Naturalistic Paganism
What an amazing and loving life! Dr. Jane Goodall’s life is a beacon of hope and wonder for this Naturalistic Pagan and I’m sure for many more. She epitomized so many incredible traits: Science communication, learning, discovery, worldwide positive impact, perseverance, bravery, and so many more. I’m very glad I got one last chance to see her speak just a few weeks ago. I can’t give a more detailed view of her life than the many online tributes pouring in now (some snippets are below), but I can say “Thank you, Dr. Goodall”, for all that you’ve done.
Wow!! 
Where to begin? How could one live a better life? Dr. Goodall dedicated her life to making this world a better place, and put that conviction into incredibly energetic action – even to the point of touring at the age of 91, and dying while literally on tour. I invite everyone to read the many tributes to Dr. Goodall, and to read her own words – she was a prolific author as well. I’ll list many resources below. As Naturalistic Pagans, we may want to include her in our Samhain rituals, coming up fast now, and those resources may be useful. There’s of course too much good stuff about Dr. Goodall to fit into a blog post, so here are just a few topics that come to my mine.
She Showed that we are Animals, and that Other Animals have Minds too
![You cannot share your life with a dog and not know perfectly well that animals have personalities, minds and feelings." - Dr. Jane Goodall [980 x 1240] : r/QuotesPorn](https://i.imgur.com/d1gGVM1.jpg)
This was a main point that she emphasized again and again – in her speaking tours, in her books, and so on. It’s closely tied to her biggest discovery – one made near the start of her career, that other animals use tools in addition to humans. For long before her discovery, it had been assumed at only humans (of course referred to as “man” back then) used tools. It was of course also assumed that only “man” was conscious – with a thinking mind and awareness – and that the “animals” (not normally considered to include “man”) were mindless robots. It was over 60 years ago – when Dr. Goodall was only 25 years old (!), that she observed chimpanzees making tools which they kept for later use. This was considered impossible for mindless animals, but she was able to document this repeatedly and convince the scientific world (nearly all male at the time) of this reality. It was only the start of her lifelong pursuit of showing that we are so much like other animals, and that so many aspects of human society and behavior are mirrored in other animals – especially chimpanzees. As time went on, she also had the help of the other two “trimates” in this and other aspects of science awareness. The “Trimates” are the 3 women who got their start with Dr. Louis Leakey, and went to study our three closest living non-human relatives: Chimpazees (Dr. Goodall), Gorillas (Dr. Fossey) and Orangutans (Dr. Galdikas).
That realization is, of course, a main point of Naturalism also (and the opposite of what many supernaturally based religions teach). It show the absurdity of the supernatural claim of a “soul”, because if we have a “soul” to give us our consciousness, and animals don’t (Christians point out that only humans are “made in God’s image”, -and hence have souls Gen 1:26), then (other) animals aren’t conscious. But Dr. Goodall points out that they are conscious – and that anyone can see this: she says said “You cannot share your life with a dog, or a cat, and not know perfectly well that animals have personalities and minds and feelings”. Her statement of that world shifting realization of animals having minds, was captured beautifully in the song “The Unbroken Thread” by MelodySheep, at ~2:30, here.
Dr. Goodall literally helped me make my Cosmala!
What? Really? Yes! Back in 2012, she spoke at CMU (she sold out that huge McGuirk Arena). I stayed after and waited in line to show her my Cosmala, and ask her to autograph my bead for our last common ancestor (LCA) with our chimpanzee relatives. She loved the Cosmala idea, and gladly signed the bead! Here’s a picture of it (the photo to the right, see the inset image at top left). It’s designed to look like a chimp or human front tooth. The larger picture here is from when I saw her speak just a few weeks ago here in Detroit. She stood at the podium and spoke without notes for her whole presentation, at 91!
Saving our Planet
Dr. Goodall’s life work was to help our planet, and point out the damage humans are causing. As her life went on, she realized the danger to wildlife and our planet from human activities, and sprang into constant action, founding the Dr. Jane Goodall Institute (you can join it today and help!), and working tirelessly all the way to her death. Here’s part of the tribute to her from her institute:
Jane was passionate about empowering young people to become involved in conservation and humanitarian projects and she led many educational initiatives focused on both wild and captive chimpanzees. She was always guided by her fascination with the mysteries of evolution, and her staunch belief in the fundamental need to respect all forms of life on Earth.
Jane was passionate about wildlife from early childhood, and she read avidly about the natural world. Her dream was to travel to Africa, learn more about animals, and write books about them. Having worked as a waitress to save enough money for a sea passage to Kenya, Jane was advised to try to meet respected paleontologist Dr. Louis Leakey. ..
On 14th July 1960, Jane arrived in Gombe for the first time. It was here that she developed her unique understanding of chimpanzee behaviour and made the ground-breaking discovery that chimpanzees use tools. An observation that has been credited with “redefining what it means to be human.”
During her life Jane authored more than 27 books for adults and children, and featured in numerous documentaries and films, as well as two major IMAX productions. In 2019, National Geographic opened Becoming Jane, a travelling exhibit focused on her life’s work, which is still touring across the United States. Her latest publication, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times, has been translated into more than 20 languages.
Her awards and accolades span the scale of human achievement. In 2002, she was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Two years later, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) at Buckingham Palace. Jane was also awarded the United States Presidential Medial of Freedom, French Légion d’honneur, the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, Japan’s prestigious Kyoto Prize, the Ghandi-King Award for Nonviolence, The Medal of Tanzania, and the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. In addition, she has been recognised by local governments, educational establishments, and charities around the world.
