July 13 - Interview with Jane Goodall

[yum]

ARTS AND IDEAS

Jane Goodall talks morality and hope

At 87, the primatologist, educator and activist Jane Goodall is staying hopeful and sharing reflections about ethics, political posturing and plodding on to make the world a better place.

- primatologist : 영장류 동물학자.

- plod along/on : (특히 힘들거나 지루한 일을) 느릿느릿 해 나가다 (=slog)

Have you ever wondered if tapping into fear and anger might be useful in telling stories about the planet and conservation?

No. It’s one of my big complaints when I talk to the media: Yes, we absolutely need to know all the doom and gloom because we are approaching a crossroads, and if we don’t take action it could be too late. But traveling the world I’d see so many projects of restoration, animal and plant species being rescued from the brink of extinction, people tackling what seemed impossible and not giving up. Those are the stories that should have equal time, because they’re what gives people hope.

Are there ideas you have about conservation that you feel are too radical to express publicly?

Absolutely. I would never approach people about the crisis of billions of animals in the factory farms and say you’ve got to be vegan. People have to change gradually.

- vegan : 엄격한 채식주의자(고기는 물론 우유, 달걀도 먹지 않음. 어떤 이들은 실크나 가죽같이 동물에게서 원료를 얻는 제품도 사용하지 않음)

Are chimps capable of evil?

This is a very interesting philosophical conversation, and I’ve thought about it a lot. My definition is that only humans can be evil. Chimpanzees can be brutal, violent, aggressive. But my definition of evil, it’s when you can plan attacks on those who aren’t there and then carry them out in cold blood. Chimps don’t plan like that.