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If an extraterrestrial
scouting party were to survey Earth,
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what would they make of us?
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Who are we?
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Are we as a species
capable of fundamental change?
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Or is there something in our DNA
that will determine our fate?
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Do the dead hands of forgotten ancestors impel us
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in some direction beyond our control?
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Can we free our children from
the demons that torment us and
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haunt our species?
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Can we be trusted with our own future?
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Since the civilization of Ancient Persia,
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and probably even before,
we've wondered if there's
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something about human nature that
contains the seeds of our destruction.
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If there are places on Earth
that are sacred to our species,
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surely this must be one of them.
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The earliest site we know of where
fire was tamed for human needs.
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More than a million years ago, here,
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in what is today known as
Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa,
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our ancestors gathered and first
kindled the hearth of human culture.
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Every human being alive
today on Earth is a member
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of the species Homo sapiens.
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The so-called "wise ones."
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And our forbearers here tonight are Homo erectus,
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"those who stood up."
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They're not yet us, but we carry them within us.
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We don't know much about them.
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We think they took care of each
other when they became old or ill.
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We know they were skilled toolmakers.
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It was around fires such as this
one that we began to cook our food.
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To tell each other stories.
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And to create a shared
learned identity with our kin.
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Had life and humans first
evolved only hundreds or even
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thousands of years ago, we
might know most of what's
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important about our past and how
we came to be the way we are.
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But instead, our species is
hundreds of thousands of years old.
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Homo erectus, a couple of million.
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Primates, tens of millions.
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Mammals, more than 200 million.
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And life, about four billion years old.
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All but a few of our ancestors
are wholly unknown to us,
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and we sift through the Earth
to find the bits of ash and
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animal bone that are the only
surviving evidence of our humanity.
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We only began living with a future in mind,
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consciously leaving a detailed
record of who we were and what
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we believed around 5,000 years ago.
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And yet, one thing remained
constant from Homo erectus to
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the greatness of Ancient Persia.
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Our fascination with fire.
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And this was true here at Persepolis,
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a magnificent complex built
by the Persian emperors of the
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sixth century BCE,
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when Persia was the only superpower on Earth.
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These great kings worshipped
a God named Ahura Mazda,
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whose origins in time are lost to us.
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His prophet was Zoroaster.
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Every Zoroastrian temple was consecrated to fire.
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It played the central
role in Zoroastrian worship,
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symbolizing both the purity
of their God and the light
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of the illuminated mind.
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Tending an eternal flame
through the centuries was one
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of the few ritual obligations
of the Zoroastrians.
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They chose this first truly human achievement,
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the domestication of fire,
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as the focal point of their worship.
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The God Ahura Mazda didn't ask much.
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He didn't want your ritual sacrifices,
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he didn't want your money.
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All he asked of human beings was good thoughts,
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good words and good deeds.
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But for some reason, most people couldn't fulfil
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these simple requests.
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Often they had bad thoughts and said evil things,
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and some of them committed crimes that were evil.
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Why?
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It was all because of
Ahura Mazda's polar opposite,
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Angra Mainyu.
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This is where the devil was born.
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From his short horns, to his hooves,
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Zoroastrianism was the
dominant religion from Greece
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to India for 1,000 years.
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No wonder they were so
influential on the religions
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that came after.
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For the Zoroastrians, all the evil in the world,
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the crimes committed by humans,
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as well as the catastrophes of
natural disasters and disease,
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were the results of Angra
Mainyu's unceasing mischief.
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Their God, Ahura Mazda,
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looked to human beings to
help him defeat the devil.
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Any person by their actions
could tip the scales of the
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whole future of the universe in
either the direction of good or evil.
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In this prescientific world,
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when evil reared its ugly head,
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what better way to understand
it than demonic possession?
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This is not a story of good and evil,
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of the struggle between a God and a demon.
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It's actually just a story
of a predator and its prey.
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In this case, the predator
is microscopic and it's been
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incubating in its victim.
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Diseased microbes can be formidable predators.
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Not only attacking and eventually killing,
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but also taking over their hosts.
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Changing their behavior to spread
their microorganisms to other hosts.
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We're in the bloodstream of that poor,
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unlucky dog, who, through no fault of his own,
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just because of a chance
encounter with a rabid bat,
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now finds himself the main
character in a zombie horror story.
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Those bullets are the rabies virus.
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On being injected into the
bloodstream of this placid,
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people-loving dog, they head to the dog's brain,
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right to the limbic system,
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where the control buttons for rage reside.
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By attacking the nerve cells,
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the rabies virus is converting the poor animal
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into a marauding, snarling,
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vicious predator without
loyalties or love for anyone.
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Rabid animals can be fearless.
