Expert primate psychiatrist commends Griffith’s work
Tim Macartney-Snape and Jeremy Griffith’s defamation proceedings against the ABC entered its fourth day in the NSW Supreme Court.
The first witness called today was former President of the Canadian Psychiatric Association and expert in non-human primate psychiatry, Professor Emeritus Harry Prosen from the University of Wisconsin.
Professor Prosen has worked in the field of psychiatry for over 40 years, and most recently received global acclaim for the psychological rehabilitation of a bonobo chimpanzee, known among primatologists as ‘Brian’.
The professor told the Court that he first came across Mr Griffith’s work in 2004 when pre-eminent primatologist Dr Gay Reinartz asked him to assess a documentary proposal on Mr Griffith’s biological synthesis of the human condition.
In his tabled report Professor Prosen concluded, “In my opinion, Mr Griffith’s work, including Beyond, is of the highest scientific merit.”
Professor Prosen has cited Mr Griffith’s work in a book to be published this month titled Bonobos: Encounters in Empathy.
“There are times in the history of science where there is the need for someone to stand back and look at the whole—that can be valuable to scientific research,” he told the Court during cross-examination by senior counsel for the defendants.
The plaintiffs then called Michael Collins Persse, a long-standing senior master at Geelong Grammar School and current curator of the school’s archives.
“Tim has always been valued by members of the school community, particularly those who knew him well, as a person of great integrity and humanity,” he told the Court.
When asked by barrister for the plaintiffs, Kieran Smark, of Mr Macartney-Snape’s reputation for honesty, Mr Collins Persse said it was unsullied since his school days, and that his speech day address that he presented at Geelong Grammar in 1993 was “noble work, challenging … it was greatly admired.”
Evidence in chief from Mr Macartney-Snape was introduced late this afternoon, and will continue tomorrow in the Supreme Court at Queens Square.
For biographical information on Professor Harry Prosen, view www.humancondition.com/prosen.
