Why do class methods need to be bound to a class instance

In JavaScript, the value of this changes depending on the current context. Within React class component methods, developers normally expect this to refer to the current instance of a component, so it is necessary to bind these methods to the instance. Normally this is done in the constructor—for example:

class SubmitButton extends React.Component {
  constructor(props) {
    super(props);
    this.state = {
      isFormSubmitted: false
    };
    this.handleSubmit = this.handleSubmit.bind(this);
  }

  handleSubmit() {
    this.setState({
      isFormSubmitted: true
    });
  }

  render() {
    return (
      <button onClick={this.handleSubmit}>Submit</button>
    )
  }
}