In Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, 6 young German's embarked unexpectedly into an abyss of death as their perceptions of youth, duty, and culture are shattered after the first battle on the front in the trenches. These men had like so many come into the war moody and well tempered soldiers... however through the first battle these men become animals, and this is because of the basic human instinct that comes in the face of danger. In any given situation of danger humans contain the capacity to resort to numb, animalistic instinct.
Somewhere lost in evolution was the development of basic human instincts, which can be broken down into five basic groups: flight, aggression, manipulative activity, immobility, and collapse. Certain other danger-instinct reactions are combinations of two. The two main reactions which are most responsible for the outcome in a battle during a war are flight and aggression. Flight is characterized by fear in a sense that your repulsive reflex to something unplesant or dangerous causes you to run to escape. Aggresion is what many people call the fight response. It relates to the kill or be killed theory where bodily defense mechanisms such as your arms or legs or any weapon you have would be used to satisfy the one mainb goal of instinct: to protect the well-being of yourself (Rivers). Human instincts cause people to react in a numb, animalistic ways because the thought process takes a back seat to self protection.
Moderate levels of fear, anger or almost any form of negative motion warn the deliberateive system taht something is wrong and that its capabilities are required. Perversely, as emotion intensifies, however, it tends to assume control over behavior even as it triggers the deliberative system, so one may realize what the best course of action is. but find one's self doing the exact opposite (Loewenstein). Somebody's reaction is based off of the deliberative system of the brain and the emotional system of the brain. Human behavior is not under the sole control of emotion or deliberation but results from the interaction of the two processes (Loewenstein). War is the quintessential issue of emotion taking control over deliberation, which is why many soldiers kill without reason. Human's have the capacity to resort to animalistic instinct in the face of danger because negative emotions overcome deliberation.
People can commit acts that cause psycological damage later on because of the lack of deliberation in the moment of impact. Sever emotions of fear or anger causes the control of emote power in the brain. Also more instant stimuli cause the fight or flight reaction which has been programmed in human brains from evolution. In All Quiet on the Western Front, the boys are affected by these causes in battle, to save themselves.
Somewhere lost in evolution was the development of basic human instincts, which can be broken down into five basic groups: flight, aggression, manipulative activity, immobility, and collapse. Certain other danger-instinct reactions are combinations of two. The two main reactions which are most responsible for the outcome in a battle during a war are flight and aggression. Flight is characterized by fear in a sense that your repulsive reflex to something unplesant or dangerous causes you to run to escape. Aggresion is what many people call the fight response. It relates to the kill or be killed theory where bodily defense mechanisms such as your arms or legs or any weapon you have would be used to satisfy the one mainb goal of instinct: to protect the well-being of yourself (Rivers). Human instincts cause people to react in a numb, animalistic ways because the thought process takes a back seat to self protection.
Moderate levels of fear, anger or almost any form of negative motion warn the deliberateive system taht something is wrong and that its capabilities are required. Perversely, as emotion intensifies, however, it tends to assume control over behavior even as it triggers the deliberative system, so one may realize what the best course of action is. but find one's self doing the exact opposite (Loewenstein). Somebody's reaction is based off of the deliberative system of the brain and the emotional system of the brain. Human behavior is not under the sole control of emotion or deliberation but results from the interaction of the two processes (Loewenstein). War is the quintessential issue of emotion taking control over deliberation, which is why many soldiers kill without reason. Human's have the capacity to resort to animalistic instinct in the face of danger because negative emotions overcome deliberation.
People can commit acts that cause psycological damage later on because of the lack of deliberation in the moment of impact. Sever emotions of fear or anger causes the control of emote power in the brain. Also more instant stimuli cause the fight or flight reaction which has been programmed in human brains from evolution. In All Quiet on the Western Front, the boys are affected by these causes in battle, to save themselves.
