Have we evolved because we use our brain or is it because we follow our instincts? It could be said that they aren't mutually exclusive and that indeed both serve our evolution. It can be said that of all living organisms on Earth, no other has a larger brain. Arguably we are the only Mammal that walks upright. Of the two having a brain I think is more suitable to the argument that have evolved successfully. It might be said that it's the right balance between instinct and self determination that has resulted in mans success.

I wonder if one could be taking over from the other and becoming more influential in mans development.

In question in my mind really is the idea that our natural instincts are playing second fiddle to our minds, thoughts and reasoning. This thought moves us to question what makes us human. Arguably, it's our brain. Also, again the idea of the brain outplaying our obvious shared living instincts is in question. It's a tough question.

What's for sure is that our natural instincts provide native needs that we feel must fulfil, for example to eat and to reproduce. However, our brains also provide a wealth of needs that we feel need to be met, these unlike our natural instinctive needs are modifiable, and can be created and removed as we feel like it, and we can change the priority of these needs. Examples include getting that promotion, staying up late to finish a project, interacting with social networks, interacting with technology etc and I deem these new artificial or self made requirements for life. These I feel stem from the brain, finding reason in them and us including them in our lifestyle. The question still remains - are these new needs of modern man? Are these needs driving man kind?

Looking into impoverished communities and developing countries - little of this includes technological advancements or indeed arguably higher levels of thought. By looking back in the past, thinking and thought have been the things that given humans the edge and indeed made us advance further and further - all I feel a product of interaction with our brains.

Even the less technologically advanced progression such as the social French revolution involved thinking - rationally reasoning ,emotion and thought, again a function of a functioning brain.

Could this be the key to our success with our natural instincts now playing a minor role aiding perhaps only in the basic requirements of living - eating, moving, protecting and producing offspring? But now are these becoming more diluted as our technological improvements start infringing on these?

I tend to start wondering if we pick partners differently now for example than we did ever before? Do we consider new things brought about by our new needs that we've created? If so, are we human because be use our brain? Are we human because we feel - is this a function of the brain? Or are we human because we create? The latter I think having less and less to do with our basic natural instincts and more to do with our brain.

Also the idea that our basic needs are not only being supplemented by out newly created needs but are perhaps are also being overlapped - for example, the basic need to pick a partner now contains more complexity due to our new requirements that we've created which we've deemed necessary to be met in order for us to pick a partner. I wonder.....