What is "instinct"

Instinct \In*stinct"\, a. [L. instinctus, p. p. of instinguere to instigate, incite; cf. instigare to instigate. Cf. Instigate, Distinguish.] Urged or stimulated from within; naturally moved or impelled; imbued; animated; alive; quick; as, birds instinct with life.

The chariot of paternal deity . . . Itself instinct with spirit, but convoyed By four cherubic shapes.
--Milton.

A noble performance, instinct with sound principle.
--Brougham.

Instinct \In"stinct\ ([i^]n"st[i^][ng]kt), n. [L. instinctus instigation, impulse, fr. instinguere to instigate: cf. F. instinct. See Instinct, a.]

1. Natural inward impulse; unconscious, involuntary, or unreasoning prompting to any mode of action, whether bodily, or mental, without a distinct apprehension of the end or object to be accomplished.

   An instinct is a propensity prior to experience, and independent of instructions.
   --Paley.

   An instinct is a blind tendency to some mode of action, independent of any consideration, on the part of the agent, of the end to which the action leads.
   --Whately.

   An instinct is an agent which performs blindly and ignorantly a work of intelligence and knowledge.
   --Sir W. Hamilton.

   By a divine instinct, men's minds mistrust Ensuing dangers.
   --Shak.

2. (Zo["o]l.) Specif., the natural, unreasoning, impulse by which an animal is guided to the performance of any action, without thought of improvement in the method.

   The resemblance between what originally was a habit, and an instinct becomes so close as not to be distinguished.
   --Darwin.

3. A natural aptitude or knack; a predilection; as, an instinct for order; to be modest by instinct.

Instinct \In*stinct"\ ([i^]n*st[i^][ng]kt"), v. t. To impress, as an animating power, or instinct. [Obs.]
--Bentley.

early 15c., "a prompting," from Latin instinctus "instigation, impulse," noun use of past participle of instinguere "to incite, impel," from in- "on" (see in- (2)) + stinguere "prick, goad," from PIE *steig- "to prick, stick, pierce" (see stick (v.)). Meaning "animal faculty of intuitive perception" is from mid-15c., from notion of "natural prompting." Sense of "innate tendency" is first recorded 1560s.

a. (context archaic English) imbued, charged ((term: with) something). n. A natural or inherent impulse or behaviour.

n. inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to specific stimuli; "the spawning instinct in salmon"; "altruistic instincts in social animals" [syn: inherent aptitude]

adj. (followed by `with')deeply filled or permeated; "imbued with the spirit of the Reformation"; "words instinct with love"; "it is replete with misery" [syn: instinct(p), replete(p)]

Instinct or innate behavior is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behavior. The simplest example of an instinctive behavior is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a very short to medium length sequence of actions, without variation, are carried out in response to a clearly defined stimulus.

Any behavior is instinctive if it is performed without being based upon prior experience (that is, in the absence of learning), and is therefore an expression of innate biological factors. Sea turtles, newly hatched on a beach, will automatically move toward the ocean. A kangaroo climbs into its mother's pouch upon being born. Honeybees communicate by dancing in the direction of a food source without formal instruction. Other examples include animal fighting, animal courtship behavior, internal escape functions, and the building of nests.

Instincts are inborn complex patterns of behavior that exist in most members of the species, and should be distinguished from reflexes, which are simple responses of an organism to a specific stimulus, such as the contraction of the pupil in response to bright light or the spasmodic movement of the lower leg when the knee is tapped. The absence of volitional capacity must not be confused with an inability to modify fixed action patterns. For example, people may be able to modify a stimulated fixed action pattern by consciously recognizing the point of its activation and simply stop doing it, whereas animals without a sufficiently strong volitional capacity may not be able to disengage from their fixed action patterns, once activated.

The role of instincts in determining the behavior of animals varies from species to species. The more complex the neural system of an animal, the greater is the role of the cerebral cortex and social learning, and instincts play a lesser role. A comparison between a crocodile and an elephant illustrates how mammals for example are heavily dependent on social learning. Lionesses and chimpanzees raised in zoos away from their birth mothers most often reject their own offspring because they have not been taught the skills of mothering. Such is not the case with simpler species such as reptiles.

In everyday speech, the word instinct is often used to refer to intuition or even clairvoyance.

Instinct is the ninth studio album by American singer Iggy Pop, released in June 1988 by record label A&M.

