Instinctive
behaviors are structured patterns of action triggered by well-defined internal
or external stimuli and governed by preprogrammed algorithmic codes. These
encoded mechanisms can operate independently of prior experience, conscious
reasoning, or learned behavioral patterns. Their persistence can be understood
as the result of deeply embedded biological instructions encoded within
Biological Systems, particularly through genetic and neurobiological
structures. Because these mechanisms are closely associated with survival,
adaptation, reproduction, and the preservation of biological stability, they
are often highly resistant to internal and external influences acting on the
modules of the Subconscious and Conscious Components, which are responsible for
interpretation, decision-making patterns, learning, and consciously directed
action.
Most instinctive
behaviors operate through recurring functional cycles within the Subconscious
Component. Within this framework, these cycles can be described through three
principal stages: the Open-loop cycle, the Processing cycle,
and the Closed-loop cycle. During the Open-loop
cycle, an internal deficiency, environmental stimulus, threat,
opportunity, or unmet requirement creates a discrepancy between the Biological
System's existing condition and a biologically defined target condition. This
discrepancy generates tension and attracts attention toward the unresolved
requirement. The system, therefore, remains functionally open because the
desired target value has not yet been achieved in the physical world.
The Processing
cycle begins when the Biological System evaluates possible responses to
the Open-loop condition. During this stage, different instinctive mechanisms
may be activated, compared, coordinated, inhibited, or reinforced. Available
resources are assessed, behavioral alternatives are generated, and interactions
among Primary Instincts, Secondary Instincts, and other modules of the
Subconscious and Conscious Components influence the selection of an appropriate
response.
The Closed-loop
cycle is established when feedback from the physical or social world
confirms that the required target condition has been sufficiently achieved. The
discrepancy between the existing and desired states is consequently reduced or
temporarily eliminated. Stability
is therefore confirmed within the designated instinctive cycle through a
Closed-loop condition in which the Biological System recognizes that the target
value, defined as a measurable standard within the default Subconscious
Component, has been reached.
Such stability
should not be interpreted as permanent equilibrium. Closed-loop conditions are
generally temporary and remain vulnerable to environmental change, resource
depletion, competing instinctive demands, physiological variation, or the
emergence of new stimuli. Biological behavior, therefore, consists of
continuous transitions among Open-loop, Processing, and Closed-loop conditions.
Biological Systems
contain countless interconnected instinctive mechanisms that operate through
the modules and submodules of the Subconscious and Conscious Components. Within
this theoretical framework, these mechanisms may be represented as networks
mediated by biological, chemical, electrical, and vibrational processes. Each
mechanism contributes, directly or indirectly, to genetic continuity, survival,
adaptation, reproduction, social organization, resource acquisition,
protection, or other functions that maintain the Biological System.
However, excessive
vulnerability to the demands generated by an Open-loop Instinct can disturb Harmonic
Balance. When the Biological System repeatedly fails to establish the
required Closed-loop condition, unresolved tension may persist. Prolonged
Open-loop activation can gradually alter behavioral priorities, intensify
competition among instinctive mechanisms, and reduce the system's flexibility.
Under such circumstances, mechanisms that normally support adaptation may
instead contribute to maladaptive behavioral patterns, distorted priorities,
compulsive repetition, resource misallocation, or conflict between competing
instinctive requirements. Within this framework, instinctive mechanisms can be
divided into two principal functional categories: Primary Instincts and Secondary Instincts.
1. Primary Instincts
Primary Instincts
are fundamental, preprogrammed algorithmic mechanisms operating within the
Instinct Component of a Biological System. They
extend beyond simple reflexive responses by establishing biologically
significant objectives and directing attention toward conditions associated
with survival, reproduction, security, resource acquisition, social
positioning, protection, attachment, competition, adaptation, and other
fundamental biological requirements.
A Primary Instinct
initiates an Open-loop cycle when it detects a relevant stimulus, deficiency,
threat, opportunity, or unmet internal requirement. The detected condition
generates an error signal that represents the difference between the Biological
System's current state and the target condition in the physical world, as
encoded by the instinctive mechanism.
This error signal
produces tension and activates processing mechanisms within the Subconscious
Component. These mechanisms evaluate possible behavioral responses, mobilize
resources, and coordinate interactions with other instinctive networks.
Depending on the complexity of the requirement, several Primary and Secondary
Instincts may become active simultaneously, automatically
trigger built-in, natural responses to handle an immediate situation without
any prior training or conscious thought.
When an
appropriate action successfully modifies conditions in the physical or social
environment, feedback returns to the Biological System. If the feedback meets
the designated Primary Instinct's target criteria, the Open-loop cycle
transitions to a Closed-loop condition.
Primary instincts,
therefore, function as major motivational drivers within the Biological System.
