What is Instinct? well, i will suggest "gut reaction", "intuition", "knack", "feeling", "hunch" etc!
And what is a herd? The first thought that comes to my mind is that this term is somewhat related to animals, not one with a pair of foot but pair of pair of foot! But literally herd is an assemblage or a crowd. Thus, herd instinct shall be "gut reaction of an assemblage" or "knack of a crowd". Man has always considered people's view more precious than an individual. Quoting Ayn Rand, from Atlas Shrugged, "men are not open for truth or reason.....Yet we have to deal with them. If we want to accomplish anything we have to deceive them into letting us accomplish. Or force them. They understand nothing else"! Here "we" is for people who are individuals, they follow their own instinct, and the one they have to force are the proprietors of herd instinct. Herd Instinct was not always negated to reason. Sometimes popular view is right and its easy to do things which everyone is doing. Remember the same questions done by you in a class test as your bench partner because then it shall be easy to co-operate and pass! Maybe the one thing attractive about herd instinct is that, to follow it is easy n achievable. But, herd instinct is difficult to follow when you have your own reason and instinct which is disparate to theirs. When you think of doing something implausible and incredible and they stop you or discourage you from doing it.
Well, what made me think about Herd Instinct? I am really impressed with the character of DAGNY TAGGART and HANK READERN and their venture of the John Galt line in " ATLAS SHRUGGED" One may say that they are materialistic duo, but they live a life of purpose more than that they happen to possess intellect when even an institute of science in the book fails to use it! Thinking differently is not always right, but when you think different as well as right and its not popular, then i suggest you should read the part 1 of this book. Cannot suggest about the remaining 2 parts as i m still on part 1 but i think it will be a great reading expression.
2 comments:
nice post. i was thinking about reading 'atlas shrugged' sometime soon. now, i think it'll be sooner rather than later :)
explain alot of the ayn rand effect on you! after a while things r never right or wrong...its a person's own moral code tht determines its correctness.....nice post..
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