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Now that the limbic system has been conquered,
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another detachment of rabies
viruses are dispatched to the
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saliva manufacturing
machinery in the dog's throat.
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Their assignment is to put it into overdrive,
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while paralyzing the nerves for swallowing.
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This maximizes the chances
for the infected saliva
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to leave the dog and invade the next target.
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But how is such a degree of tactical coordination
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possible by a virus?
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How can a virus know which
part of another creature's
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brain is the seat of anger?
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We ourselves didn't figure
that out until very recently.
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This is the power of evolution
by natural selection.
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Given enough time, a random mutation,
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no matter how highly specialized...
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Say, a virus' ability to
paralyze a victim's throat,
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will take hold.
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If it enhances the virus' chance of survival,
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it will be passed on.
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All it needs in every generation is a victim to
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carry the disease.
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Keeping that wicked flame alive.
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The transformation from
the family guardian to the
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ferocious wild-eyed demon is complete.
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The dog is furious, although he has no idea why.
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A helpless pawn of the viruses within him,
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he can't resist the impulse to attack.
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If the attack is successful,
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the viruses in the dog's saliva will enter the
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bloodstream of the victim
through the lesion or laceration.
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And then, they'll set about
taking over this new victim.
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The rabies virus is a brilliant manipulator.
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It knows its victims and
how to pull their strings.
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It coordinates its attack,
circumventing defenses,
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infiltrating, outflanking,
accomplishing a coup d'�tat
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within its prey and turning
the most gentle among us into
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the most violent.
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We are at the mercy of unseen forces.
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Viruses, microbes, hormones, our very own DNA.
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Where does the programming
end and free will begin...
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If it ever does at all?
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Do honeybees have free will?
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When a honeybee dies, it
releases a special chemical.
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It's a death pheromone that
has a characteristic odor,
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signaling its fellow bees
to remove it from the hive.
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The death pheromone is oleic acid.
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What happens if a perfectly
healthy bee is dabbed with a
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drop of oleic acid?
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Then, no matter how hearty it might be,
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it's carried, kicking and screaming,
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out of the hive by oblivious pallbearers.
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Do the bees understand the
danger of infection from corpses
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decomposing in the hive?
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Are they aware of the connection
between death and oleic acid?
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Do they have any idea what death is?
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Do we?
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In the tens of millions
of years of collective bee
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experience, there's never been
a way that a bee could give
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off oleic acid other than by dying.
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So, for bees, there's no ambiguity here.
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Scent of oleic acid always means dead bee.
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There's been no reason for
evolution to develop a greater
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sense of nuance about it.
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Elaborate, contemplative
machinery is unnecessary to
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assess the situation.
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Bee perceptions are adequate for bee needs.
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Something similar is true for moths.
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This poor guy has no idea what the problem is.
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There have been moths for 190 million years,
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and clear glass windows for only about 1,000.
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No wonder there isn't a voice in
the moth's brain that tells it:
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if you keep bumping into something,
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even if you can't see it, you
should try to fly around it.
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Until very recently on nature's time scale,
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there were no penalties for moths
without any such inner voice.
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Moths evolved in a world without glass windows.
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What then are we to
conclude when we find similar,
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very simple behavioral
programs unsupervised by any
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apparent central executive control in so-called
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"higher animals"?
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When a goose egg rolls out of the nest,
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does the mother goose who
has been incubating her eggs
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for weeks understand the importance of
retrieving one that has rolled away?
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Can she tell if one is missing?
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In fact, she will retrieve almost
anything placed near the nest.
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Including ping pong balls and beer bottles.
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The value of this behavior
for goose genes is clear.
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She understands something, but by our standards,
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not very much.
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Does a beetle have any emotions?
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Any consciousness?
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Or is it only a subtle
robot made of organic matter?
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A carbon-based automaton packed
with sensors and actuators,
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programs and subroutines,
all ultimately manufactured
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according to its DNA instructions?
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00:14:58,867 --> 00:15:01,433
We might be willing to grant
the proposition that insects
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or even geese are mindless machines.
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But what about us?
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What, if anything, do the other animals think?
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What might they have to say to
us if we could only communicate?
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When we observe them carefully,
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don't we find evidence of
spontaneous decision-making?
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When we consider the genetic
kinship of all life on Earth,
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is it plausible that humans
have immortal souls and all
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other animals do not?
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In nature, the goose's egg
retrieval program is adequate.
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But when the goslings hatch,
and especially just before
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they're ready to leave the nest,
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the mother is delicately
attuned to the nuances of
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their sounds, looks and smells.
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She has learned about her chicks.
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Now she knows her own very
well and would not confuse
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them with an alien object, or
even someone else's goslings,
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however similar they may
seem to a human observer.