They influence what the system considers biologically important, which stimuli
receive priority, which factors generate tension, which resources are
mobilized, and which conditions must be established before temporary stability
can occur.
Nevertheless, the
stability generated through a Closed-loop condition remains vulnerable to
disruption. A previously satisfied instinct may return to an Open-loop state
when environmental conditions change, resources become unavailable, a competing
instinct becomes dominant, or the internal target value shifts. Consequently,
Primary Instincts participate in a continuously changing hierarchy of
biological priorities rather than operating as isolated behavioral mechanisms.
2. Secondary Instincts
Secondary
Instincts are preprogrammed algorithmic mechanisms that support Primary
Instincts in establishing their required Closed-loop conditions. Although
Secondary Instincts may generate their own tension, behavioral tendencies, and
intermediate objectives, their functional role is ultimately subordinate to the
biological requirements established by Primary Instincts and to the constraints
of the physical and social environment.
Secondary
Instincts operate as coordinating, evaluating, and resource-mobilizing
mechanisms. They identify possible pathways through which the demand generated
by a Primary Instinct may be satisfied. To perform this function, they may
evaluate environmental circumstances, interpret error signals, compare
alternative actions, mobilize additional instinctive mechanisms, allocate
available resources, and coordinate behavioral responses.
The interaction
between Primary and Secondary Instincts, therefore, creates a dynamic control
architecture. The process begins with an Open-loop stimulus or deficiency,
proceeds through error detection and behavioral processing, and, when
successful, culminates in Closed-loop feedback and temporary stabilization.
When this
architecture functions effectively, the Biological System remains capable of
adapting its behavior to changing internal and external conditions. Secondary
Instincts can redirect resources, recruit additional Primary Instincts, and
modify behavioral pathways without altering the designated Open-loop cycle's
fundamental biological objective.
When the
architecture becomes distorted, however, Secondary Instincts may reinforce
inappropriate behavioral pathways. Repeated reliance on ineffective pathways
can produce persistent Open-loop conditions in which behavioral activity
continues without successfully satisfying the underlying biological requirement
in the physical world. Under such circumstances, mechanisms originally evolved
to preserve life and adaptation may progressively restrict behavioral
flexibility and interfere with human development.
Secondary Instincts and Error-Code
Processing
The functional
role of Secondary Instincts becomes particularly important when a designated
Primary Instinct cannot independently establish its required Closed-loop
condition. The Secondary
Instinct must first detect error codes generated when algorithmic
expectations within the Biological System conflict with conditions imposed by
the physical world. These error codes represent discrepancies between the
target value established by the designated Primary Instinct and the actual
feedback received from the environment.
The Secondary
Instinct then determines which additional Primary Instincts possess the
functional capacity, resources, or compatible behavioral mechanisms required to
support the unresolved Primary Instinct. This process can be described through
three principal stages.
In the first stage,
Secondary Instincts receive error codes associated with the Survival Instinct
or other higher-priority biological mechanisms. These signals indicate that the
existing behavioral pathway has failed, or is likely to fail, to satisfy a
biologically significant requirement in the physical world. The error codes
define information about circumstances in the physical world. The Secondary Instinct
interacts with algorithmic codes beyond modules and submodules in
decision-making patterns, such as the Ego/superego, the Belief System, and
Iceberg Cells. (Fig.1)
In the second stage, the
Secondary Instinct analyzes the Open-loop cycle of the designated Primary
Instinct. It evaluates the unresolved target condition, the available
resources, the nature of the environmental constraints, and the reasons why
previous behavioral responses have failed to establish a Closed-loop condition.
(Fig.1)
In the third stage, the Secondary
Instinct evaluates the compatibility of other Primary Instincts in the Instinct
Component. It determines which of them can provide resources, behavioral
capacity, motivational reinforcement, or alternative pathways to support the
designated Open-loop cycle. Through this process, the Secondary Instinct
governs the coordination required to move the system toward a viable
Closed-loop condition. (Fig.1)
The selected
supporting Primary Instinct does not necessarily replace the original
instinctive objective. Rather, it contributes additional resources or
behavioral functions that allow the designated Primary Instinct to overcome
environmental constraints. Several Primary Instincts may therefore become
temporarily interconnected within a coordinated network organized around the
resolution of a single Open-loop condition.
For example, an
unresolved requirement generated by one Primary Instinct may activate
additional mechanisms associated with competition, cooperation, exploration,
protection, attachment, resource acquisition, avoidance, or social positioning.
The Secondary Instinct evaluates which combination of mechanisms is most
compatible with both the original biological objective and the limitations
imposed by the physical world. This process
creates a hierarchical but flexible network of instinctive coordination.
