In article <3gpjlg$l6l at quartz.ucs.ualberta.ca> josephro at gpu2.srv.ualberta.ca (Joseph Robinson) writes:
>1) Yes, to *some* extent, this individual may be better "hardwired", [...]
>2) this would not force it to become a guiding interest. However -
I am reminded of the movie Groundhog Day, where Bill Murray is pretending
to learn the piano for the first time, but playing well:
Piano teacher: "You say this is your first time???"
Bill Murray: "Yes, but my father was a piano *mover*, so..."
More seriously:
>Hence, for example, in the absence of music from the individual's life,
>one might postulate that he would undergo a kind of "withdrawal" from his
>own (environmentally induced) baseline, and so would seek out music - *or
>some biochemical equivalent* to reduce the dysphoria.
Konrad Lorenz discusses the urge to exercise previously learned complex
motor skills (in both humans and non-humans), in "Foundations of
Ethology." This drive could conceivably apply to purely perceptual
skills as well, in some cases.
This might apply to every aspect of the environment, but with lots of
caveats and qualifications. If you grow up in beige rooms, is there a
drive to surround oneself with beige later? Maybe, maybe not. People
who grow up in the country seem to express a preference for
countryside, while those who grow up in the city seem to prefer the
city. But there are exceptions, and the preferences do not (obviously)
rule choices absolutely.
In terms of Lorenz, the drive is a low level restlessness that seeks to
engage the conditioned behavior via random search, and functions only
in the absence of more pressing drives such as fear or hunger.
If this does apply to things like music, it is presumably an easily
inhibited and/or diverted influence. In humans one must take into
account self-image -- the very strong interaction between ego and
motivation. This is not even remotely understood at a neurobiological
level, and the psychological/anthropological level of understanding of
such things is fairly primitive.
Doug
--
Doug Merritt doug at netcom.com
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