Instinct is a 1999 American psychological thriller film starring Anthony Hopkins, Cuba Gooding, Jr., George Dzundza, Donald Sutherland, and Maura Tierney. It was very loosely inspired by Ishmael, a novel by Daniel Quinn. In the United States, the film had the working title Ishmael. In 2000, the film was nominated for and won a Genesis Award in the category of feature film. This was the first film produced by Spyglass Entertainment after Caravan Pictures shut down.

Instinct may refer to:

• Instinct, the inherent disposition of a living organism toward a particular behavior
• Instincts in psychoanalysis are the human motivational forces (such as sex and aggression)
• Instinct (electronic sports team), a professional American video game team
• Instinct (magazine), a magazine for gay men
• Samsung Instinct, an Internet-enabled touch-based multimedia mobile phone, designed and marketed by Samsung Mobile

"Instinct" is a 1996 song by rock group Crowded House. It was the first single released from the group's greatest hits compilation Recurring Dream in the United Kingdom, and the third and final release in Australia. It was a Top 20 hit in the UK, peaking at #12 and becoming one of their highest-charting hits (next to " Weather with You"). In Australia, "Instinct" peaked at #90 on the ARIA singles chart in March 1997, spending two non-consecutive weeks in the top 100.

The band members reportedly hated the music video for the song which featured two female aliens, and a living golden statue, thus it was omitted from the compilation DVD Dreaming: The Videos.

Instinct is the second album by British singer Kavana. The album was recorded in Italy during the summer of 1998 and was produced by production team Absolute. The album spawned the singles "Special Kind of Something", "Funky Love" and "Will You Wait for Me". The album was released on 5 October 1998 by Virgin Records, released in Europe, Australia and Taiwan. The British release was postponed by the record label and was ultimately rescheduled for April 1999, however, Kavana was subsequently dropped from his label following poor sales of the three singles and the album was ultimately never released in the UK. The album was released digitally in the UK more than four years later on 1 March 2003.

Instinct is the fourth album by Metal band, Ektomorf.

"Instinct" is the second episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Dollhouse and the show's 15th episode overall. The episode was written by Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters and directed by Marita Grabiak, the first in the series she has directed. It aired in the United States on Fox on October 2, 2009.

In this episode, Echo has been imprinted as a mother of a child. However Topher has managed to change Echo on a glandular level, giving Echo strong maternal instincts. This unfortunately causes Echo to be paranoid causing her to kidnap the child. Ballard not only has to find Echo, but is forced to face his past as Madeline Costley, known to Ballard as Mellie, comes back into the Dollhouse for a diagnostic.

Instinct is a two-part drama serial which premièred on ITV on 26 February 2007. It was created and written by Lizzie Mickery, and produced by Tightrope Pictures for ITV. The serial follows Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Flynn, played by Anthony Flanagan, as he hunts a serial killer in the Lancashire Pennines, while dealing with a troubled personal life.

Instinct is a gay men's lifestyle magazine which was published from 1997 to 2015. The magazine was first published in 1997 by Instinct Publishing and was distributed by Curtis Circulation. The final issue was dated June-July 2015.

Instinct is the second album by American deathcore band As Blood Runs Black. It is the band's first album to feature guitarists Dan Sugarman and Greg Kirkpatrick, and the only album to feature vocalist Sonik Garcia.

Instinct is the debut studio album released on August 7, 2012 by the Stockholm-based band Niki and the Dove, and their second release on US label Sub Pop.

Instinct is the second album of Japanese Rock group, Granrodeo. It was released on 26 September 2008.

Instinct is a Hong Kong television drama series broadcast by TVB in 1994. Starring Adam Cheng, Ekin Cheng, Roger Kwok, Amy Kwok and Nadia Chan, the series premiered in November 1994 on TVB Jade.

Instinct is the second full-length studio album by English trip hop duo Mandalay, released in 2000 through V2 Records. Two singles were released to help promote the album: "Deep Love" and "Not Seventeen".

"Instinct" is the second episode of the first season of the Canadian science fiction television series Orphan Black. It first aired in Canada on Space and the United States on BBC America on 6 April 2013. The episode was written by Graeme Manson and directed by John Fawcett.

The plot follows Sarah Manning (played by Tatiana Maslany) as she continues to impersonate Beth Childs, a woman who looks identical to Sarah, in order to take Beth's money after seeing her commit suicide. In the episode, Sarah deals with the aftermath of the death of another identical woman, Katja Obinger, and begins to discover more lookalikes. Maslany plays each of the identical women; "Instinct" marked the first episode in which more than one of Maslany's characters was present in a single shot, which necessitated specific planning and technology to film and edit these scenes. The episode received positive reviews from critics, who praised the episode's plot development and Maslany's performance.