I remember getting into an argument with a sociology professor (in hindsight, probably a Marxist) who stated that there are no instinctual behaviors. I gave a s

I remember getting into an argument with a sociology professor (in hindsight, probably a Marxist) who stated that there are no instinctual behaviors. I gave a simple example--babies suckling--that just angered him more. Obviously, all behavior is partly shaped by instinct. But the connection is so non-deterministic that it's pretty easy to completely deny it. Sometimes the dog goes to his foodbowl at 2:00, sometimes at 2:10. Or, sometimes he smacks his lips, sometimes not. Ergo, the dog does not have an instintual urge to eat. At least not in a particular way. If nothing else, you could probably teach a dog, BF Skinner-like, to have anorexia nervosa. Behavior can be engineered. No doubt about it. The problem, of course, is that personality qualities are partly inherited just like intelligence. This is problematic for a couple reasons: 1. The practice of measuring intelligence is well-developed and the results have been carefully studied. This is not the case with vague behaviors like "hardworkingness". 2. Traditionally, when coming up with excuses for why different groups have different levels of intelligence, other types of behavior are brought up: "Those Asian students spend all their time studying. Of course they succeed." This suggests that studiousness is the prescription for fixing bad students. But, in fact, that very studiousness is largely shaped by genetics. Sociobiology kills off the last fantasies of Marxism.