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Consider our friend the beetle again.
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It can see, walk, run, smell, taste,
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fly, mate, eat, excrete and lay eggs.
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00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:22,367
It has internal programs for
accomplishing these functions
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contained in a brain with a
mass of only a milligram,
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and specialized,
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dedicated organs for carrying the programs out.
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00:16:31,867 --> 00:16:33,800
But is that all?
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Is there anyone in charge?
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Anyone inside?
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Anyone controlling all these functions?
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And what do we mean, by "anyone"?
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Or is the beetle just the sum of
its functions and nothing else,
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with no executive authority, no insect soul?
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A stowaway.
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00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:04,533
See how it's triangulating on me,
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trying to get a sense of this immense,
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looming three-dimensional monster before it?
249
00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:12,600
The fly strides along, unconcernedly,
250
00:17:12,734 --> 00:17:16,333
until you lift a rolled newspaper
and it quickly buzzes off.
251
00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:20,567
We know this behavior is
wired into the fly's neurons.
252
00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:28,467
Some scientists get nervous if you ask about the
253
00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:30,767
consciousness of a housefly.
254
00:17:31,934 --> 00:17:35,200
On the inside, within its tiny brain,
255
00:17:35,333 --> 00:17:37,800
does it have no perception of making choices?
256
00:17:39,967 --> 00:17:42,433
No awareness of its own existence?
257
00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:45,400
Not a milligram's worth of self-consciousness?
258
00:17:45,767 --> 00:17:48,400
Not a hint of hope for the future?
259
00:17:48,533 --> 00:17:52,333
Not even a little satisfaction
at a day's work well done?
260
00:17:54,700 --> 00:17:58,000
If its brain is one millionth the mass of ours,
261
00:17:58,700 --> 00:18:01,567
shall we deny it one millionth of our feelings
262
00:18:01,700 --> 00:18:03,700
and our thoughts?
263
00:18:03,834 --> 00:18:07,033
And if, after carefully weighing such matters,
264
00:18:07,166 --> 00:18:10,667
we insist it is still only a robot,
265
00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:15,433
how sure are we that this judgment
doesn't apply to us as well?
266
00:18:21,734 --> 00:18:24,433
What is distinctly human?
267
00:18:24,567 --> 00:18:28,333
Is there anything that's ours alone?
268
00:18:39,066 --> 00:18:41,867
Would our imaginary extraterrestrial observer
269
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:46,667
think that there's anything we
do that distinguishes us from
270
00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:49,467
every other living thing on Earth?
271
00:18:50,367 --> 00:18:52,967
Something that all or almost all of us,
272
00:18:53,100 --> 00:18:54,900
of every culture throughout history,
273
00:18:55,033 --> 00:18:57,133
have done and still do?
274
00:18:57,266 --> 00:19:00,567
Something that no other animal does?
275
00:19:03,233 --> 00:19:06,400
Plato was one of the
earliest commentators to define
276
00:19:06,533 --> 00:19:07,800
what is human.
277
00:19:07,934 --> 00:19:11,000
He declared, "Man is
a featherless biped."
278
00:19:12,266 --> 00:19:15,767
When news of Plato's definition
reached the philosopher Diogenes,
279
00:19:16,467 --> 00:19:19,567
he brought a plucked chicken to Plato's academy,
280
00:19:19,934 --> 00:19:23,567
asking the assembled scholars
to salute Plato's man.
281
00:19:26,066 --> 00:19:27,900
Plato's prot�g�, Aristotle,
282
00:19:28,033 --> 00:19:29,433
took another crack at it.
283
00:19:29,567 --> 00:19:32,433
He said, "Man is a social animal.
284
00:19:32,567 --> 00:19:35,100
Man is a political animal."
285
00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:39,133
But ants,
286
00:19:42,100 --> 00:19:46,433
bees and termites
287
00:19:48,033 --> 00:19:52,767
have much better organized and much more
stable social structures than we have.
288
00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:58,700
The 16th century French philosopher
Michel de Montaigne wrote,
289
00:19:59,567 --> 00:20:04,400
"As to fidelity, there is no animal
in the world so treacherous as man."
290
00:20:05,934 --> 00:20:08,734
But he never dated a firefly.
291
00:20:09,834 --> 00:20:13,433
You know how fireflies blink
on and off to attract a female?
292
00:20:17,767 --> 00:20:21,400
Well, some males sabotage
their fellow fireflies come-on
293
00:20:21,533 --> 00:20:23,033
by adding their own blinks.
294
00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:26,066
It's like hacking a friend's
romantic message to his
295
00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:28,767
girlfriend and turning it into an insult.
296
00:20:30,900 --> 00:20:33,767
The female gets turned off
and the saboteur now has his
297
00:20:33,900 --> 00:20:35,567
chance with her.
