Instincts and Nominalism

Etymologically instinct means an impulse toward something. People tend toward acceptance  of select word paradigms as nouns and facts in-themselves a bit too readily. Such descriptions are nominal.

Learned behaviors are sometimes described as instinct or second nature. An SAS operator may shoot a thousand head shots a day on the range (maybe) at proper targets until the right response to stimuli is instinctive, yet self-defense is itself somewhat ‘instinctive’ in a more natural example of the common understanding.

On compassion vs degradation in social history. Is there a cause for optimism philosophically?

Hobbes’ main idea in The Leviathan was the absolute power of the king. He was the brain and the people the body of the state. Life was nasty, brutish and short in his day. Camus’ The Plague has a lot of nastiness in it. The Stranger has the protagonist vomiting on a beach. Camus died in a car accident at a fairly young age. Frankl’s logo therapy was a response to the complete degradation and loss of humanity experienced by inmates of Nazi concentration camps. The only mass philosophy that easily comes to mind that killed millions is communism. Capitalism is more an economic system than philosophy, though basic greed and the will for political power plus minions are the main causes of war.

People can invent their own opponents in politics these days, ignore existential challenges and destroy social well being in the blundered quest for power. Philosophical works sometimes should be understood in their historical context. Would one for instance use The Prince as a role model for poly sci students today?

Communism worked as a revolutionary philosophy because millions of poor people were oppressed by royalty with most of the wealth. China today is better off than they would be if the Imperials had persisted.

If Democrat Presidents hadn’t taken all of Ukraine from Russia and expanded NATO Eastward Russia would be an ally and China more democratic in the political philosophy sense. The poor suffer more than the rich and around the world haven’t got free universal health care  That’s a political rather than a philosophical problem

I suppose NDE means near death experiences. I wondered if sometimes God edits reality a little to keep some people alive where they would have died, and they aren't much aware of the edit though they may be thankful for remaining alive.

Don't know about theoretical sentient beings. They may have different views on death.

Conditioning like learning languages is a social context...filtering that out would leave one imbecilic I would think. Behavior is partly learned from experience and that too conditions. Filter out that placing your hand on a hot stove burns.