The Human's Animal Impulse

I have been mulling over the ideas of humanity and what separates us from being humans. I find it to be a truly engaging topic as my mind jumps from morality and ethics, virtuousness, and similar other ideas. The cause of this is most likely due to my recent media consumption:

--It is an understatement to say that I am overwhelmed by these thoughts. I find myself frequently rationalizing how I feel about these ideas that I mentioned. I am less concerned about them individually. They linger in my mind because of my intuition that I can find a layer of understanding of what it means to be human.

As this piece is done without prior research, I would like to lightly explore using this tiny head of mine to explore some of the assumptions in my head:

  1. Doing the right thing will always carry negative feelings.
  2. Acting on your impulse will never carry a net positive outcome.

"Doing the right thing" will almost always be against "doing what feels good." Waking up early to not be late at school or work. Doing the dishes right after eating a good meal. Controlling your rage and keeping your composure during a conflict. Essentially, doing the right thing will always amount to a certain level of self-discipline.

A certain discipline of thought and thinking can be demonstrated with accuracy of judgement and quick wit. A certain discipline in emotions can be demonstrated by effectively handling conflicts. A certain discipline in one's health can be demonstrated by eating well and doing physical exercises regularly. This "certain level" is met by consistency, which is what the untrained brain is allergic to.

The entire opposite of discipline is an entire surrender to our impulses, which are run by our most basic instincts. Hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure as a form of "goodness" is most probably what our animal brains would always lean towards. Emotions should be taken only as a guide, which should be deliberated by our thinking minds. Down the line, giving in to the cathartic release of emotions will lead to unexamined decisions that are most likely not aligned with our own sense of self. In this perspective, acting on impulse will always be a path that leads us away from our own true self. Forgive me for the cliche but as one of Socrates' most famous quotes, "The unexamined life is not worth living," rings true in this argument, where decisions solely based on emotions, spurred by impulse, are clearly unprocessed actions done by an individual. This even includes the influence of unprocessed traumas and emotions that can hijack our emotional decisions.^6b372c

Doing the "right" thing then carries a significant weight on the influence of thinking and judgement. What is right should not only mean what is right for oneself. It must always include what is just and fair for all people involved. This scenario is the main reason why it will always carry negative feelings because it will always not agree with pleasure. Enacting revenge is pleasurable but it is not the right way to act if one wants to claim justice. Resting is pleasurable but it is not the right act if one wants to be productive.

The more one can affirm this side of himself, to effectively deliberate on making the right judgement calls, is when he can only start walking towards the path to humanity. If it is a process of acknowledging an impulse, a desire to act, as something that is worthy of thought and deliberation, then we can only claim to be human in the flesh, but it will still require a tremendous effort and self-investigation to act one.