298
00:20:35,934 --> 00:20:37,867
Man, that's cold.
299
00:20:40,533 --> 00:20:43,467
Adam Smith, the 18th
century Scottish philosopher,
300
00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:45,800
wrote in his classic justification of free
301
00:20:45,934 --> 00:20:49,600
enterprise capitalism that
the propensity to barter,
302
00:20:49,734 --> 00:20:52,467
to exchange one thing for another,
303
00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:55,166
is to be found in no other race of animals.
304
00:20:56,333 --> 00:20:58,667
Is this true?
305
00:20:59,333 --> 00:21:04,166
Chimpanzees are fond of trade and
understand the idea very well.
306
00:21:05,767 --> 00:21:08,633
Food for sex, a back rub for sex,
307
00:21:09,834 --> 00:21:11,900
betrayal of the leader for sex,
308
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:15,533
"spare my baby's life" for sex.
309
00:21:16,767 --> 00:21:18,767
Virtually anything for sex.
310
00:21:21,700 --> 00:21:24,767
Okay, but we're the only
species that makes art, right?
311
00:21:25,767 --> 00:21:29,767
Except this work of art
was created by a bowerbird.
312
00:21:40,934 --> 00:21:43,567
As was this one.
313
00:21:45,133 --> 00:21:47,467
And this one.
314
00:21:48,500 --> 00:21:51,066
We're the only species that
parents their young through
315
00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:53,567
adolescence into adulthood.
316
00:21:54,100 --> 00:21:55,467
Wrong again.
317
00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:58,834
The elephants parent at least as long as we do.
318
00:22:01,734 --> 00:22:04,967
All right, well, we're the
only species that enslaves and
319
00:22:05,100 --> 00:22:08,667
exploits other animals,
keeping them in captivity.
320
00:22:16,166 --> 00:22:20,567
Tell that to this poor cockroach
of the African savanna.
321
00:22:20,700 --> 00:22:23,900
An emerald wasp is stalking
it to drug and enslave
322
00:22:24,033 --> 00:22:26,200
it in its basement.
323
00:22:28,734 --> 00:22:31,633
The wasp administers a venom
which robs the cockroach of
324
00:22:31,767 --> 00:22:34,200
its will to escape.
325
00:22:38,934 --> 00:22:40,900
Turn on the lights, and this is one roach that
326
00:22:41,033 --> 00:22:43,200
won't scurry away.
327
00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:51,266
Now the wasp drags the roach to her lair,
328
00:23:00,834 --> 00:23:05,600
depositing a single egg on the roach's body...
329
00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:14,233
before boarding up the entrance
with rocks and pieces of wood.
330
00:23:19,300 --> 00:23:23,834
The idea is to keep the roach
alive as long as possible so
331
00:23:23,967 --> 00:23:26,967
that its organs will remain fresh.
332
00:23:30,266 --> 00:23:33,300
The wasp's offspring will
bore into the roach's body and
333
00:23:33,433 --> 00:23:35,333
feast upon it.
334
00:23:35,467 --> 00:23:36,867
When it's full grown,
335
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:39,767
it will tunnel out of the roach's grave.
336
00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:47,033
Yeah, but what about using tools, technology?
337
00:24:16,533 --> 00:24:18,767
Kissing?
338
00:24:57,300 --> 00:24:59,300
Could it be that after all,
339
00:24:59,433 --> 00:25:05,900
our species' only real distinction
is our neurotic need to feel special?
340
00:25:18,967 --> 00:25:20,800
Remember this place?
341
00:25:20,934 --> 00:25:24,066
It's the memorial to the broken
branches of the tree of life.
342
00:25:24,767 --> 00:25:27,700
It's mostly filled with the
casualties of environmental
343
00:25:27,834 --> 00:25:31,934
catastrophe and competition that
happened long before we ever got here,
344
00:25:34,934 --> 00:25:37,934
but there is a corridor that we built ourselves.
345
00:25:46,834 --> 00:25:51,367
What lies beyond are all
those species we ourselves
346
00:25:51,500 --> 00:25:54,200
have rendered extinct.
347
00:25:54,333 --> 00:25:57,834
Could there be some connection
to that widespread delusion of
348
00:25:57,967 --> 00:26:00,133
our separateness from the rest of nature?
349
00:26:01,533 --> 00:26:05,200
A sharp distinction between humans and animals is
350
00:26:05,333 --> 00:26:08,533
essential if we are to bend them to our will,
351
00:26:08,900 --> 00:26:11,033
make them work for us, wear them,
352
00:26:11,166 --> 00:26:15,333
eat them, experiment on them,
wipe them out entirely without
353
00:26:15,834 --> 00:26:20,567
any disquieting tinges of guilt or regret.
