Powerful forces of instinct and inculcation combine in the boy ("Some part in me just wanted to kill," he reflects, "constantly and without end"); without any thought or seeming volition, he squeezes the trigger and shoots the man dead.
But the ladder is not only a natural wonder, revealing the astonishing force of primal instinct.
Reagan appears to have understood, with the force of untrained instinct, that, whatever the medium in hand, the great thing was the grab.
"Jerry was an American original who earned his success by the sheer force of his instinct, drive, and larger-than-life personality," said Bush at news of Weintraub's death.
Moreover, the self-preservation drive and the sociability impulse are both emotive and cognitive; they are both non-rational and rational, having the force of unreflective instinct as well as well-thought-out plans.
Ancient as it is, tribal conditioning possesses the formidable force of an instinct.
By Evan Osnos July 28, 2017 As Donald Trump passes the six-month mark in office, his behavior has become only more bizarre, as if driven by the centrifugal force of his instincts.
But as Trump passed the six-month mark in office, facing historic unpopularity and a raft of investigations involving his campaign and his family, his comments and his political behavior have become only more bizarre, as if driven by the centrifugal force of his instincts.
Momentum was the force of his competitive instinct, the will behind his might.
True, the first is faced by a beast with acid for blood, while the second solemnly reveals that "it has been seven days since I ran out of ketchup," but both are loners by force of circumstance and copers by instinct.
