https://asimov.fandom.com/wiki/Foundation%27s_EdgeBliss admits to Trevize that his being led to Gaia was done by them so he could make that an untouched mind, especially Trevize's because of his amazing intuition, could decide the galaxy's fate
There is this fictional planet named Gaia where all the inhabitants are telepaths and can influence minds. They can control the entire Galaxy if they want to. But - they need an answer from an "untouched mind", of a person with "amazing intuition" to see if they should do that. Well - as I see it they could have also consulted the I-Ching. Or sacrificed a goat as they did in ancient Rome. It's the same thing. They are not asking a computer to logically calculate the best course, they need the intuition of and individual whose mind they did not influence.
They (Gaians) have the power to decide and do whatever they want, but they don't. First they must consult Golan Trevize as some kind of oracle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intuition
Also, what is "instinct"? Dissect an animal, search in his cells, see if you can find the "instinct".
And, my explanation (and philospophy) regarding all this: the nature of the Universe is consciousness, and humans (and everything else) are expresions of the Universe.