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Dr. Jane Goodall: Redefining “human” and “animals”

Interesting news 2014-11-14

11From March 9th to 10th, British biologist and animal behaviorist Jane Goodall gave a public speech at the New York University Forum in Shanghai and the 15th Anniversary Event of the Roots and Buds in Shanghai.Dr. Goodall’s efforts to live in harmony between humans and animals are admirable. The “Roots and Buds” group founded has allowed young people from more than 130 countries and regions around the world to participate in projects related to protecting the environment, communities, and animals.The two editors of Vegetarian Planet went to listen on the scene. The Paper has wonderful reports on Jane Goodall, and I will share them with you!

Redefine "human"

The difference between humans and animals is defined in this way in textbooks: humans can make and use production tools, but animals cannot.In the 1960s, Jane Goodall overturned people's old ideas through her research. She discovered that gorillas living in the wild would stick plant stems into ants' holes to detect them. They would peel leaves off the branches and then use the branches to penetrate into the water to catch food.Her research is well known through the National Geographic journal, and Jane’s discovery makes people have to either redefine “humans” and then redefine “tools.”

Study chimpanzees close-up

Jane Goodall was born on April 3, 1934 in London, England.At the age of 26, she came to Tanzania, Africa by saving enough travel expenses with her yearning for the wildlife world.“I can’t go to college, my family can’t afford my tuition.” said Jen.“A book about orangutans I read when I was 10 has influenced me.At that time, World War II was not over, Africa was a very distant place, and Tanzania was still under the custody of the UK.Whenever I talk about my dreams, no one thinks a white girl can do something like that, and people say, 'Jean, stop daydreaming'.But only my mother doesn’t think so. She always tells me that if you really want to realize a dream, you must work very hard and never give up.”

She found Louis Nicky and applied to him for a job dealing with animals.Niki was surprised that a girl who had no professional training had such a deep understanding of animals and agreed to fund her to visit Tanzania to observe wild chimpanzees.That year was 1960, and no one had ever tried what Jen was going to do, nor did anyone dare to try.On the photos of Jane having close contact with chimpanzees published in National Geographic, you will see them looking at each other, hugging, holding hands, like friends or even family, but in fact, Jane can’t get close to the chimpanzees after camping for a long time.Initially, the chimpanzees were hiding the white-skinned uninvited guest who broke into his territory, and Zhen could only observe 500 meters away.15 months later, chimpanzees finally got used to Jane's appearance.

Her views were not mainstream at the time.She was admitted to Cambridge University after her breakthrough research on gorillas was published, but she found that her income in the wild would not work with her seniors in the academic world.“My professor told me that they are different from people, and I don’t need to call them by names, but should give them numbers, number 1, number 2, etc.But as long as you deal with any animal, you know that things are not the case at all. They have emotions, they know how to be afraid, they can think and learn."Jane said about animals, her first teacher was the dog she raised since childhood Rusty。“Rusty It taught me that animals, like humans, have emotions, and they also have joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.”

The environmental education project founded has 600 groups in China

1977After the year, Jane's career entered another stage.In that year, she established the Jane Goodall Research Association, dedicated to advancing wildlife conservation and environmental education.Her research association then funded projects such as the Gunbee River Research Center.In 1984, Jane established an animal shelter and a chimpanzee zoo. The former is used to adopt smuggled juvenile chimpanzees confiscated by the government, while the latter mainly takes in chimpanzees that were illegally hunted, which is also the largest ape research base in the world.In 1991, she founded the Root and Bud Environmental Education Project with a group of Tanzanian students who wanted to make a difference to their community.In China, the project had its first group in Beijing in 1994. At present, 600 groups have been established in China and several offices have been established.Since the project was launched, in order to promote the concept of sustainable development and protect nature, Jen has begun to travel around the world."My home is on the plane," she said.

As for why we have to move from scientific research to our current track, Jen wrote in her book that the forests disappeared, the habitat of chimpanzees was destroyed, coupled with poaching, used for medical research, as a human pet, etc., the population of chimpanzees is declining sharply. "How can I continue my pastoral life - continue to collect data, write papers in the forest, and return to Stanford to teach every year?I felt like I had to do something for them, so I chose this path to arouse the world's attention to their doom.”

The following is a wonderful conversation between The Paper and Jane Goodall:

Animals are not unconscious "things"

The Paper: There are many polluted land around us. In the face of these destructions, I often encounter such problems. If there are a lot of injured animals, such as an extinction of a species, many people will feel sad and realize that the problem is serious. But if only a few animals are hurt, many people will remain indifferent. They will think that this is the price of economic development.If it were you, how would you answer such a question?

Jane Goodall: That’s exactly why environmental education like roots and buds is very important.I always spend a lot of time telling people that every animal is conscious. There are researches and even found that fish can identify different people. They have their own personalities, feelings, and emotions. They are not unconscious "things". They are not as unconscious as those professors with wrong ideas told me decades ago. People can no longer live as "arrogant" as in the past. Animals also have "rights" of animals. People should be compassionate and awe.From another perspective, we live in a complete ecosystem, and a small species dies. Some people say what's wrong, it doesn't matter, but maybe this small species is the main food of another species. One by one, it threatens the entire ecosystem. You must have a global perspective.

The Paper: Why do you attach so much importance to environmental education for young people rather than choosing to talk to politicians or large companies?

Jane Goodall: The truth is that I not only invest a lot of time in dialogue with youth, but also talk and cooperate with politicians and entrepreneurs on many issues.The current environmental problems are caused by many factors, which makes me have to remain open.It is very necessary to cooperate with companies on some issues, and we need to push them to push things in the right direction.But you have to know that I have the principles I adhere to on this issue. Some companies I am never willing to cooperate with. They come up with checks of millions of dollars, but behind these companies are dirty and bloody transactions.I can talk to them. After all, even in a company, every individual is different. If you think you can't talk to them at all, the key is to find the point that can touch them.For example, I find some people who look cold, but when you talk about the dog he likes, or his beloved grandson, or even the beautiful jungle he lived in when he was a child, maybe he shows another side, and you can break the deadlock and communicate with them heart-to-heart.

Contact with young people is one of the reasons why I remain passionate about this career.The earliest establishment of roots and buds was the suggestion of several young people in Tanzania. They found me and hoped to change their communities, but I told them that I could not do this alone, and I still need you.We must see that youth is an important part of today's environmental problems, after all, the world will be dominated by them in the future.

The most impressive thing about Chinese migrant children

The Paper: Roots and buds have been in China for many years. What are you particularly unforgettable in dealing with Chinese teenagers?

Jane Goodall: I was deeply impressed by the migrant children from China who came to the city from the countryside.Our volunteers from universities went to the migrant children's school to encourage them to think about what they could do.Most of these children are only 8 or 9 years old, and some of them have not gone to school in the past, and they feel that they are useless in this city.But we told them that you know how to grow crops and harvest them. You know more animals than people in the city, and we keep motivating them.I remember one time when I walked up to a 9-year-old girl, she told me, “I used to think there was no chance here, I was an irrelevant person.But now I will stand up and say, I am useful, I am not insignificant, I also know many things that you people in the city don’t know, we can share these things to make the world a better place.”The words she said were so beautiful.

The Paper: People have labeled you a lot. You are a biologist, an animal activist, an environmentalist. You have written a lot of books. People call you a writer and an educator. At the same time, many people also think you are a feminist movement. Which of these identities is best in line with your positioning for yourself?

Jane Goodall: I don’t know, it’s good for people to call me, but I think I’m just a compassionate ordinary person.

2024-02-05 18:10
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