INSTINCTIVE ELEMENT IN HUMAN SOCIETY 269 



only in the simpler forms of association, perhaps, that we can trace most 

 clearly the instinctive element, although all human institutions must 

 ultimately rest upon human instincts, for the instincts are instrumental 

 not only in furnishing the primary or original activities, but also in 

 furnishing those " sanctions " which are the peculiar mark of those 

 forms of association which we term institutions, since the " feelings " 

 are more largely attached to the native reactions than to acquired habits. 



It is in the simpler forms of human association, then, that we may 

 see most conspicuously the workings of instinct. The family especially 

 shows most clearly the influence of instinctive elements, and here it 

 may be remarked that the family must be regarded as in many ways 

 the most typical of all the forms of human association, illustrating in 

 the clearest manner possible the simpler biological and psychological 

 factors at work in human social life generally. The family as an insti- 

 tution evidently rests upon two great primary instincts, the sexual in- 

 stinct and the parental instinct. Like all instincts, these are varyingly 

 developed in different individuals. Sex attraction has always been 

 recognized as the basis of human family life, and as one of the great 

 primary forces in human society, but the influence of the parental 

 instinct has not been so generally recognized. Careful study of human 

 society shows, however, that it is the parental instinct which gives 

 stability to the family, and so is the real foundation of that institution, 

 as we understand it, in all ages and among all peoples. This is stri- 

 kingly shown by the fact that, among both civilized and uncivilized 

 peoples, childless couples separate much more readily than those that 

 have children. It is also shown by the customs and laws of practically 

 all peoples. The instinctive reactions of the sexes and of parents and 

 children, then, give rise to a whole series of social coordinations which 

 express themselves variously in the institution of the family; but this 

 is not denying, of course, that the institution of the family, as we know 

 it, is largely also a product of custom and tradition. To see the simple 

 instinctive form of the family we must turn to such peoples as the 

 Andaman Islanders, the Bushmen, the Fuegians and other primitive 

 peoples who live a purely animal existence. In such peoples we find 

 the simple, pairing, monogamous family group of a more or less un- 

 stable character which is practically the same as the family group which 

 we find among the higher apes and many other animals. We are war- 

 ranted, therefore, in concluding that such a form of association is not 

 only unreflective, but also almost entirely a product of instinctive 

 reactions. 



Many of the other simpler forms of human association illustrate 

 equally well the workings of the instinctive element. Thus the forms 

 of play among children and the " struggle groups " of adults give very 

 clear evidence of relatively unmodified instinctive reactions. While the 

 social life of adults, as has already been said, is very far removed from 



