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Based on Jacob Bronowski's companion book of the same name, the Ascent of Man series traces human evolution from its meager beginnings. Ascent of Man: Lower Than Angels is the premiere episode and explores the emergence of the species and man's subsequent relationship to the environment. Using ancient skeletons as examples, Bronowski shows the gradual changes in physicality that accompany evolutionary growth. He also introduces ideas about the cultural adaptations that took place over thousands of years. In a grand gesture, Bronowski even speculates as to the actual location of the Garden of Eden. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

Author Jacob Bronowski explains the evolution of man from nomad to farmer in the second episode of this 13-part series Ascent of Man. When humans became sedentary, culture underwent a profound change. Agriculture and the introduction of tools became important as did the domestication of animals. Society and the roles of men and women were affected by now-necessary chores of survival. With the construction of towns came mounting tensions between tribes. War is introduced and all the profound effects it carries. Bronowski documents these changes through pictures and graphics. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

Jacob Bronowski profiles man's discovery of action in the one-hour Ascent of Man: Grain in the Stone. Part of a 13-episode series tracing human evolution, this program explores the results of a more complicated society. First seen in ancient civilization of Machu Picchu, science was important to emerging cities. This reliance on theoretical knowledge allowed the building of Greek temples and French cathedrals. It carried human action all the way to present day sprawl as seen in places like Los Angeles. Here, man discovers the strength of his own hands. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

Author Jacob Bronowski traces the history of chemistry in part four of his 13-episode series Ascent of Man. As long as there has been recorded history, man has shown a natural respect and curiosity about fire. From its evidential first use in China half a million years ago to its key role in the development of scientific theories, fire is part of evolution. In this program, Bronowski explores both the fantastic and practical historic application of the elements. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

Author Jacob Bronowski explores the importance of mathematics to man's evolution in part five of the 13-episode series Ascent of Man. Claiming that the Pythagorean theorem was the first time humans translated nature into numbers, Bronowski introduces the Renaissance Age. Man's increased interest in a changing society rather than a perfect world marked an abandonment of the Greek ideal. Mathematics was increasingly influential over music, astronomy and painting. While Romans introduced the zero and perspective came into use, man began for the first time to measure the universe around him. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

Humanity's eyes turn upward in the sixth part of the 13-episode series Ascent of Man. Based on the work of Jacob Bronowski, the program traces man's scientific evolution. When Galileo suggested astounding new astronomical theories in 1632, he was threatened by the Inquisition. Although he eventually recanted, his beliefs became the cornerstone of the modern scientific method. Bronowski profiles those that came before Galileo including the flawed Nicolaus Copernicus, the revolutionary martyr Giordano Bruno, and the missing civilization of Easter Island. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

Author Jacob Bronowski explores the increasing influence of science on society in the seventh part of his 13-episode series Ascent of Man. Astronomy has come a long way since Copernicus declared the sun was the center of the universe. First Galileo, then Johannes Kepler defended it to their detriment. But it wasn't until Isaac Newton devised his theory of gravity that the idea gained wide acceptance. For three hundred years, astronomers wrestled with clarifying the laws of space and matter. By connecting light to gravitation, Albert Einstein wrote the theory of relativity and became a pinnacle of modern enlightenment. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

A growing curiosity about science leads to the Industrial Revolution in part eight of a 13-episode series Ascent of Man. Author Jacob Bronowski details man's ever-evolving ideas about the elements and their effects on society at large. In the 18th century, scientific theories penetrated all levels of humanity from opera to economics. Experiments brought about sweeping changes in the modes of progress. In a short while, man's world became at once smaller and richer. Bronowski profiles the inventors and ideas that accomplished this shift in power. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

Author Jacob Bronowski explores man's curiosity about his own beginnings in the ninth episode of a 13-part series Ascent of Man. The 19th century brought with it an increased awareness of science in the everyday. Naturalists began to devise theories concerning the evolution of humanity in a direct rejection of the Creationists. Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace are both credited with the idea of natural selection. Survival of the fittest and the diversification of a single species came out of years of field research and study on both men's parts. Here, Bronowski profiles the work that established science as the new religion. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

As man's view of the world expands, his curiosity turns inward in Ascent of Man: World Within World. The discovery of the atom and its infinite properties led to an explosion of research on the molecular level. Physics became the new astronomy as scientists defined the elements that create life. From Mendeleev's creation of the periodic table to Clausius' Second Law of Thermodynamics, original ideas revolutionized humanity's concept of self. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

Author Jacob Bronowski explores the idea that scientists have a moral responsibility in Ascent of Man: Knowledge or Certainty. Though many of the learned dispute the concept that knowledge carries its own contradictions, history has shown otherwise. Hegel used his supposed logic in 1801 to deny the existence of more than seven planets. Heisenberg's Principle of Uncertainty guarantees that the more you know, the less you know. By remembering the scientists that heeded the danger of ideas, Bronowski shows the depth of humanity. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

Author Jacob Bronowski explores the changing face of biology throughout modern history in Ascent of Man: Generation Upon Generation. Though it seems we all yearn to be the same, diversity is the key to evolution. Bronowski studies the work of Karl Marx as it relates to natural selection. He also profiles the groundbreaking ideas of Gregor Mendel on organic inheritance. From cloning to communism, discoveries in biology have greatly influenced popular society. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

Author Jacob Bronowski questions the pros and cons of living in a scientific world in the final episode of his 13-part series Ascent of Man. Man's brief evolution has been characterized by various levels of interest in self-knowledge. Bronowski profiles the changing social limitations of science and how it affects the growing mind. He ultimately believes that scientific education is necessary but dangerous if given no moral context. Finally, he summarizes man's progress thus far and theorizes on the future of a quickly evolving population. ~ Sarah Ing, All Movie Guide

Product Details

• UPC: 739815003332
• Source: AMBROSE VIDEO
• Sales Rank: 6,671

This set contains DVDs which may be available separately:

• Ascent of Man: Drive for Power
• Ascent of Man: Generation Upon Generation
• Ascent of Man: Grain in the Stone
• Ascent of Man: Harvest of the Seasons
• Ascent of Man: Hidden Structure
• Ascent of Man: Knowledge or Certainty
• Ascent of Man: Ladder of Creation
• Ascent of Man: Long Childhood
• Ascent of Man: Lower Than Angels
• Ascent of Man: Majestic Clockwork
• Ascent of Man: Music of the Spheres
• Ascent of Man: Starry Messenger
• Ascent of Man: World Within World