I.
1. A living organism may be regarded as a field which is the resultant of various forced.
2. In order to function, the organism must be able to resolve these forces in terms of directed activity.
3. In non-intelligent organisms, the resolving factor is instinct. Instinct is the inherited ability to cope with the environment without much forethought Instinct is the regulator of:
a. Automatic life processes.
b. Aggressive reaction to hunger, sex, and danger.
c. Recessive reaction to danger.
d. Protective reaction to young (sometimes).
e. Recessive reaction to sex (sometimes).
4. Intellect probably arises as an adjunct to instinct in learning process. Improvement of instinctive functions with experience is noted in many species.
5. In homo sapiens, intellect has grown to the point where it is equal to or even more powerful than instinct in regulating certain basic forces.
6. Since neither one of these controls is completely dominant in man, a conflict exists in certain areas. When this conflict cannot be dealt with by either intellectual or instinctive means, it is projected as a symbol. Religion arises as a means of dealing with such symbols.