--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Instinct is intelligence incapable of…" description: "\"Instinct is intelligence incapable of self-consciousness.\" — John Sterling" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/john-sterling-18985_instinct_instinct-is-intelligence-incapable-of-se_2837325.jpg" --- # Instinct is intelligence incapable of self-consciousness. ![“Instinct is intelligence incapable of self-consciousness.” quote by John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/john-sterling-18985_instinct_instinct-is-intelligence-incapable-of-se_2837325.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/john-sterling-18985_instinct_instinct-is-intelligence-incapable-of-se_2837325.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/john-sterling-18985_instinct_instinct-is-intelligence-incapable-of-se_2837325.jpg) > “Instinct is intelligence incapable of self-consciousness.” [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Instinct operates without self-awareness, lacking reflective thought. **In simple terms:** Instinct lacks self-consciousness. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of instinct. Themes psychology philosophy consciousness Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - decision making - animal behavior - personal growth Key Concepts instinct selfawareness cognition Questions to Reflect On - When is instinct reliable? - How develop develop selfawareness? 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Agresta > [The man of least capacity is the one who shows himself incapable of self-correction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/the-man-of-least-capacity-is-the-one-who-shows-himself-incapable-of/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [The security of Society lies in custom and unconscious instinct, and the basis of the stability of Society, as a healthy organism, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-security-of-society-lies-in-custom-and-unconscious-instinct-and/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Common sense is instinct. Enough of it is genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/common-sense-is-instinct-enough-of-it-is-genius/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [It is a law of nature we overlook, that intellectual versatility is the compensation for change, danger, and trouble. 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Our light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/like-earth-awake-and-warm-and-bright-with-joy-the-spirit-moves-and/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [Every man's follies are the caricature resemblances of his wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/every-man-s-follies-are-the-caricature-resemblances-of-his-wisdom/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [Knowledge, or more expressively truth,--for knowledge is truth received into our intelligence,--truth is an ideal whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/knowledge-or-more-expressively-truth-for-knowledge-is-truth-received/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [Of all the tyrants the world affords, our own affections are the fiercest lords.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/of-all-the-tyrants-the-world-affords-our-own-affections-are-the/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [You just cant predict baseball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/you-just-cant-predict-baseball/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [Toil, feel, think, hope; you will be sure to dream enough before you die, without arranging for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/toil-feel-think-hope-you-will-be-sure-to-dream-enough-before-you-die/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [The worst education which teaches self-denial, is better than the best which teaches everything else, and not that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/the-worst-education-which-teaches-self-denial-is-better-than-the-best/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [He stands in history as the completer of the globe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/he-stands-in-history-as-the-completer-of-the-globe/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [The ideal client is the very wealthy man in very great trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/the-ideal-client-is-the-very-wealthy-man-in-very-great-trouble/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [Be busy in trading, receiving, and giving, for life is too good to be wasted in living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/be-busy-in-trading-receiving-and-giving-for-life-is-too-good-to-be/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [Man is a substance clad in shadows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/man-is-a-substance-clad-in-shadows/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [Every fancy that we would substitute for a reality is, if we saw aright, and saw the whole, not only false, but every way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/every-fancy-that-we-would-substitute-for-a-reality-is-if-we-saw/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [Pain has its own noble joy, when it starts a strong consciousness of life, from a stagnant one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/pain-has-its-own-noble-joy-when-it-starts-a-strong-consciousness-of/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) [Explore all 33 John Sterling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) ## More Instinct quotes > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. 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To leave office before my term is completed is opposed to every instinct in my body. But as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/i-have-never-been-a-quitter-to-leave-office-before-my-term-is/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [All men have an instinct for conflict: at least, all healthy men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/all-men-have-an-instinct-for-conflict-at-least-all-healthy-men/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [There was the natural human survival instinct to be optimistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-demick/there-was-the-natural-human-survival-instinct-to-be-optimistic/) [Barbara Demick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-demick/) > [The combative instinct is a savage prompting by which one man's good is found in another's evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-combative-instinct-is-a-savage-prompting-by-which-one-man-s-good/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) [Browse all 2,940 Instinct quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Instinct is intelligence incapable of self-consciousness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Sterling" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/instinct-is-intelligence-incapable-of-self-consciousness/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Instinct" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/instinct-is-intelligence-incapable-of-self-consciousness/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/john-sterling-18985_instinct_instinct-is-intelligence-incapable-of-se_2837325.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/john-sterling-18985_instinct_instinct-is-intelligence-incapable-of-se_2837325.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/john-sterling-18985_instinct_instinct-is-intelligence-incapable-of-se_2837325.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Instinct is intelligence incapable of self-consciousness.” — John Sterling", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Sterling", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Instinct is intelligence incapable of self-consciousness.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/instinct-is-intelligence-incapable-of-self-consciousness/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/instinct-is-intelligence-incapable-of-self-consciousness/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```