Maternal behavior stems from situation and attitude, not instinct

Evidence

These examples all prove that there is no such thing as maternal “instinct”: the word does not in any case apply to the human species. The mother’s attitude is defined by her total situation and by the way she accepts it. It is, as we have seen, extremely variable. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1503

Categorization

• XREF: Directly extends Beauvoir’s core thesis that woman is defined by situation rather than biology — connects to the ‘One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman’ argument from the Introduction. — connects to: Maternal vocation is socially imposed, not instinctually innate — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 693; Maternal love is a conscious attitude, not an instinct linked to childbirth; The maternal obligation is a social construct, not a natural dictate — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1533 (+4 more)
• DEFINE: Beauvoir operationalizes ‘instinct’ against ‘situation’ as mutually exclusive explanatory frames for motherhood.

Broader Connections

• Maternal vocation is socially imposed, not instinctually innate #corroborates (0.92) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 693
• Maternal love is a conscious attitude, not an instinct linked to childbirth #corroborates (0.90)
• The maternal obligation is a social construct, not a natural dictate #corroborates (0.88) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1533
• Female passivity is socially imposed, not biologically determined, and self-reinforces through a vicious circle #corroborates (0.85) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 691
• Woman’s traits stem from her situation, not biology #qualifies (0.80) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1740
• Animal and human behavior is highly contingent on circumstance #expands (0.72) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 439