Jane Goodall's Ethical Experiment With Chimpanzees

Jane Goodall’s Ethical Experiment with the Chimpanzees In the experiment about the social interaction of Chimpanzees conducted by primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall, many ethical guidelines were followed. This experiment entailed Jane Goodall living amongst chimpanzees for months at a time in the Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania, east Africa. She was able to observe their behavior in their natural habitat by not intimidating them. Her groundbreaking research in the 1960s showed that chimpanzees make and use tools, hunt small monkeys for meat, and form raiding parties to kill members of neighboring chimpanzee troupes. This challenged conventional notions about animal intelligence, which was only possible because of her thorough

Firstly, Jane Goodall conducted her studies from afar, focusing her attention on a passionate campaign for chimpanzee conservation (Godeanu, 1996). This clearly respected the ethical guideline of minimizing harm because by observing the chimps from far away she did not disturb them or invade their personal space. To explain, she spent months slowly approaching the chimps, allowing them to become acclimated to her presence without feeling frightened. This is ethical because Jane Goodall’s methods were noninvasive since she did not capture or restrain the chimpanzees for her experiment. She also prioritized the physical and mental health of the subjects of the experiment by recognising the importance of conserving their natural environment without subjecting the chimpanzees to unnecessary risks of harm. Additionally, “Their behavior, with their gestures, kissing, embracing, holding hands, patting on the back” (Yang, 2020). The approach corresponds with the ethical principle of minimizing harm since it collects data that is only possible due to the subject's precipitation and is necessary for scientifically and societally important