Survival instinct

Most of us are driven by survival instinct. What is survival instinct? Survival instinct is the hardwiring which enables a person to survive.

IMO both survival of the fittest and collective survival instinct are at play. Once collective survival instinct need is fulfilled, survival of the fittest comes into play. This is basic human nature.

Survival instinct manifests in different ways. Our brain circuits or pathways are wired for different types of  pleasures and pains. Pleasure circuits are activated in case of actions favoring survival whereas pain circuits are activated in the opposite case. In animals there are limited options for activating these pathways. However, in humans the pleasure pathways (even actions which are not good for survival such as drugs) can be activated by different mechanisms. This is the essence of manifestation of survival instinct.

But is survival instinct our only nature? Our true nature is pure consciousness.Survival instinct is maya. We need to switch off the survival nature and switch on our true nature depending on the situation.

Some sort of reconciliation achieved.

What if the person chooses logic over survival instinct? I face a similar conundrum. I am driven by logic. There is not much survival instinct in me. Probably some defect in the my hardwiring.

Have we outgrown survival instinct? Being upright has allowed humans to evolve much faster than any any other species in the history. Does the movement towards self actualization mean that we are outgrowing survival instinct? Or is it a manifestation of survival instinct at a higher level? I read something fancy about different parts of brain conflicting with each other. Does self actualization help in resolving that?

Probably that's why religions ask you to abstain from sex. Sex is the primordial manifestation of survival instinct ergo Maya. Once you get rid of this instinct, it will be easier to understand true nature.

Survival instinct, the very force that is driving the world forward is the root of all evil. We now have the power to exploit each other and the nature.

Whether survival instinct is intelligent design or not is a debatable question and will open Pandora' s box. And I don't really like to open Pandora's boxes.