Summary Response In the article “Of Primates and Personhood” written by Ed Yong, demonstrates major developments between primatologist, biologists, and ethicists around the world. These major developments are a pending spanish law that would grant unprecedented protection toward great apes; Also, a recent extension to a swiss law that protects the dignity of organisms, and to redefine the meaning of human rights, and indeed whether such rights are the exclusive domain of humans. Furthermore, the Great Ape Project (GAP) has been established (1993). Not everyone had been comfortable with the GAP’s project, says Yong;…
The event related to animal rights that motivate Ed Yong to write this article is the Great Ape Project. The Great Ape Project was established in 1993 and requests a basic set of moral and legal rights for great apes. The questions that were raised by Yong about this issue are why can’t all nonhuman animals that feel pain have rights. Another question Yong has is what would be the credible reason not to…
She wanted to know more about evolution of humans through chimpanzees. It took a couple months before Goodall could gain trust of one single male that she ended up naming David Greybeard. Jane used a process called “banana club” to gain trust and to understand thoroughly of chimpanzees daily behavior. After two years, she became close with over half of the reserved 100 or more chimps. Goodall would imitate the behaviors to blend in. She learned that chimps have complex social network, a primitive “language” of twenty different sounds, and complete with ritualized behaviors. Jane took the first record of observing chimpanzees of eating meat and using and making tools; an act of characteristics of human beings. Later, Goodall added developing long-term familial bonds, embracing to comfort one another, and using stones as weapons to traits that humans also do. Male chimps don’t take roles in families, but they are on top of the group's social pyramid. The chimpanzees lower on the ranking follow under the top caste to avoid harm. The way you indicate on what male if on top is by the entrance at feedings and…
According to an article called, “Inventors and Scientists: Jane Goodall,” written by Cynthia Stokes Brown, Jane Goodall was amazed by animals since she was young. Since she had a liking for animals, in 1950 she met Louis Leakey who was famous for seeking hominin bones. After all, he hired her. As her job she observed how chimpanzees behaved and survived out in nature. This led her to notice how chimpanzees act very similar to humans. In 1986 she wrote her definitive scientific work, The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior. This book described how chimpanzees had both and good actions. in 1976 she founded the Jane Goodall Institute. This foundation supported research and efforts to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. Also out of a meeting that she had with 16 teens, she organized Roots and Shoots. This organization is a global youth program that now has more than 100 groups in the countries. After all the hard work she did to protect the chimpanzees and their homes, in 2002 she was named the United Nation Messenger of…
Mainly, this documentary uses the primate’s behavior as a comparison to our own. The purpose of this is to better understand not only the evolution of the human body, but also the evolution of human behavior. The film explains that our behavior was affected by the environmental pressures of our past. Because primates share a common ancestor with us, observing them in the wild can help us better understand why and how we evolved certain traits. The film stresses how important it is that we must observe apes in a natural setting. The narrator explains, “If we are interested in evolution of human behavior, and in the evolution of behavior in general, you really need to see that in a natural setting where evolution pressures are at work today and where you might be able to imagine the kind of evolutionary pressure that would’ve worked in the past.” The intention of this film is to instruct the viewer on the evolutionary connection between the ape and us. Understand primate behavior can lead to clues of our own evolutionary descent.…
Melvin Udall, played by Jack Nicholson, is the leading male character in one of my favorite movies, the 1997 dramatic, romantic comedy As Good As It Gets. He's a reclusive, successful romance author diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), who manifests symptoms ranging from severe at the beginning of the movie to milder (almost remissive) towards the end. Some of his compulsions include avoiding stepping on cracks in the sidewalks and streets, avoiding touch, and checking. The distress caused by his behaviors increases throughout the movie (a marked distress is a qualifier for the disorder in the DSM-V). The remedy for his OCD in the movie, it seems, is love (it's Hollywood). Helen Hunt plays Carol Connelly, the leading lady and…
Many years ago I watched a documentary entitled “Animal Odd Couples” which introduced me to the world of Anthrozoology. “Animal Odd Couples” was a “Nature” episode which outlined the lives of various animals who had formed interesting, cross-species relationships; Relationships that one wouldn't normally expect to find, because the idea of animals experiencing complex emotions, and forming genuine friendships could be – and for a long time was – considered taboo. In the past whenever animal welfare science had hinted at the fact that animals do experience these types of emotions, and do in fact form complex relationships that mirror our own it was considered anthropomorphism. As a student of anthropology who has a deeply seeded passion for…
Cited: Bambara, Toni C.. "Gorilla, My Love." The Norton Introduction to Literature. 'Ed '. Alison Booth, Kelly J. Mays. New York, London: W. W. Norton & Copmpany, 2010. Print.…
