Our opposing thumbs are the greatest difference between ourselves and most all other animals, so our instincts are able to go beyond a mere feeling or inclination and we can hone them toward our peaceful equilibrium. I use the opposing thumb idea to draw a difference between our gift and our use of it. There is also the instinct of the spirit. I believe it's not just our physical that is, or can be, or will be ours to hone, yet our instincts should have evolved well beyond survival and reproduction by now. We are the most savage of all beasts. I suppose then, if we consider the fact of our savagery, we will sense that our instincts are diminished by our inventions and their destructive powers, and we might also begin to see that the instinct for survival and reproduction seem to be counter productive. Best we hone more than just those two "instincts", they're, quite literally, killing us and Home. Survival, then, is different than living life in a ...
(The Weaver's Song)