Editing Instinct (section)

==== Fixed patterns ====
Fabre believed instincts were "fixed patterns", meaning these linked sets of behaviours do not change in response to novel environmental situations.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Raffles |first=Hugh |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedinsec00raff |title=Insectopedia |publisher=Pantheon Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-375-42386-4 |location=New York}}</ref> One specific example that helped him arrive at this conclusion is his study of various wasp species.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> All of the wasp species he studied performed a certain pattern of behaviour when catching their prey, which Fabre called a fixed pattern.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> Then Fabre intervened in the wasps' process of catching prey, and only one of the species adjusted their behaviour in response to this unfamiliar interception.<ref name=":6" /> Fabre explained this contradiction by arguing that any individuals which stray from the norms of their species are merely an exception,<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> while also admitting that there could be some room for growth within a species' instincts.<ref name=":6" />

Fabre's belief that instincts are fixed opposes the theory of evolution. He rejected that one species could evolve into another, and also rejected that human consciousness could be achieved through the evolution of unconscious traits.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" />