Episode 114 - Reading - Jane Goodall's Inspiring Thoughts on Compassion and Love

This is episode one of our 4 part International Women's Day celebrations. In this episode I will be reading an excerpt from Jane Goodall's book 'Reason for Hope'.  We are listening to Jane's thoughts on compassion and love.  Jane is a world-recognised expert on Chimpanzee behaviour. She began as a young woman sent out to Africa to study wild chimpanzees. At 88 she is still very active working with children to raise awareness of the importance of wildlife and the natural world.  If you're interested in reading the book yourself you can find it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reason-Hope-Spiritual-Jane-Goodall/dp/0446676136 If you'd like to know more about Jane Goodall's work you can head to the Jane Goodall Institute: https://janegoodall.org/ Louis Leakey's 'Leakey's Angels'. were: Jane Goodall (88)- Sent to Gombe National Park in Tanzania to study chimpanzees. Dian Fossey - Sent to the Virunga National Park in Rwanda to study Mountain Gorillas. Dian was murdered at 53 for her work protecting the Gorillas. Biruté Galdikas (76)- Sent to Borneo to study Orangutans Leakey was an archeologist he asked these three women to go and study ape behaviour. All three women have left a lasting legacy of excellent work and organisations that continue to carry out their efforts. Vocabulary Darwinian - This is a phrase used within the scientific community and elsewhere to refer to something evolutionary. It uses the surname of Charles Darwin one of the first scientists to find proof and write about evolution. I was hooked. - if we're 'hooked' then that means we want to keep doing something for ever. eradicating - to erase or make something disappear completely inhibitions were sometimes swept aside - 'inhibition' means something that makes you feel uncomfortable, added with the phrasal verb 'sweep aside' this phrase means to stop worrying about the things that made you uncomfortable his small charge - 'charge' used in this way means someone you are responsible for buffeted - to be pushed or moved around fend for himself - idiom meaning to be independent or to survive on your own moat - a river or body of water that surrounds a building, usually a castle. Traditionally used for added security. evolutionary biologists - a term used to describe the work done by scientists who carry on Charles Darwin's work proving and studying evolution altruism - the act of caring for others before ourselves or without reason kin - an old word meaning family thus - an old meaning 'and so', rarely used in everyday language but still relatively common in scientific language reciprocal altruism - 'reciprocal' means to do something with the idea that it will be returned, added to 'altruism' it gives us the idea that we do something nice because we expect someone will do something nice for us later sociobiological - a scientific term meaning studying the social and biological aspects of something. reductionist - a word describing a thought process or frame of belief that over-simplifies things, makes a complicated situation simple or overlooks the complexity in favour of a more simplistic, and therefore incomplete view genetic endowment - 'endowment' is something that is possessed or inherited from someone. So used together here it means genetics that we get from our parents. honorary - something that is done or given because someone is important or has deserved something, rather than because they have followed the expected or required route. For example many universities give honorary degrees to famous people to recognise their work or effort. plight - a dangerous or difficult situation evokes - creates or imagines social standing - social position or reputation denigrate - to criticize unfairly and often rudely truly noble - in this case 'noble' doesn't mean royal but rather 'elevated' or 'better' in a more philosophical sense, as a wonderful person. history resounds - 'resound' sort of means 'echo' so in this case it means 'history is filled with'