‌‌‌‌　　英：instinct; 法：instinct; 德：nstinkt

‌‌‌‌　　拉康遵循弗洛伊德的观点将本能与冲动 (DRIVES)区分开来，并且批评那些遵循斯特雷奇的观点的人由于用英文单词 (“instinct”)来翻译弗洛伊德的这两个术语（德文的Instinkt与Trieb)而模糊了这一区分 (E, 301).

‌‌‌‌　　“本能”是一个纯粹生物学的概念 (见：生物学[BIOLOGY]), 而且属于动物行为学的研究。动物是受到本能所驱使的，这些本能是相对稳固而不变的，并且隐含着一种与对象的直接关系，而人类的性欲则关系冲动的问题，这些冲动是非常易变的，而且也从来不会抵达它们的对象。虽然拉康在其早期著作中频繁使用“本能”这一术语，但是在1950年以后，他很少使用到这一词汇，而是更倾向于根据需要 (NEED)来重新概念化本能的概念。

‌‌‌‌　　从其最早期的著作开始，拉康便批判那些试图纯粹根据本能来理解人类行为的人，他指出这一企图假设了在人类与世界之间存有某种和谐的关系，然而这样的和谐事实上并不存在 (Ec, 88)。本能的概念便是假设了有关对象的某种几乎带有道德性质的直接先天知识 (Ec, 851)。拉康反对此种思想，他坚称人类的生理有其不充分性，并以“生命的不足”(法：insuffisance vitale; Ec, 90)与“先天性不足”(congenital insufficiency)等措辞来指明这一特征。此种不充分性，明显可见于人类婴儿的无助，是凭借情结 (COMPLEXES)而得到补偿的。人类的心理是由情结（完全取决于社会与文化因素）而非本能所支配的，这一事实即意味着，不把社会因素纳入考量的任何有关人类行为的解释皆是无益的。

‌‌‌‌　　(instinct) Lacan follows Freud in distinguishing the instincts from the DRIVES, andcriticises those who, following Strachey, obscure this distinction by using the sameEnglish word ('instinct') to translate both Freud's terms (Instinkt and Trieb)(E, 301).

‌‌‌‌　　'Instinct'is a purely biological concept (see BIOLOGY) and belongs to the study ofanimal ethology. Whereas animals are driven by instincts, which are relatively rigid andinvariable, and imply a direct relation to an object, human sexuality is a matter of drives, which are very variable and never attain their object. Although Lacan uses the term'instinct'frequently in his early work, after 1950 he uses the word less frequently, preferring instead to reconceptualise the concept of instinct in terms of NEED.

‌‌‌‌　　From his earliest works, Lacan criticises those who attempt to understand humanbehaviour purely in terms of instincts, arguing that this is to suppose a harmoniousrelation between man and the world, which does not in fact exist (Ec, 88). The concept ofinstinct supposes some kind of direct innate knowledge of the object which is of analmost moral character (Ec, 851). Against such ideas, Lacan insists that there issomething inadequate about human biology, a feature which he indicates in the phrases'vital insufficiency' (insuffisance vitale)(Ec, 90) and 'congenital insufficiency'. Thisinadequacy, evident in the helplessness of the human baby, is compensated for by meansof COMPLEXES. The fact that human psychology is dominated by complexes (whichare determined entirely by cultural and social factors) rather than by instincts, means thatanyexplanation of human behaviour that does not take social factors into account isuseless.