The Five Main Instincts according to Roberto Assagioli
Here is a short definition of instinct in relation to fear by Roberto Assagioli:
There are five main forms of fear, and these underlie the five fundamental instincts:
– The first is the instinct of self-preservation, the root of which is the fear of death.
– The second is the sexual drive, arising from a sense of incompleteness and the fear of loneliness.
– The third is the herd instinct, again caused by the fear of being separated, weak, insecure. This fear causes us to seek support and security by associating with other people.
– The fourth is the tendency to affirm oneself. This might seem the total opposite of fear, but careful analysis shows that at least one of its roots is the fear of not being appreciated, recognized and respected as much as we deserve (or believe we deserve! ) and therefore not having the power we would like to have over others.
– The fifth is curiosity, the thirst for knowledge based on fear of the unknown or of mystery.
We have to acknowledge that these instincts or tendencies have spurred us on to useful, indeed necessary, activities, so even fear has had and can have a useful function. (Transpersonal Development, 2007, p. 164)
INSTINCT
(Archivio Assagioli — Florence)
Instinct can be considered under various aspects, and an accurate examination would require an extensive treatment.
I must limit myself to a few “hints” and synthetic indications.
* * *
We can call instinctive those impulses, acts, tendencies, and reactions that do not derive from a conscious decision, but that erupt from our unconscious without the action of our will, and sometimes indeed against it.
Such instinctive impulses have their origin in the experiences, tendencies, and faculties accumulated in the past: in that of the human race in general, in that of the family (heredity), and perhaps in that of other former lives of our own.
It can be said that at the base of each of the fundamental instincts there lies a form of fear; and that each of them can be transmuted into a corresponding higher and spiritual aspect.
In this connection, I reproduce a synthetic table concerning the principal instincts, drawn from the work of an Eastern instructor.
* * *
| INSTINCT | ORIGINAL FEAR | HIGHER CORRESPONDENCE | METHOD OF TRANSMUTATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1° Instinct of self-preservation | Fear of death | Immortality | Metapsychical research |
| 2° Sexual instinct | Fear of solitude and of separation | Spiritual union — union between personality and soul (the inner Christ) | Religion, Mysticism |
| 3° Herd instinct (social) | Fear of solitude | Group consciousness — universality | Brotherhood |
| 4° Instinct of self-assertion | Fear of not being appreciated, and of not having what is owed to us or what we desire | Affirmation of the spiritual Self | Psychology |
| 5° Instinct of inquiry (curiosity — desire to know) | Fear of the unknown | Intuition | Education |
Original title: L’istinto, Archivio Assagioli, Florence
Sublimation of instincts
“The solution of psychosynthesis, but which was not invented by psychosynthesis, is something that so many times occurs spontaneously: and that is sublimation. Sublimation consists in rising from the level of the egoistic personality to — and in the extreme case up to — the origin, to the spiritual Self; therefore, neither the will to power nor the other drives, even instinctual drives, are to be condemned or repressed, but they are all to be brought back to their origin. And there man loses nothing, indeed he gains much; he does not lose his power, which indeed becomes more powerful, but he becomes so at a higher level and it is no longer antagonistic, but constructive.” (Assagioli in Spiritual Experience)