Shattering the Glass Ceiling
At a time when women were allowed to take only a very narrow range of roles in society (such as homemaker, nurse, secretary, or elementary school teacher), she used the route of secretary to get into a scientific career, and from there was able to shatter the glass ceiling so many women of the time faced in science. She became the inspiration for countless women going into science, conservation, research, and many other traditionally male fields, and also vocally advocated for the education of women and girls, ignoring the many men who said that women were inherently not intelligent compared to men. Dr. Goodall took her help for women to the next level through her institute, which put education and business loans in place for many women who would not have those opportunities otherwise.
Lasting Impact
In addition to how much she has already changed the world, she established her Institute, wrote books, is featured in movies (over 40!), and so much more that will continue even though she has died. Here are her books – what a list (from Wikipedia)! And the most important of these are the children’s books. Children are the future, and teaching them the wonders of our world is the only way that there will be a healthy Earth for them and the generations that follow.
Books
- 1969: My Friends the Wild Chimpanzees. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society.
- 1971: Innocent Killers (with H. van Lawick). Boston: Houghton Mifflin; London: Collins.
- 1971: In the Shadow of Man. Boston: Houghton Mifflin; London: Collins. Published in 48 languages.
- 1986: The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior. Boston: Belknap Press of the Harvard University Press. Published also in Japanese and Russian. R.R. Hawkins Award for the Outstanding Technical, Scientific or Medical book of 1986, to Bellknap Press of Harvard University Press, Boston. The Wildlife Society (USA) Award for “Outstanding Publication in Wildlife Ecology and Management”
- 1990: Through a Window: 30 Years Observing the Gombe Chimpanzees. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson; Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Translated into more than 15 languages. 1991 Penguin edition, UK. American Library Association “Best” list among Nine Notable Books (Nonfiction) for 1991.
- 1991: Visions of Caliban (co-authored with Dale Peterson, PhD). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. New York Times “Notable Book” for 1993. Library Journal “Best Sci-Tech Book” for 1993.
- 1999: Brutal Kinship (with Michael Nichols). New York: Aperture Foundation‘
- 1999: Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey (with Phillip Berman). New York: Warner Books, Inc. Translated into Japanese and Portuguese.
- 2000: 40 Years at Gombe. New York: Stewart, Tabori, and Chang.
- 2000: Africa In My Blood (edited by Dale Peterson). New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
- 2001: Beyond Innocence: An Autobiography in Letters, the Later Years (edited by Dale Peterson). New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-618-12520-5 .
- 2002: The Ten Trusts: What We Must Do to Care for the Animals We Love (with Marc Bekoff). San Francisco: Harper San Francisco.
- 2005: Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating. New York: Warner Books, Inc. ISBN 0-446-53362-9.
- 2009: Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species Are Being Rescued from the Brink Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 0-446-58177-1.
- 2013: Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder from the World of Plants (with Gail Hudson) Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 1-4555-1322-9.
- 2021: The Book of Hope, with Douglas Abrams and Gail Hudson, Viking[159]
Children’s books
- 1972: Grub: The Bush Baby (with H. van Lawick). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
- 1988: My Life with the Chimpanzees. New York: Byron Preiss Visual Publications, Inc. Translated into French, Japanese and Chinese. Parenting’s Reading-Magic Award for Outstanding Book for Children, 1989.
- 1989: The Chimpanzee Family Book Saxonville: Picture Book Studio; Munich: Neugebauer Press; London: Picture Book Studio. Translated into more than 15 languages, including Japanese and Swahili. The UNICEF Award for the best children’s book of 1989. Austrian state prize for best children’s book of 1990.
- 1989: Jane Goodall’s Animal World: Chimps. New York: Macmillan.
- 1989: Animal Family Series: Chimpanzee Family; Lion Family; Elephant Family; Zebra Family; Giraffe Family; Baboon Family; Hyena Family; Wildebeest Family. Toronto: Madison Marketing Ltd.
- 1994: With Love, New York; London: North-South Books. Translated into German, French, Italian, and Japanese.
- 1999: Dr. White (illustrated by Julie Litty). New York: North-South Books.
- 2000: The Eagle & the Wren (illustrated by Alexander Reichstein). New York: North-South Books.
- 2001: Chimpanzees I Love: Saving Their World and Ours. New York: Scholastic Press.
- 2002: (Foreword) “Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” Said the Sloth by Eric Carle. Philomel Books.
- 2004: Rickie and Henri: A True Story (with Alan Marks). Penguin Young Readers Group.
Dr. Jane Goodall’s legacy continues to save our world. She helped millions of people both in her lifetime and as time goes on. She showed that living a full life can be both fun and loving. As when Carl Sagan died, I’m reminded again that times like this speak to us all, urging us to pick up the torch, and carry it into the future.
Starstuff, Contemplating: We are assemblages of ancient atoms forged in stars – atoms organized by history to the point of consciousness, now able to contemplate this sacred Universe of which we are a tiny, but wondrous, part.
Dr. Jon Cleland Host is a scientist who earned his PhD in materials science at Northwestern University & has conducted research at Hemlock Semiconductor and Dow Corning since 1997. He holds eight patents and has authored over three dozen internal scientific papers and eleven papers for peer-reviewed scientific journals, including the journal Nature. He has taught classes on biology, math, chemistry, physics and general science at Delta College and Saginaw Valley State University. Jon grew up near Pontiac, and has been building a reality-based spirituality for over 30 years, first as a Catholic and now as a Unitarian Universalist, including collaborating with Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow to spread the awe and wonder of the Great Story of our Universe (see www.thegreatstory.org, and the blog at evolutionarytimes.org). Jon and his wife have four sons, whom they embrace within a Universe-centered, Pagan, family spirituality. He currently moderates the yahoo group Naturalistic Paganism.
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