Jane Goodall's Speech: What Separates Us From Chimpanzees

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In February of 2002 primatologist Jane Goodall delivered a speech titled “What Separates us From Chimpanzees.” Her purpose is to address the topic as a question, providing specific evidence, and call us to action. Goodall’s primary audience are those who were viewing the TED Talk at the time it occurred. This included people who are both very intelligent in the field of zoology, and those who are naive. Goodall taps the interests of those well educated in a field like hers, but at the same time is able to simplify complex matters so that even children can thoroughly understand her message. Goodall utilizes ethos, pathos, and logos in her discussion to help us better understand our analogy with chimpanzees.
Some of the audience might
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She herself mentions that she feels great shame when reflecting on the course of her life. She stated, “I was their age. I feel this deep shame, and that’s why in 1991 in Tanzania, I started a program that’s called Roots and Shoots,” (5). By using herself as a specific example, she reinforces her credibility. Additionally, by saying that she herself feels shamed makes the rest of the audience feel shameful. This is because many people look up to Goodall as an example of an important and an influential environmental scientist. Therefore, by stating she is shamed one cannot help but also feel shamed. This is specific evidence of an effective strategy of the use of pathos to invoke sympathy and commiseration amongst the …show more content…
She wants to narrow the margin of humanity feeling as though they are entirely separate from the animal kingdom. Literally, humans are a species of animal. Furthermore, chimpanzees happen to be our closest genetic relatives. Goodall takes a logical approach of describing how we are ethologically, behaviorally, similar. She does so by recounting an experience she had while in the Gombe, a state of Nigeria. Goodall and a colleague, David Greybeard, observed a chimpanzee male performing an unprecedented behavior. “I saw that he was picking little pieces of grass and using them to fish termites from their underground nest. And not only that -- he would sometimes pick a leafy twig and strip the leaves -- modifying an object to make it suitable for a specific purpose -- the beginning of tool-making” (2). Some people who know Goodall may recall that it was these observations and discoveries that allowed her rise to become a revered

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