# Jane Goodall **Domain:** Primatology / Chimpanzee Behavior **Doc Type:** Thinker Node **Maturity:** Developing ## Definition **Jane Goodall** is a primatologist whose long-term study of chimpanzees helped bring their individual relationships, tool use, care, and intercommunity violence into the human/animal comparison. ## Moral Comparison In the “Can Animals Be Evil?” segment of her *Why Are We Here?* interview, Goodall describes chimpanzees as capable of love and altruism as well as severe aggression. She reserves “true evil” for deliberately inflicted harm with understanding of its effects. That is Goodall's moral distinction, not a claim that chimpanzees are peaceful, and not an established empirical test of moral responsibility across all species. [[wiki/Human Animality|Human Animality]] keeps the continuity and proposed difference visible together. Her authored “Hazards, Choices and Hope” relates observations from Gombe to ancient human capacities for aggression, but also rejects the inference that war must recur. It pairs the diagnosis with an account of compassion and responsibility rather than an intervention in human heredity. ## Relationships - **Studies and compares:** Chimpanzee behavior in relation to [[wiki/Human Animality|Human Animality]], including care and aggressive conflict. - **Distinct analytical question from:** [[wiki/Reactive vs. Proactive Aggression|Reactive vs. Proactive Aggression]] characterizes behavioral mechanisms; Goodall's interview also asks about deliberation and responsibility. - **Thematic routes:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]], [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]], and [[articles/Walking the Beautiful Path Through the Greatest Transformation in Human History|Walking the Beautiful Path Through the Greatest Transformation in Human History]] place the human comparison beside technological futures; these routes do not imply her endorsement of that program. - **Authored comparison:** [“Hazards, Choices and Hope”](https://gsinstitute.org/jane-goodall-hazards-choices-and-hope/) relates chimpanzee field observations to human aggression while rejecting inevitability and describing compassionate capacities. - **Interview context:** Goodall's [2020 *On Being* conversation with Krista Tippett](https://onbeing.org/programs/jane-goodall-what-it-means-to-be-human/) connects [[wiki/Human Animality|Human Animality]] to her question about intelligence and damage to our home, while also describing language and curiosity. ## Simple Reminders, Quotations, and Thoughts > “I’ve personally decided that only humans are capable of true evil, because we can deliberate and do it knowing the harm we’re inflicting.” > **— Jane Goodall**, *“Can Animals Be Evil?”, Why Are We Here? interview* [[reminders/Human Animality/Only Humans Can Plan Evil Knowing the Harm by Jane Goodall|Only Humans Can Plan Evil Knowing the Harm by Jane Goodall]] > “My chimpanzee studies have persuaded me that the dark and evil side of human nature is indeed deeply rooted in our ancient past.” > **— Jane Goodall**, *“Hazards, Choices and Hope,” Global Security Institute* [[reminders/Human Animality/Human Aggression Has Ancient Roots by Jane Goodall|Human Aggression Has Ancient Roots by Jane Goodall]] > “But we’re not really a very intelligent species, are we, when we destroy our home.” > **— Jane Goodall**, *On Being conversation with Krista Tippett, 2020* [[reminders/Human Animality/Are We Intelligent if We Destroy Our Home by Jane Goodall|Are We Intelligent if We Destroy Our Home by Jane Goodall]] > “We’re not the only beings on the planet with personalities, minds, and emotions. And we are part of, and not separate from, the rest of the animal kingdom.” > **— Jane Goodall**, *On Being, “What It Means to Be Human,” August 6, 2020* [[reminders/Human Animality/Other Minds Share Our Animal Kingdom by Jane Goodall|Other Minds Share Our Animal Kingdom by Jane Goodall]] ## Sources / Provenance - [Jane Goodall, “Can Animals Be Evil?”, *Why Are We Here?* interview and transcript](https://www.whyarewehere.tv/people/jane-goodall/) — complete quotation and surrounding discussion of chimpanzee altruism and aggression. - [Jane Goodall, “Hazards, Choices and Hope” (2019)](https://gsinstitute.org/jane-goodall-hazards-choices-and-hope/) — authored essay on human aggression, choice, and hope. - [Jane Goodall, “What It Means to Be Human,” *On Being* conversation (2020)](https://onbeing.org/programs/jane-goodall-what-it-means-to-be-human/) — transcript of her comparison of human intellect, animal continuity, and ecological destruction.