Analysis Of Pathos, Logos, And Ethos In Next Of Kin, My Conversation With Chimpanzees By Roger Fouts

Amongst the many controversial subjects, animal rights are an important topic to discuss and review. Disregarding my position, I often ponder the question, why do we, as human beings, feel as if our lives have more importance than animals? We often find ourselves believing we are better than, or at least far different from, the variety of species on Earth. However many species are unique, and in that sense humans are no different. Nonetheless, it does seem quite obvious that there is something remarkable about us: After all, we are the ones who run the zoo.

The most common assumption for our dominance over the planet is due to the extensive development of the brain since the emergence of early hominids. Separating us from the rest of the animal kingdom due to our ability to create innovative technology, have distinctive behavior, and communicate with one another. However while studying animals such as our common ancestors, chimpanzees, we are noticing defining similarities between our behavior and commutative abilities amongst them. In fact, a prominent case of this occurs in the book Next of Kin, My Conversation with Chimpanzees. In which the author, Roger Fouts, takes the reader through the remarkable 30 year odyssey of his professional and personal relationship with Washoe, a chimpanzee he adopted from the American Space Program. A relationship that is in fact, responsible for his belief chimpanzees share far more similarities with humans than once believed. And through the strong use of pathos, logos, and ethos, Roger Fouts successfully blurs the boundaries between human and chimp nature.

In attempt to appeal to the reader’s emotion, Fouts shares his child-like experiences and life lessons with Washoe. In human nature, intimacy between a parent and child are one of the most sought after and desirable experiences. And as found early in the book, Fouts details one of these magical, yet simple moments:After getting Washoe into her pajamas and tucking her into bed, I would sign a story from of her children’s books. As she grew older and her vocabulary grew, I would make up stories about her and all the friends in her life. She would follow these stories with great fascination, hanging on my every sign until, overcome by exhaustion, she would close her eyes and surrender to sleep.

This heartwarming interaction between the two mirrors the connection one would have with their own child. And to his extent, he does so by demonstrating his ability to love, nurture, teach, and care for Washoe as if she were his own daughter. Which overall, evokes an emotional response amongst the readers as they are capable of feeling just as close to Washoe. In addition, Fouts manifests the unifying truth children force parents to reflect on their own lives. There’s no denying it: While raising a child, one’s priorities and outlooks on life change. Different issues take precedence at different stages throughout life. In the case for Fouts, the most prominent stage occurs during Washoe’s thirteenth birthday when he recalls her surprising reaction to a first encounter with another chimpanzee since her infancy. “Washoe let go of her cultural arrogance, and she seemed to care deeply for her long-lost kin. She mothered the young, defended the weak, and saved the life of a newcomer”. Leaving Fout’s to ponder the thought, what would it be like to wake up one day, as Washoe did, as the non superior being you believed to be? And if faced with such a dilemma, how does one confront it? However, he let’s the readers know we as human beings have faced this encounter long ago. And due to our arrogance, self-interest, and fury of born denial, we are close to committing an act of fratricide. Stating, “. . . if we do not halt it now, then we will wake up one day soon only to discover that we’ve destroyed the living link to our own evolutionary past”.

Nonetheless, this at first seemingly insignificant moment eventually led to a greatly meaningful discovery for Fouts. A discovery that in fact, calls the readers to action by pleading how our own egocentric views are preventing us from amalgamating with our distant cousins, chimpanzees. Taking a different approach from previously, Fouts brilliantly explains Washoe’s remarkable human-like intelligence by providing statistical information related to human and chimp genetics. “. . . 98. 4 percent of human DNA is exactly the same as chimpanzee DNA”. And to exhibit the significance of this fact, he stresses how this can primarily explain the anatomy of the chimpanzee brain and central nervous system being astonishingly similar to our own. Inducing the reader to have little or no surprise, that Washoe was capable of performing intellectual tasks once deemed unique to humans. And perhaps one of the most remarkable tasks, were Washoe’s and Roger’s endeavour to communicate with each other through the use of ASL (American Sign Language). “Washoe was thinking abstractly like a human child, but she was also communicating like a human child”. Despite their successes, the notion still at large was, do us humans succumb to the thought chimps are capable of communicating, or do we change the definition of what communication really is?

Communication can be defined as exchange of ideas, views, information, and facts. And throughout the book, it is clearly recognizable Washuu’s ability to express how she was feeling using American Sign Language (ASL), was the epitome of communication. However, those in opposition to Washoe’s ability to communicate were still taken into deliberation. And through the use of credible sources, Fouts attempts to suggest otherwise. Firstly, he deliberately informs the reader about the paucity of research towards the visual grammar of ASL prior to the mid-1960s. Which brilliantly sets up his reference of William Stokoes, a famous linguists that in fact, recognized humankind’s gestural continuity with chimpanzees due to his extensive studies. “Thanks to his research, American Sign Language was finally recognized as a true language in the late 1960s”. Nonetheless, the inclusion of Stokoe's trademarkable research provides an understanding of the establishing persuasion Fouts is attempting. Which readdressed, is the fundamental acception from the readers that chimpanzees, such as Washoe, share a communicative ability with us as well.

Overall, Fouts’ seemingly endless amount of examples throughout the book reinforce his belief human and chimpanzee nature are nonetheless similar. The presentation of his unconditional love for Washoe, evidence, and credibility, act as the necessary building blocks to make his argument understood. An argument that successfully persuades the readers, such as I, to conform to the same ideology being presented. And lastly, leaving us with the hope that perhaps one day, we’ll be able to embrace our next of kin.