Those are awfully complex structures, I couldn’t make one!
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I don’t think anyone’s “solved” this yet, to the degree that we can explain it wholly, manipulate a creature’s instincts or make new predictions about instinctual behavior. But consider for a moment that humans do have instincts as well. They’re just so early in your life that you don’t even realize.
Babies have instincts. They nurse, and grasp when their hand is touched, and hold their breath when their face hits the water. Lots of others, too. Most of these go away in the weeks or months after birth. Why? Humans eliminate our instincts after birth because learned behaviors are so much more complex and precise. Instincts are only the best option when there’s no creature around to teach a better version.
Edit: Clearly the best way to get engagement online is to write something that’s mostly-but-not-completely accurate. Thank you all for the insightful conversation! The distinction between reflexes and instincts seems to be more of a spectrum than a hard line to me, and in any case we don’t know what causes either one, neurologically.
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