This view does not stand up to investigation. Humans do have instincts,
ranging from minor ones like yawning and blinking to broader ones like selfpreservation
(but also some tendency to sacrifice themselves for relatives and
immediate social groups). Most other things, however, are clearly learned. Humans
have evolved the capability to learn certain things easily; others are more
difficult.
Language is obviously learned. The human vocal apparatus is structurally capable
of making a wide range of sounds, but English, for example, uses only
some of the possibilities. Newborns can be raised to learn any language, but it is
not clear how much of the capacity for language is hardwired (much clearly is;
Pinker [1994]) and how much is learned. These issues are currently under investigation
(see Barkow et al. 1992).
Similar questions arise about aggression. Clearly, we share with all vertebrates
a tendency to fight back when attacked—to deal with perceived threats by using
violence. Yet there are people, even entire groups, in which violence is essentially
unknown. This eliminates simple theories that postulate universal, uncontrollable
aggression as a human trait (Robarchek 1989a, 1989b; Robarchek and Robarchek
2000).