Consciousness-and Behavioral Science ( Archived) (41)

Feral children, also known as wild children or wolf children, are children who've grown up with minimal human contact, or even none at all. They may have been raised by animals (often wolves) or somehow survived on their own. In some cases, children are confined and denied normal social interaction with other people. They act and react as a dog or wolf would and are extremely difficult to reach on a "human" communication level.

Several documented cases are available and researchable.

It appears that most things that we are, come from environmental imprinting. Without parents teaching the cognition we would be little more than animals.

This ties in with a thread not long ago dealing with monogamy and the discussion that it was inherent in humans to be monagamous. Personally I think it's behavioral; and these studies seem to bare that out.

My question is: Given that we have the tendancy to think we are cognitive sentient beings by birth, do the facts of "feral children" disprove what we think is inherent cognitive morals? It appears we are more prone to behavioral indicators than supposed inherent morals?

This raises some interesting points, Al. I would venture that their behavior is imprinted by the "parents" they are raised by, so it mimicks the pack or group behavior. The difficulty reaching them on a human communication level would have to be breached to determine a lot, though.

But yes, I agree that a lot of our behavior is taught now, and we learn much from our parents and the society we're raised in, and yet others break that conditioning...showing an ability to think for ourselves and make our own decisions.

My main question would be, what made the first humans evolve above "animal" behavior...and what would happen if the feral children were to form a "pack" or group of their own and develop over generations.

Very interesting post, Al. I'll check on it later.

Thats exactly where I was going with this. These children are significantly more like "wolves" than humans, even after prolonged intervention. Progress is made, but very slow, further supporting that most of what we do as humans is behavioral imprinting rather than inherent moral codes.



Thats one of my questions as well. I was thinking that somehow having human brains that we got this ability on our own, but now I am not so sure. Considering aberations that occur it is possible that much of cognitive human (what we call human) behavior can be evolutionary, but the possibilty for a human to slip back to stone age behavior without behavioral indicators seems highly probable.

Strange. We keep each other on the same path so to speak as it relates to human behavior and growth in sentience and cognition.

Entirely possible...and yet we do it in various parts of the world simultaneously. And that was before the communication that we have now, or widespread trade even. So...for me, the question on that becomes, is it programmed into us, or is it a "Universal Soul consciousness" that determines this behavior?

Yes, there are aberrations, but they are rare by their very definition as aberrations. And then there are the societies that exist in pockets that have not evolved with the rest of the world due to their isolation...so, how did the rest of the world evolve to this point, yet they did not?

the hundred monkey theory

Wondering though Dru, if it were 'programmed' why woudl these kids not also have the programming? They act and react like wolves. There is apparently a small window as well to 'satabalize' a child like this as well. The younger they are the better, but if they were in that envorirnment through age 8, the ability to 'satabalize' human behavior is much more difiicult. There is even a point of no return, where the 'wolve behavior is unchangeable to any real degre. This to me would imply that is isnt progaramming



Its puzzling, does lead one to think that universal consciousness is somewhat environmentally dependant and not really so universal?

you can't teach an old dog new tricks

First...did you mean "stabilize"?

Assuming that you did...interesting about the age. Anyway...very interesting, Al...and worthy of more study. However, I would think that's because of the imprinting of animal behavior on them instead, and having been raised in the society of wolves rather than humans. Meaning that their " human programming" is overwritten by wolf programming. Doesn't mean they didn't originally have the human program...just means that their brains were re-wired, so to speak, with the behavior they learned from their surroundings.

Look at people raised in abusive households. They were not necessarily born "abusive", but they learn it from their environment. Some can break that...I have...others can't, and repeat it. (First example that came to mind.)

Anyway...very interesting topic.

I tend to agree Hugz ... this study on feral children, has implications in social behavior, in consciousness, universal or otherwise, in our belief systems, in our morals and more importantly who we think we are.

Is there universal consciousness because we "think' there is?

Is there a cheese sandwhich in your purse because I 'think' there is?


I totally agree with your last paragraph. We're as much humans because of our environmental indicators as dogs are by theirs.

I have watched kanine behavior shows and the same consequences happen to dogs that are removed from their mothers or the pack too soon. They appear to be easier to "stabalize" in normal dog behavior than humans are, by introducing them to a pack of dogs. Humans seem to be more difficult when it comes to righting the ship so to speak, in that regard. Who is more advanced?




a ton of questions