354
00:26:40,967 --> 00:26:44,367
But we all know that this
carelessness is starting to
355
00:26:44,500 --> 00:26:46,433
catch up with us.
356
00:26:59,233 --> 00:27:04,266
Are we automata, robots,
our destiny written in our
357
00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:06,867
DNA with no possibility of escape?
358
00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,867
Is DNA destiny?
359
00:27:13,900 --> 00:27:20,200
And if it is, does it have the power to
write epic tales of heroism and saintliness?
360
00:27:52,300 --> 00:27:54,200
Okay, just for argument's sake,
361
00:27:54,333 --> 00:27:56,233
suppose we're nothing more than the sum total
362
00:27:56,367 --> 00:27:58,433
of our genetic inheritance.
363
00:27:58,567 --> 00:28:00,500
That's not as bad as it sounds.
364
00:28:00,867 --> 00:28:04,033
There are passages in our DNA that are every bit
365
00:28:04,166 --> 00:28:07,500
as heroic as anything ever
written in any epic saga.
366
00:28:28,734 --> 00:28:32,233
The mother is stotting,
deliberately putting her own
367
00:28:32,367 --> 00:28:36,667
life in danger to alert the
herd and buy time for them...
368
00:28:59,133 --> 00:29:03,100
so that her offspring and the
rest of the herd can get away.
369
00:29:04,233 --> 00:29:07,200
If this isn't heroism, what is?
370
00:29:07,567 --> 00:29:11,567
And yet, this act of valor is encoded
in the Thomson's gazelle's programming.
371
00:29:12,433 --> 00:29:14,633
Does that make it any less brave?
372
00:29:14,767 --> 00:29:18,300
She risks being eaten in order to save her kin.
373
00:29:18,767 --> 00:29:21,233
And that's the key.
374
00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:24,633
Kin selection is that genetic
impulse for self-sacrifice
375
00:29:24,767 --> 00:29:28,433
prevalent throughout
the kingdoms of life, even us.
376
00:29:30,233 --> 00:29:32,000
Skeptical?
377
00:29:32,133 --> 00:29:34,400
Then do this thought experiment with me.
378
00:29:37,266 --> 00:29:40,133
Imagine trying to sleep soundly at night,
379
00:29:40,266 --> 00:29:42,500
knowing that your children are starving,
380
00:29:42,633 --> 00:29:45,300
homeless or gravely ill.
381
00:29:45,433 --> 00:29:48,734
For almost all of us, this would be unthinkable,
382
00:29:49,100 --> 00:29:53,633
but 16,000 children die each
day of easily preventable
383
00:29:53,767 --> 00:29:56,200
hunger, neglect, or disease.
384
00:29:57,333 --> 00:30:01,567
Children continue to die as we
sleep well and watch this show.
385
00:30:03,433 --> 00:30:05,300
They're far away.
386
00:30:05,433 --> 00:30:07,667
They're not directly related to us.
387
00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:10,667
Now tell me you don't believe in the reality
388
00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:12,800
of kin selection.
389
00:30:12,934 --> 00:30:16,467
We will die to protect
the carriers of our DNA and
390
00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:20,233
turn away from the suffering of those who don't.
391
00:30:20,567 --> 00:30:24,133
Kin selection can inspire
us to die saving a brother,
392
00:30:24,266 --> 00:30:27,500
but it's also the drive
exploited by the demagogue
393
00:30:27,633 --> 00:30:30,233
and the supremacist.
394
00:30:30,367 --> 00:30:32,700
The "us" against "them."
395
00:30:38,500 --> 00:30:40,133
Another thought experiment:
396
00:30:40,266 --> 00:30:42,133
Imagine you're making the first approach to a
397
00:30:42,266 --> 00:30:44,300
newly discovered planet.
398
00:30:44,433 --> 00:30:47,266
You've used various techniques
to ascertain that this world
399
00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:49,667
supports an astonishing variety of life-forms.
400
00:30:50,867 --> 00:30:54,200
You want to make contact, but
not with their version of a
401
00:30:54,333 --> 00:30:56,734
scorpion, cobra, or great white shark.
402
00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:02,700
You want to find the life-form
that's most likely to respond gently,
403
00:31:02,834 --> 00:31:05,166
with empathy and intelligence.
404
00:31:07,834 --> 00:31:10,400
These macaque monkeys are members of what might
405
00:31:10,533 --> 00:31:13,133
be the most compassionate species on earth.
406
00:31:13,734 --> 00:31:16,533
This was demonstrated in a
ghastly series of experiments
407
00:31:16,667 --> 00:31:18,533
conducted in the 1960s.
