Next Of Kin Essays - Roger Fouts, Washoe, Nim Chimpsky, Next Of Kin

Next Of Kin The next of kin a documentation of mind matter and love. This book was very inspirational it gives you a whole new outlook on the experience and the feelings of animals. Trying to relate with how much Roger Fouts has accomplished in his life is unbearable he has had so many experiences that have been recorded in this book. It was the type of book that was hard to put down from the beginning. In the next few pages I will discuss parts of the book that really moved me and left an impression on me. There are so many great parts it was hard to pick just a few to look into. I read this book in the first few weeks of school and re-read in the last two weeks, also I have bought a copy for my sister who is very interested in primate psychology and it has so much information and personal experience in it that it is in a way a textbook for primate psychology. Washoe was an extraordinary animal saved out of NASA by very patient and brilliant people, it was very exciting to see the advancements that she had made throughout the book. Not only her but also the few people that had have been working with her. The Gardner's the first care takers of Washoe was saved by the Gardner's had put a lot of trust into Roger and he proved to be able to accept and work with Washoe from the beginning on. Fouts, started off as a little kid knowing his only monkey to be curious George, never realizing that George was not a monkey but a chimp. Growing up on a farm Fouts was always around many animals tending and working with them. Realizing the importance of the entire animal Fouts than realized the loyalty when his dog brownie had died jumping in front of the tractor to save his fallen brother. The care for animal was in all of the family even the mother who had many old time stories to tell about animal intelligences. A life and environment changing situation had happened when Fouts was about twelve years old and the only ones still in the house out of nine children was him and another brother. Fouts parents packed up the kids and stuff and move to Los Angeles, California. Around this time in his life he was dreaming of becoming a psychologist. Fouts family had a way of not finishing school but become loyal workers, and Fouts was devoted to finishing college, the only one in his family with the intention of getting more schooling was his mother who at age 52 decided to go back to high school and finish, she to was very interest in the healing of the mind which, also was a inspiration for Fouts to pursue this career. When Fouts started his college career at Compton, his intention was to study human psychology but it was required to take animal psychology as well. The very first animal behavior he was thought that they were mindless creatures who rigid behavior, unlike that of Humans, is controlled by instinct. After much schooling Fouts applied to many clinical schools. After time and time again Fouts was denied and was pushed towards a second-tier school in experimental psychology-or rat psych, as it is affectionately known studies of animal in cages. The University of Nevada accepted Fouts in to their experimental psychology program. Time goes on and Fouts get the cal to change the rest of his life, the call was from a Dr. Paul Secord, telling Fouts "Teaching a chimpanzee to talk," with disbelief roger replied back "what", and the Dr. repeated himself. Fouts went on to take it in with full stride just trying to get his foot in the door, with his main intention of working with kids this entire time. Ready for the job Fouts had one more task into getting the job, and that task was getting through to a very strict man called Allen Gardner. Fouts had taken many courses in animal psychology and statistics. To Garner this was just garbage he didn't believe that everything was to be solved in a laboratory that animal had to watched and worked with? The interview was going terrible, Fouts pulled out all the tricks telling him how he was excited to take courses with two well-known philosophers of science. Garner shot back with "Science doesn't need philosophy." Fouts was very disappointed feeling that it was