Our instincts are influenced by our environment from "summary" of The Human Instinct by Kenneth R. Miller
Our instincts, far from being set in stone by genetics or biology, are constantly shaped and molded by our environment. The very essence of what it means to be human is our ability to adapt and change in response to the world around us. We are not passive recipients of our instincts, but active participants in their development and expression. Consider the example of language acquisition. While humans may have a natural predisposition for language, the specific language we learn is heavily influenced by the environment in which we are raised. A child born in China will instinctively learn to speak Mandarin, while a child born in the United States will instinctively learn to speak English. This demonstrates how our instincts for language are not fixed, but rather flexible and adaptable based on our surroundings. Another example can be s...
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