes work and training to achieve the altruistic ideals and requires the use of the intellect to intervene. There is no question that these lists are familiar to all of us. We have been exposed to them since the second grade. Remarkably, most cultures around the planet have some form of education, no matter how primitive, with the ultimate goal of 'doing good unto others'. This similarity among such diverse peoples indicates a predilection of our species to evolve toward a group survival. It may be one of the reasons that Homo Sapien is here and other primate species are mostly extinct. In other words, it wasn't just language or larger brains that allowed us to proliferate. It could have been a trend toward altruistic behavior for the good of the whole as well.





The chemistry of this type of behavior is not too difficult to imagine. Remember that the capacity for intellect resides in the neocortex, and because those neuropathways are constantly being torn down and rebuilt, this is still an evolving part of the brain. That is where the learning process comes in. When the neocortex is exposed to a new learning situation, the perception is to react instinctively. Many do, and with negative results in many cases. It takes time and repeated exposure to a new thought process that requires choice. A choice based on easy response from age old primal instincts, or a choice based on humanitarian (altruistic) ideals formulated from the rule of law. Complex societies such as Homo Sapien need training imposed from the outside to suppress potentially harmful behaviors originating in the primal brain. This is where morals and ideals come into play. Without these altruistic choices, we would still be clubbing each other to death over water holes in East Africa. In a sense we still do. The art of warfare has reached a point of total genocide because of advances in technology, but the behavior is still the same. If we have clear choices and understand the nature of our behavior, there is a good chance that we can continue to evolve toward collective adaptation.

It must be remembered that the intellect is just a function of our overall intelligence. It is not a structure in the brain or a physical level recognizable on a CT scan. Though it resides in a structure called the neocortex, it is diffuse and nebulous. The intellect is more noticeable when it is not there than when it is. To see how this works, just add the mix of mind altering substances most commonly found in our society and observe the suppressing effect on the intellect followed by the exaggeration of primal instincts. Alcohol and drugs act on the recently evolved neocortex and seldom on the limbic system or R complex of the brain. With the intellect effectively minimized, primal behavior becomes the paramount factor in outward action. A trip to any bar in town will demonstrate this adequately. People are rowdy and inconsiderate, even violent. Hierarchial behavior is the most noticeable, with individuals trying to dominate others. Territorialism gains ever increasing potential as more alcohol is consumed. Behaviors range from aggression to depression in wild swings of mood in the context of challenge and satisfaction cycles. Self preservation and reproductive instincts dominate as morals and ethics are discarded in favor of ancient needs. It is interesting to note that intelligence is not affected when an individual is using drugs or alcohol. It may even be enhanced. It seems that the intellect along with conventional motor skills are the only neuropathways affected, and leave the individual behaving as a simple, but intelligent animal with primal challenge and satisfaction cycles.

What, if anything could we call an irregularity of the intellect. A clue has already been advanced by Gregory Fischer in which the intellect seems to have periodic lapses of transmission even in normal situations. It has been referred to as a synaptic impasse. Therefore we must conclude that any periodic loss of integrity of the intellect pathways, however temporary, could demonstrate consistent behaviors that are abnormal. According to Mr. Fischer, this could be called synaptic impasse syndrome. In other words, a collection of symptomatic primal behavior without the intervening effect of the intellectual pathways. This syndrome tends to explain a great deal of human and animal behavior.


Synaptic impasse syndrome, or SIS, may be applied to almost any circumstance from the simplest daily occurrence to the most beastly behavior in man's arsenal. Simple would include rudeness and inconsiderate behavior. Severe would include genocide, murder, rape and a host of other destructive abnormal behaviors. The key in all cases is SIS. The inability of the individual to employ the intellect, or the conscious choice not to. When a person is referred to as an 'animal', it usually means that this individual has committed some form of crime or behavior that is diametrically opposed to civilized behavior as the group interprets it. In other words, those who are using their intellect can recognize those who don't.

As we evolve toward collective adaptation and our society becomes more 'global' in nature, as it is in this era, we employ the intellect more often than at any time in our species history. The rule of law, as it influences the institutions of our species, reflects our drive toward intellectual control and away from primitive instinctual control of our behaviors. The group is guaranteed survival by civilized behavior of the individual. In other words, our species is capable of deflecting the hammer of exctinction by individual acts of altruism, and in doing so, help preserve the group survival as a whole.

In discussing the primal instincts and the use of intellect, it become necessary at this point to follow up with some basic principles. The next discussion will look at some conclusions and evaluate our role in the world of living organisms.
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