If we did not bring to the examination of our instincts a knowledge of their comparative dignity we could never learn it from them. And that knowledge cannot itself be instinctive: the judge cannot be one of the parties judged; or, if he is, the decision is worthless and there is no ground for placing the preservation of the species above self-preservation or sexual appetite.
So important to understand! One cannot gain a knowledge of the hierarchy of instincts unless one brings that knowledge to the instincts. It will not be derived from within the system of instinctual behaviors and desires. The human will comes into play here.
