Jane Goodall: Where Science Has Gone Wrong

In a new video from NOVA’s web series “The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers,” the celebrated primatologist recalls how, early in her career (see above), other researchers criticized her for referring to her animal subjects as “he” or “she,” as well as for giving names to the chimpanzees she studied.

“I was told you have to give them numbers because you have to be objective as a scientist,” Goodall says in the video, “and you mustn’t empathize with your subject. And I feel this is where science has gone wrong. To have this coldness, this lack of empathy, has enabled some scientists to do unethical behavior.”