408
00:31:19,333 --> 00:31:23,233
15 macaques were fed only if
they were willing to pull a
409
00:31:23,367 --> 00:31:26,867
chain and electrically shock
an unrelated macaque whose
410
00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:29,433
agony was in plain view through a one-way mirror.
411
00:31:30,500 --> 00:31:33,800
If they refused to shock another
macaque, they starved.
412
00:31:35,667 --> 00:31:37,100
After learning the ropes,
413
00:31:37,233 --> 00:31:39,900
the monkeys frequently refused to pull the chain.
414
00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:43,500
In one experiment, only a
small percentage would do so,
415
00:31:43,633 --> 00:31:46,667
while more than two-thirds
preferred to go hungry.
416
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:49,800
One macaque went without
food for nearly two weeks
417
00:31:49,934 --> 00:31:52,600
rather than hurt its fellows.
418
00:31:52,734 --> 00:31:55,166
Here's the part that really gets me.
419
00:31:55,300 --> 00:31:57,700
Macaques who had themselves
been shocked in previous
420
00:31:57,834 --> 00:32:01,333
experiments were even less
willing to pull the chain.
421
00:32:03,567 --> 00:32:06,266
The relative social status
or gender of the macaques had
422
00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:09,233
little bearing on their
reluctance to hurt others.
423
00:32:09,934 --> 00:32:14,100
These experiments permit us
to glimpse in non-humans a
424
00:32:14,233 --> 00:32:17,567
saintly willingness to make
sacrifices in order to save others,
425
00:32:18,867 --> 00:32:22,367
even those who are not close kin.
426
00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:26,800
The heartless selfishness of the rabies virus,
427
00:32:26,934 --> 00:32:29,767
and the transcendent empathy of the macaques,
428
00:32:29,900 --> 00:32:32,433
are the extreme ends of a continuum,
429
00:32:32,567 --> 00:32:35,200
one that we, ourselves, are on.
430
00:32:37,266 --> 00:32:40,133
It was the evolution of
successively larger brains
431
00:32:40,266 --> 00:32:43,300
through the generations of
our ancestors that transformed
432
00:32:43,433 --> 00:32:47,300
human childbirth into an excruciating experience.
433
00:32:51,667 --> 00:32:54,066
Feeling, in mammals at least,
434
00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:56,200
is mainly controlled by lower,
435
00:32:56,333 --> 00:32:58,266
more ancient parts of the brain...
436
00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:00,367
And thinking, by the higher,
437
00:33:00,500 --> 00:33:02,867
more recently evolved outer layers.
438
00:33:05,433 --> 00:33:08,467
A rudimentary ability to
think was superimposed on
439
00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:11,400
the preexisting programmed behaviors.
440
00:33:14,834 --> 00:33:18,700
This is the evolutionary
baggage we carry with us into
441
00:33:18,834 --> 00:33:21,133
the schoolyard, into the marriage,
442
00:33:21,767 --> 00:33:24,700
into the voting booth, into the lynch mob,
443
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,300
and onto the battlefield.
444
00:33:28,867 --> 00:33:31,633
So, what does that tell us about our future?
445
00:33:32,166 --> 00:33:36,200
Will it be nothing more than
a series of dreary repetitions,
446
00:33:36,333 --> 00:33:38,600
with no escape for our children?
447
00:33:41,767 --> 00:33:44,633
I know a story that gives me hope.
448
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:48,600
It's the saga of a life that means we can change.
449
00:33:48,734 --> 00:33:50,834
From this distance in time,
450
00:33:50,967 --> 00:33:53,567
it's hard to know how much of it is true.
451
00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:57,266
It happened a couple of thousand years ago,
452
00:33:57,400 --> 00:33:59,433
which is a long time to us,
453
00:33:59,567 --> 00:34:03,200
but only about five seconds
ago on the Cosmic Calendar.
454
00:34:05,500 --> 00:34:07,233
The Cosmic Calendar
455
00:34:07,367 --> 00:34:10,467
compresses all of time into a single year.
456
00:34:10,734 --> 00:34:12,867
I know no better way of
wrapping our heads around the
457
00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,200
fact that we are still very young,
458
00:34:15,333 --> 00:34:17,533
very new to the universe.
459
00:34:17,867 --> 00:34:20,567
January first is the big bang,
460
00:34:21,066 --> 00:34:25,367
and midnight on December 31 on our
cosmic year is this very second.
461
00:34:27,734 --> 00:34:32,500
All of cosmic evolution, nearly 14 billion years,
462
00:34:32,633 --> 00:34:34,667
compressed into a single earth year.
