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When I began in 1960, individuality wasn't an accepted thing to look for; it was about species-specific behaviour. But animal behaviour is not hard science. There's room for intuition.
Jane Goodall
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Jane Goodall emphasizes the importance of individuality in animal behavior, highlighting that it involves a blend of science and intuition.

In this quote, Jane Goodall reflects on her early days of studying animal behavior, noting that the scientific community of the time often prioritized species-specific behaviors over individuality. She argues that understanding animals involves more than just hard science; it also requires an appreciation for intuition and the unique characteristics of each individual animal. This perspective encourages a more holistic view of animal behavior that acknowledges the complexity of their lived experiences.

Themes

IndividualityAnimal BehaviorIntuitionScienceNature

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a speech about animal rights and the importance of recognizing individual animals.

More from Jane Goodall

The voice of the natural world would be, "Could you please give us space and leave us alone to get along with our own lives and our own ways, because we actually know much better how to do it then when you start interfering."
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We can't leave people in abject poverty, so we need to raise the standard of living for 80% of the world's people, while bringing it down considerably for the 20% who are destroying our natural resources.
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I was born in London in England in 1934. I went through, as a child, the horrors of World War II, through a time when food was rationed and we learned to be very careful, and we never had more to eat than what we needed to eat. There was no waste. Everything was used.
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Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutan shave been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest,living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I would say that they have been in a way more successful than us as far as being in harmony with the environment.
Jane GoodallRead
There are an awful lot of scientists today who believe that before very long we shall have unraveled all the secrets of the universe. There will be no puzzles anymore. To me, it'd be really, really tragic because I think one of the most exciting things is this feeling of mystery, feeling of awe, the feeling of looking at a little live thing and being amazed by it and how it has emerged through these hundreds of years of evolution and there it is and it is perfect and why.
Jane GoodallRead
In what terms should we think of these beings, nonhuman yet possessing so very many human-like characteristics? How should we treat them? Surely we should treat them with the same consideration and kindness as we show to other humans; and as we recognize human rights, so too should we recognize the rights of the great apes? Yes.
Jane GoodallRead

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