Baboons and chimpanzees, who are famous for being closely related to humans, embody the symptoms of kindness among their peers. Within "The Selfless Gene", written by Olivia Judson involves the discussion and break down of the relationship between kindness and survival, as seen in humanly related species. The author states, “At the least, the evolution of social living requires limiting aggression so that neighbours can tolerate one another. And often, the evolution of larger social groupings is accompanied by an increase in these subtly and complexity of the ways animals get along together.”…”Consider baboons…baboons have evolved complex social lives.” (287) Judson goes into depth, explaining the many social skills that baboons are equipped with. One of these qualities is a pack mentality, which allows animals, such as the baboon, to perform best in designated groups for better chances of survival. Kindness is a byproduct of this sectional living. This behaviour can be compared to human activity in means of stating in a certain group or "herd". Judson discusses the importance of helping one another by stating later on in her passage, “Bowles shows that groups of supercooperative, altruistic humans could indeed have wiped out groups of less-united folk.” (289) Living in these groups can help lead others become kinder to one another, since they are with familiar people, in familiar…
When looking at things from an ethical perspective, one has to consider how to protect and preserve the basic needs of others as well as their own. There is no difference here when dealing with the well being of animals. Alice Walter and Ted Kerasote are two individuals who deal with ethical issues regarding the well being of animals, and while their stories are vastly different, their main points have overlapping similarities. In Anthony Weston’s A 21st Century Ethical Toolbox, both Walter and Kerasote’s experiences are explicitly detailed through Walter’s essay, “Am I Blue?,” and Kerasote’s excerpt from Bloodties: Nature, Culture, and the Hunt. Throughout both of their experiences, Weston’s three-part concept of ethics is put into full-effect.…
Then he shares with us the merits of the “traveling mindset” which allowed him to be more progressive and open minded. The essay “In the forest of Gombe” was written by Jane Goodall. In her essay she shares with us her own experiences and how different people have different perceptions of the world and how it influences them. She also takes us on an exploration which later resulted in her awakening and alleviation of the pain of her sorrows. All three of the authors are talking about their perspectives, experiences and opinions, and how these three factors have influenced their way of looking at the world. The experience of others is not more powerful in shaping our views than our own. Although the experience of others is one of the factors that could influence us, but it is not more powerful. We must experience life by ourselves to truly understand how the world works and that is the only way that we can shape our views. In other words if we don’t experience the world by ourselves, the experience won’t leave an everlasting impression on us, thus failing to shape our…
A scientist named Harry Harlow wanted to save money for his research by just breeding the monkeys he had instead of buying new ones. When the baby monkeys were born, Harlow thought it would be best if he followed what the hospitals were doing with their infants in that time of the mid fifties which was to give the monkeys food, a warm blanket, toys, and to keep them away from the other monkeys in their own isolated room to prevent the spread of disease. As the monkeys were growing up, Harlow and his team found that something was not right with the monkeys. Although they were physically strong and free of diseases, the monkeys seemed disturbed. They would “[stare] blankly and [rock] in place for long periods, [circle] their cages repetitively, and [mutilate]…
Colour Symbol Image 'Herbie' by Archie Weller Colour, Symbol, Image By Samuel Beech The colour black is very symbolic in the story “Herbie” by Archie Weller, the colour black is associated with dark, sinister and contentious acts as is apparent is this morally challenging piece of text. The text challenges our values as a young boy is bullied until he falls to his death out of a tree he is forced to climb. The fact that an indigenous writer has written this text from the point of view of a racist young white boy, suggests that he is trying to get young white boys to see the damage they can cause . Black in some cultures is seen as the work of the devil and in some as the colour of mourning and a representation of grief. The darkness of the colour black helps bring forward one of the key ideas of racial superiority. “Herbie was the only boong to go to our school. Perhaps this is why we taunted and teased him,” this quote backs the key idea of racial superiority. The ‘whitefellas’ in the town regard Herbie and his family as outcast and they see themselves as racially superior. This comes about because of naturalised assumptions developed since 1788 when the European sailors saw the aboriginals still running around in there loin cloths and with no apparent form of Literature. Since then the naturalised assumption has been strengthened by many different things, the white Australian Policy being one of them. When the Australian government stopped non-whites immigrating. The colour black is symbolic of the white suppression of the indigenous in Australia. The colour could also be symbolic of a cultural genocide against Herbies family and his…
A warm hand. A happy smile. A big hug. Compassion comes in various ways, and in Primal Compassion by Robert Allison and Charles Hirshberg, Binti, a western lowland gorilla doesn’t hesitate to show it. Her heart dwells for children, who aren’t her own. Binti is compassionate.…
for the last 2 years Victoria has been working at monkey world, a centre in south-west england which looks after apes which have been ill-treated. Many have been rescued from laboratories and circuses all over the world. She works long hours, and the pay isn't very good, but she loves it.'Apes are like a big family, each with their own personality'.…