463
00:34:38,500 --> 00:34:41,467
Only five Cosmic Calendar seconds ago,
464
00:34:42,033 --> 00:34:44,533
which represents about 2,200 years,
465
00:34:45,567 --> 00:34:48,367
much of the world was in
the grip of absolute rulers.
466
00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:52,934
Their armies rampaged across the planet, bringing
467
00:34:53,066 --> 00:34:56,700
torture, rape, murder,
468
00:34:57,900 --> 00:35:00,533
and mass enslavement wherever they went.
469
00:35:03,133 --> 00:35:07,433
A young man came out of an obscure
backwater called Macedonia and,
470
00:35:07,567 --> 00:35:08,834
in less than a decade,
471
00:35:08,967 --> 00:35:12,266
carved out an empire that
stretched from the Adriatic to
472
00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:14,767
beyond the Indus river in India.
473
00:35:16,734 --> 00:35:19,300
Along the way, Alexander the Great crushed
474
00:35:19,433 --> 00:35:21,767
the implacable Persian army.
475
00:35:23,467 --> 00:35:25,300
And at about the same time,
476
00:35:25,433 --> 00:35:28,500
King Chandragupta conquered
all of northern India.
477
00:35:29,467 --> 00:35:33,367
His son, Bindusara, assumed
the throne after his death.
478
00:35:39,066 --> 00:35:41,667
As Bindusara's own death approached,
479
00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:45,867
he intended to bequeath
his empire to a favored heir.
480
00:35:46,433 --> 00:35:49,400
And legend has it that another son,
481
00:35:49,533 --> 00:35:51,967
one who had been rejected by Bindusara,
482
00:35:52,100 --> 00:35:55,734
was so ruthless in his quest
for power that he murdered
483
00:35:55,867 --> 00:35:58,800
every one of his 99 half-brothers.
484
00:36:02,333 --> 00:36:04,843
Dressed in the finery that only
an emperor was entitled to wear,
485
00:36:04,867 --> 00:36:08,600
the hated son stood before his dying
father and declared contemptuously,
486
00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:12,967
"I am your successor now!"
487
00:36:16,066 --> 00:36:19,467
This was Ashoka...
488
00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:21,734
And he was just getting started.
489
00:36:29,767 --> 00:36:33,667
In the 2nd century BCE, the Indian emperor Ashoka
490
00:36:34,166 --> 00:36:38,800
initiated a reign of terror known for
its new heights of sadism and cruelty.
491
00:36:40,834 --> 00:36:43,934
When Ashoka's ministers balked
at his command to cut down all
492
00:36:44,066 --> 00:36:47,033
the fruit trees surrounding his palace,
493
00:36:47,166 --> 00:36:50,867
Ashoka said, "Fine, we'll
cut off your heads instead."
494
00:36:58,433 --> 00:37:00,800
His fiendishness knew no bounds.
495
00:37:00,934 --> 00:37:03,934
Ashoka built a magnificent palace
for his unsuspecting victims.
496
00:37:06,100 --> 00:37:09,100
They did not know until it was
too late that deep inside the
497
00:37:09,233 --> 00:37:13,000
palace were torture rooms
designed to inflict the five
498
00:37:13,133 --> 00:37:15,467
most painful ways to die.
499
00:37:17,100 --> 00:37:19,767
It came to be known as Ashoka's Hell.
500
00:37:21,767 --> 00:37:24,600
But that was not Ashoka's greatest atrocity.
501
00:37:25,100 --> 00:37:27,667
He now set out to complete
the conquest of India that his
502
00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:31,000
grandfather had begun.
503
00:37:31,133 --> 00:37:33,100
The nation of Kalinga, to the south,
504
00:37:33,233 --> 00:37:35,967
knew no peace could be made with such a madman.
505
00:37:36,100 --> 00:37:38,533
They courageously stood
their ground as Ashoka's army
506
00:37:38,667 --> 00:37:40,767
besieged the city.
507
00:37:40,900 --> 00:37:42,667
When they could bear no more,
508
00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:45,100
Ashoka sent his troops in for the kill.
509
00:37:59,367 --> 00:38:01,900
As Ashoka surveyed his triumph,
510
00:38:02,033 --> 00:38:04,166
there was one who dared to approach him.
511
00:38:17,033 --> 00:38:20,700
Mighty king, you, who are so powerful you can
512
00:38:20,834 --> 00:38:23,767
take hundreds of thousands of lives at your whim.
513
00:38:25,300 --> 00:38:27,967
Show me how powerful you really are,
514
00:38:28,100 --> 00:38:31,500
give back but one life to this dead child.
515
00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:39,900
Who was this fearless beggar who dared
516
00:38:40,033 --> 00:38:43,166
to confront Ashoka with his crimes?
