Reproduction instinctive?

[rthmjohn]

Here's an interesting question, albeit a little obscure. I was wondering since people today are educated on the topic of human sexual reproduction/intercourse, either by their parents, school, or other source, if people today could even figure out how to reproduce on their own. I mean, I'm sure everyone registered at this forum was taught about sex/reproduction (either by a person or by a reference source) and didn't just figure it out on their own, right? I find it interesting because Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons and every other species before us obviously had to either figure it out on their own or instinctively possessed the knowledge (the latter being most plausable), but since most people today are taught about how to reproduce before they reach sexual maturity, do we even know if humans would figure it out on their own anymore?

 

If you were to completely isolate a population of humans from any knowledge of sexual intercourse/reproduction, would they eventually figure it out on their own? Is it possible that there exists a gene that endows a person with the subliminal knowledge of how to reproduce? Is it possible that this gene is slowly being lost from the gene pool due to the human's ability to socially learn how to reproduce, thus allowing the people without the gene to still produce offspring? Any thoughts, anybody?

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I don't think they teach how to reproduce. In most places in the US they teach not to until marriage.

[rthmjohn]

I don't think you understood me correctly. What I meant was that most people, regardless of their religious beliefs and whether they are discouraged from having sex, are taught about the physiology of sex at an early age (usually in the 5th grade). I'm asking whether the humans' knowledge of how to have sex is innate or if it has to be taught. Please read my thread clearly.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I'm saying they aren't taught about it. They're taught not to do it.

 

 

But in any case, it has to be innate to some extent. All of the other animals on this planet manage to do it, and we never notice an older one pointing at diagrams while in front of a bunch of young animals.

[rthmjohn]

I'm saying they aren't taught about it. They're taught not to do it.

 

I see. But don't many school systems include a sex ed course sometime in the late elementary/early middle school years? I know that at my elementary school, we had to learn ABOUT it and were taught not to do it simultaneously. In my highschool health class my teacher doesn't just say "DON'T HAVE SEX UNTIL YOU'RE MARRIED!!!" and neither does the health textbook. They teach about both abstinence and contraception keeping in mind that a large number of adolescents won't abstain until they're married. But that's aside from my point. If reproduction is innate in most species then wouldn't that mean that there may be a gene that can govern one's subliminal knowledge of HOW to reproduce? Is it possible that, regardless of how few instances there may be of this occurring, some few individuals of a species may not be able reproduce simply because of their lack of the instinctive knowledge of how? By teaching our children how or not to have sex (and I'm looking at this from a complete biological, not religious, standpoint) we are then negating the requirement for an inherent knowledge of how to reproduce because people are able to learn how externally. I'm also trying to point out that humans are the ONLY ones, as far as I know, who educate their population on sex/reproduction and that other species have to possess the instinct in order to reproduce.

[bascule]

If you were to completely isolate a population of humans from any knowledge of sexual intercourse/reproduction, would they eventually figure it out on their own?

 

I think the answer to that is glaringly obvious: yes

 

C'mon, I was humping my bed when I was 4 years old...

 

Is it possible that there exists a gene that endows a person with the subliminal knowledge of how to reproduce?

 

I think there are many many genes which control many many behavioral operations relating to same-species identification and sex.

 

Is it possible that this gene is slowly being lost from the gene pool due to the human's ability to socially learn how to reproduce, thus allowing the people without the gene to still produce offspring? Any thoughts, anybody?

 

It's possible that could happen, but at least as far as I know my own body it certainly hasn't.

 

I consider myself a fairly cerebral person and I spend an enormous portion of my time thinking about sex.

 

Always remember that so long has sexual reproduction has been around there is an unbroken chain of organisms who have successfully reproduced sexually going all the way back to the dawn of sex itself.

 

With "staying alive long enough to successfully reproduce" being THE MOTHER OF ALL SELECTION PRESSURES obviously lots of genes are going to be tuned towards successful reproduction.

[Lance]

I think the answer to that is glaringly obvious: yes

 

C'mon' date=' I was humping my bed when I was 4 years old...[/quote']

 

I was thinking it but I decided not to say it.

[ecoli]

I think the main reason why they teach sex ed in school is because they want kids to know what sex is before they do it. Physiologically, people's bodies are ready to have kids around age 12. This makes sense, especially if early humans were only expected to live around 30-40 years. Because our life spans are about 2-3x longer now, we've held off on marriage, but our bodies don't know that. If your uneducated about sex, then there's a greater chance you'll do it w/o expecting the social/financial/STD reprocussions.

[treva]

Sex drive is innate. Its built into our biology via specific areas of our brains and hormones.

[john5746]

If reproduction is innate in most species then wouldn't that mean that there may be a gene that can govern one's subliminal knowledge of HOW to reproduce? Is it possible that, regardless of how few instances there may be of this occurring, some few individuals of a species may not be able reproduce simply because of their lack of the instinctive knowledge of how?

 

As stated previously, many genes are involved. We have replaced instincts with learning in some cases, allowing flexible adjustments to environment within a generation, but I don't see how this would be beneficial with sex.

 

The goal of sex is pretty simple, to procreate. You might as well expect someone to have to learn how to breathe or pee. Not a distinct advantage there.

[Daecon]

Sex is the body's way of tricking people into reproducing.

 

I say "tricking" in the sense of how many people have you heard of that have had abortions?

 

People don't need to be taught how to do it.

[rthmjohn]

All of the other animals on this planet manage to do it, and we never notice an older one pointing at diagrams while in front of a bunch of young animals.

 

I was trying to point out that humans are the only species that teach their population on the subject. But I guess the answers to my questions were quite obvious...