As many of you know, last week Lafayette was fortunate enough to host Jane Goodall.  In my opinion, her speech was wonderful and inspiring, and Dr. Goodall is truly a remarkable woman filled with intellectual curiosity and passion.  I was curious, though, about the accusations of plagiarism that were recently held against her.  Passages of  Dr.Goodall’s new book Seeds of Hope supposedly borrowed sentences from other sources.  In response to these accusations Dr. Goodall said, “This was a long and well researched book, and I am distressed to discover that some of the excellent and valuable sources were not properly cited, and I want to express my sincere apologies.”

We know that plagiarism is a moral, not a legal, issue.  Should Dr. Goodall be held accountable?  Does it matter if it is not illegal?