What are Imperatives?
Imperatives are genetically-derived generalised drives in the mind that influence much of our behaviour but rarely appear as direct thoughts or feelings.
Notes
Imperatives may commonly be described as instinct or human nature and are shared, to a greater or lesser degree, across humanity. Almost a form of programming that produces humans that are designed (be evolution) to behave in ways that lead to survival and a benefit to our own culture.
Although I suggest that imperatives have a genetic basis it also seems obvious that the actual expression of imperatives will vary in nature and importance from one individual to another.
Imperatives may work in a very similar way to cognitive guiding beliefs but are not taken on as a result of lived experience.
I suspect that imperatives are pre-verbal, which is what makes it less likely for them to be recognised as part of our usual thinking process.
Examples of imperatives include:
An assumption that it is best to 'get on' with others.
A desire to 'belong' to our society in some meaningful way.
An insistence to 'get things right'.
A tendency to play.
A drive to explore.
A wish to leave a legacy.