Primary Instincts establish fundamental biological objectives, while Secondary
Instincts organize the pathways through which these objectives may be pursued
under changing environmental conditions.
Failure, Reinforcement, and Deadlock
In the worst case,
a Secondary Instinct may fail to identify the appropriate Primary Instinct to
support the designated Open-loop cycle. Instead, it may select an alternative
mechanism that produces temporary reinforcement resembling a Closed-loop
condition without resolving the original biological deficiency.
Such reinforcement
can create a false Closed-loop state. The Biological System may
experience a temporary reduction of tension even though the target requirement
of the designated Primary Instinct remains unresolved. Because the underlying
discrepancy persists, the original Open-loop cycle eventually re-emerges. The system may
then repeat the same ineffective pathway, producing a recurrent sequence of
tension, compensatory behavior, temporary reinforcement, and renewed
deficiency. Over time, this process can create a self-reinforcing behavioral
loop.
If the Secondary Instinct
continues to select incompatible or ineffective supporting mechanisms, the
designated Primary Instinct may, in the long term, become trapped in what this
framework defines as a deadlock in the starvation domain. The
starvation domain represents a condition in which an instinctive mechanism
remains persistently deprived of the feedback, resources, or environmental
conditions required to establish a genuine Closed-loop state.
A sufficiently
persistent starvation-domain condition can eventually lead to a deadlock. Therefore,
in a deadlock mode, multiple instinctive mechanisms may compete for limited
resources, yet none can satisfy the unresolved target condition. Secondary
Instincts may repeatedly redirect resources among incompatible Primary
Instincts, while the original Open-loop requirement continues to generate
tension.
This condition can
progressively disturb Harmonic Balance because an increasing proportion of the
Biological System's attention, energy, and behavioral resources is committed to
resolving an instinctive cycle that remains structurally incapable of closure. The resulting
behavioral pattern may therefore become increasingly detached from the original
biological objective. Actions may continue to be repeated not because they
successfully satisfy the Primary Instinct, but because they provide temporary
reinforcement, reduce error signals for short periods, or activate substitute
instinctive mechanisms.
From this
perspective, maladaptive behavior can be interpreted not simply as the presence
of an excessive instinct, but as a failure of coordination within the network
of Primary and Secondary Instincts. The critical problem is the system's
inability to identify and implement a pathway that converts a persistent
Open-loop condition into an authentic Closed-loop state. The distinction
between genuine and substitute Closed-loop conditions is therefore essential. A
genuine Closed-loop condition resolves the target discrepancy defined by the
designated Primary Instinct. A substitute Closed-loop condition merely
suppresses or redirects the associated tension without satisfying the
underlying requirement.
Repeated
substitution can gradually stabilize dysfunctional behavioral networks. Once
such networks become reinforced through repeated cycles, they may influence
higher-order modules of the Subconscious and Conscious Components, shape
learned behavioral patterns, alter decision-making priorities, and ultimately
restrict the developmental flexibility of the Biological System. Accordingly, the
interaction among Primary Instincts, Secondary Instincts, Open-loop error
signals, resource allocation, behavioral processing, and Closed-loop feedback
represents a continuously adapting regulatory network. Its effectiveness
depends not only on the strength of individual instincts but also on the system's
ability to identify error conditions correctly, select compatible supporting
mechanisms, allocate resources efficiently, and distinguish temporary
reinforcement from genuine biological resolution.
When these
processes remain coordinated, instinctive networks support survival,
adaptation, behavioral flexibility, and development. When coordination
repeatedly fails, the same networks may produce persistent starvation domains,
deadlocks, maladaptive reinforcement cycles, and progressive disturbances of
Harmonic Balance.
Observation 2:
The functional
properties of the Secondary Instinct play a central role in shaping and
influencing the algorithmic codes underlying the decision-making map that
humans progressively develop and navigate throughout life. These mechanisms
contribute to how individuals interpret stimuli, evaluate alternatives, resolve
internal and external biases, and select behavioral responses as they adapt to
changing environmental and social conditions throughout the evolutionary path
of life.
The
characteristics and functional properties of the Secondary Instinct are not
fixed but can be continuously modified through interactions among multiple
modules and submodules within the Subconscious and Conscious Components. These
interconnected mechanisms process experience, learned information, emotional
responses, environmental feedback, and conscious evaluation, thereby adjusting
the algorithmic structures that guide future decisions and actions. Through
this dynamic process, Secondary Instincts can reinforce, suppress, redirect, or
reorganize behavioral tendencies in response to changing requirements within
Biological and Non-Biological Systems.
Figure 2
illustrates the principal modules and submodules of the Subconscious and
Conscious Components that contribute to modifying the characteristics,
operational behavior, and functional properties of the Secondary Instinct.