What's the
DIFFERENCE?
HOW DOES COMPASSION INFLUENCE SCIENCE? WHY IS COMPASSION A VALUE OF SCIENCE?
In both Project Nim and the TedX Talk with Melody Jackson concerning FIDO, it is shown that compassion is needed for science to be successful. It changes the perspective in which a scientist views his or her research. Without compassion, their project will eventually lose direction and the scientist will get bored with it. With compassion, however, there is no boredom. There is endless fascination with the research and "good science" is carried out. The end goal is kept in mind. This is similar to life - without compassion, we often lose sight of the things that are important.
In science, the motives of animal testing are usually to find a way to help humans. Even though compassion is when those feelings and thoughts include the desire to help, this does not mean that all animal testing shows compassion.
In the FIDO project, Dr. Melody Jackson sought to better the lives of other people using service dogs and wearable technology. In order for the dogs to be successfully used in this research experiment, the researchers utilized positive reinforcement. It was shown that this type of reinforcement used during the training process was extremely successful as the longest it took any dog to learn the wearable technology was 28 minutes.
Naturally, dogs are pleasers, doing whatever it takes to make their leaders happy which shows the compassion toward their leaders. When we feel compassion, our bodies release oxytocin, commonly known as the "bonding hormone." This hormone is linked to the empathy, caregiving, and feelings of pleasure, which is felt on both sides of the interaction between humans and dogs. In order for this feeling to occur, it has to be shown on both sides. So although FIDO could be considered animal testing, there is compassion shown by both the dog and the person involved in the experiment.
The animal testing in FIDO could not be considered inhumane as the dogs were never put into a position where they were forced into cages or given shots. Rather, the project aims toward helping dogs help people in need. Ultimately, this project strengthened the compassion for others and hopefully will further improve the living conditions for people with physical and mental disabilities.
The compassion that was shown towards Nim and towards the dogs is fundamentally different because of the differences in motives of the so-called animal testing. Nim was shown compassion when he lived in the mansion with his human caretakers, as he was treated like a newborn baby. He was raised as though he was their own child, and loved as if he was so. But this wasn't because Nim was loved, it was because he was part of a science experiment that encouraged his caretakers to treat him as though he was their own. The compassion was forced. As the project progressed, it seemed as though Nim reciprocated their compassion. However, his animalistic nature eventually started to shine through, which was evident in his actions. He wasn't learning to sign, he was mimicking his caretakers' signs only to get what he wanted. If a hug got him candy, he would give his caretaker a hug. If it got him a puff of a joint, he would give his caretakers a hug.
From this point on, the treatment shown towards Nim and vice versa resembled the "normal" animal testing treatment. This project forced them to address some powerful, challenging questions regarding issues of animal testing. Once Nim started to show his animalistic aggression, the researchers were forced to make a decision. To continue with the project, or to send him to another animal testing facility that they knew was more inhumane. Ultimately, they knew their lives were in danger if they kept Nim around and he was sent away. He wasn't cared for, and he lashed out at those that put him into cages. His caretakers didn't visit him, proving that they didn't truly care about having the chimpanzee as part of the family, but only wanted to help further their own scientific research. What was originally thought to be compassion between Nim and his caretakers was now nonexistent.
The compassion shown towards Nim and the dogs consistently opposed one another. Project Nim was driven by the desire to make chimps more like humans in effort to break a language barrier, whereas FIDO was driven by the desire to help dogs help humans in need. This difference ultimately changed the end-result of the scientific experiments, which was the differentiator between good science and bad science.
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