Commentary: As humans, instinct holds us back and carries us forward

In this Feb. 1, 2017, file image provided the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, a wolf pack is captured by a remote camera in Hells Canyon National Recreation Area in northeast Oregon. (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife via AP, File)For the many animal species that live in small, independent social networks (apes, wolves, whales, etc.), outsiders are typically dangerous, feared adversaries. Survival for such animals, therefore, requires not just the relative safety of one’s own group, but also a well-tuned ability to identify nonmembers.

Likewise, for millions of years beginning with humankind’s earliest communal framework — isolated, close-knit clans of hunter-gatherers — contact…