Instinct

Have you ever felt prodded or poked to do something? What might it mean to trust your instincts?
 
The word instinct comes from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root steig (to prick, stick, pierce) and Latin stinguere (to prick, to goad). A goad is a pointed rod or stick urged to urge on an animal; e.g., a cattle goad. The verb ‘to goad’ means to incite or rouse or urge on. 
 
The Latin prefix in- (into, in, on, upon) + stinguere = instinguere (to incite, to impel) from which comes Latin instinctus (instigation, impulse, inspiration). By the early 15th century, the word instinct, meaning a prompting, had come to English. This meaning of instinct is now obsolete.
 
The use of instinct, meaning an animal’s faculty of intuitive perception, is from the mid-15th century (Does this mean that people who lived and worked with animals at that time sense that an animal might have intuitions?!).
 
By the 1560s, instinct was used to mean a natural tendency in an animal; for example, why do birds fly south for the winter? Instinct was (and is) the usual answer. Instinct was thought to be blind; that is, animals don’t consciously ‘trust their instincts’. Current research related to animal intelligence illuminates much more subtle understandings of the workings of animal minds—have you ever spent time watching crows or ravens, let alone the family dog?
 
What about people? Do we have instincts? Are these instincts conscious or unconscious? What does it mean to ‘trust our instincts’?
 
What is the difference between instinct and intuition? Intuition would seem to be a subtle internal knowing (perhaps some insight or feeling that sneaks up and taps you on the shoulder): “I have a good feeling about this.” On the other hand, instinct would seem to be a gentle (or not so gentle) poke from an external or unconscious source: “That person gives me the creeps.”
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
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