Upon encountering the scientific patriarchy after making revolutionary discoveries, Goodall received harsh criticism for her unorthodox approaches.
CRITICS VS GOODALL
A LACK OF FORMAL EDUCATION
Other scientists and students were both skeptical and critical of Goodall's discoveries and findings.
Moreover, prior to delving into the unknown realms of Africa, Goodall did not have a formal education.
"She actually only went to high school in England... She got invited to do this famous study and really didn't have the training to do it when she started... [S]he really did bypass college and did life experience instead." |
GOODALL REFLECTS{"Jane Goodall Interview: The Great Conservationist," 2009}
“...[O]ther students resented me and I was a bit in awe with the professors. I wasn’t a scientist... it was shocking and shattering to be told that my whole study had been done wrong after one and a half years on the field… They said,”You can’t talk about chimpanzees having a personality. You can’t talk about them being able to think and capable of thinking and you absolutely can’t talk about them having emotions like that…because those are unique to us." |
UNORTHODOX APPROACHES
*Click through the slideshows below to learn more about Goodall's unorthodox methods*
Goodall gave her chimpanzees names instead of numbers.
{In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall, 1971}
Instead of objectively observing the chimpanzees, she got in close contact with them forming trusting relationships with them.
Goodall was accused of committing "the worst of ethological sins- anthropomorphism," the act of attributing human characteristics to other animals or objects.
Instead of objectively observing the chimpanzees, she got in close contact with them forming trusting relationships with them.
Goodall was accused of committing "the worst of ethological sins- anthropomorphism," the act of attributing human characteristics to other animals or objects.
1960s: GOODALL'S DEBUT AS A PROFESSIONAL SCIENTIST
In 1962, Goodall finally obtained her PhD in ethology from Cambridge University, being one of the few to have done so without a Bachelor's Degree. This strengthened her authority and presence as a scientist. Due to her association with Leakey and her new PhD, Goodall was invited to multiple scientific conferences where she presented her findings to other primatologists.
ONE OF THE MAJOR CRITICS
Solly Zuckerman
"...[T]here are those who are here and prefer anecdote- and what I must confess I regard as sometimes unbounded speculation... in scientific work it is far safer to base one's major conclusions and generalizations on a concordant and large body of data than on a few contradictory and isolated observations, the explanation of which sometimes leaves a little to be desired... I'm sure my... anxiety lest a subject which has been usually marked by unscientific treatment should continue in the unscientific shadows because of glamour." |
"amateur" |