517
00:38:43,533 --> 00:38:46,667
His exact identity is lost to us,
518
00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:49,900
but we do know that he was a disciple of Buddha,
519
00:38:50,033 --> 00:38:52,266
then a little known philosopher who had lived
520
00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:55,800
almost 200 years before.
521
00:38:55,934 --> 00:38:57,800
Buddha preached nonviolence,
522
00:38:57,934 --> 00:39:00,633
awareness and compassion.
523
00:39:00,767 --> 00:39:03,533
His followers renounced
wealth to wander the earth
524
00:39:03,667 --> 00:39:06,633
spreading Buddha's teachings by their example.
525
00:39:07,133 --> 00:39:09,867
This monk was one of them.
526
00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:11,967
And with his courage and wisdom,
527
00:39:12,100 --> 00:39:14,834
he found the heart in a heartless man.
528
00:39:16,433 --> 00:39:19,133
Ashoka was never the same.
529
00:39:21,867 --> 00:39:23,800
He erected this pillar,
530
00:39:23,934 --> 00:39:27,066
one of many, on the site of his greatest crime.
531
00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:31,900
Engraved on it was one of
the first edicts of Ashoka.
532
00:39:32,033 --> 00:39:33,967
All are my children.
533
00:39:34,100 --> 00:39:37,700
I desire for my own children
their welfare and happiness,
534
00:39:37,834 --> 00:39:40,867
and this I desire for all.
535
00:39:47,934 --> 00:39:50,033
It wasn't that Ashoka was violating the
536
00:39:50,166 --> 00:39:52,100
laws of kin selection.
537
00:39:52,233 --> 00:39:55,133
It was that his definition
of who was kin to him had
538
00:39:55,266 --> 00:39:58,567
expanded to include everyone.
539
00:39:59,100 --> 00:40:01,100
He banned the rituals of animal sacrifice and
540
00:40:01,233 --> 00:40:03,066
hunting for sport.
541
00:40:03,200 --> 00:40:05,633
He established veterinary
hospitals throughout India,
542
00:40:05,767 --> 00:40:08,800
and he counselled his citizens
to be kind to animals.
543
00:40:15,333 --> 00:40:18,600
Ashoka saw to it that wells
were dug to bring water to the
544
00:40:18,734 --> 00:40:20,266
towns and villages.
545
00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:22,800
He planted trees and built
shelters along the roads of
546
00:40:22,934 --> 00:40:26,266
India so that the traveler
would always feel welcome and
547
00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:30,200
animals would have the mercy of shade.
548
00:40:31,633 --> 00:40:33,567
Ashoka signed peace treaties with the small
549
00:40:33,700 --> 00:40:37,133
neighboring countries that had once
trembled at the mention of his name.
550
00:40:37,433 --> 00:40:40,100
He would govern India for another 30 years,
551
00:40:40,233 --> 00:40:43,133
and he used that time to
build schools, universities,
552
00:40:43,266 --> 00:40:46,066
hospitals, even hospices.
553
00:40:46,433 --> 00:40:49,100
He introduced the education
of women and saw no reason why
554
00:40:49,233 --> 00:40:51,967
they could not be ordained as monks.
555
00:40:52,333 --> 00:40:55,333
He instituted free health
care for all and made sure
556
00:40:55,467 --> 00:40:59,233
that the medicines of the time
were available to everyone.
557
00:41:04,266 --> 00:41:07,367
He decreed that all religions be honored equally.
558
00:41:07,500 --> 00:41:10,033
He ordered judicial review
of those wrongfully imprisoned
559
00:41:10,166 --> 00:41:12,133
or harshly treated.
560
00:41:12,266 --> 00:41:15,133
The temples and palaces of Ashoka's reign,
561
00:41:15,266 --> 00:41:18,033
and most of the pillars he
erected throughout India,
562
00:41:18,166 --> 00:41:20,967
were destroyed by generations
of religious fanatics,
563
00:41:21,500 --> 00:41:25,000
outraged by what they considered
to be his godlessness.
564
00:41:29,233 --> 00:41:32,633
But despite their best efforts,
his legacy lives on.
565
00:41:33,533 --> 00:41:35,600
Buddhism became one of the world's most
566
00:41:35,734 --> 00:41:37,900
influential religious philosophies.
567
00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:42,934
Ashoka's edicts were carved in stone in Aramaic,
568
00:41:44,133 --> 00:41:45,967
the language of Jesus,
569
00:41:46,100 --> 00:41:49,633
a couple of hundred years before his birth.
570
00:41:54,033 --> 00:41:56,433
Ashoka sent Buddhist
emissaries to the Middle East
571
00:41:56,567 --> 00:42:00,200
to teach, compassion, mercy, humility,
572
00:42:00,333 --> 00:42:02,767
and the love of peace.
573
00:42:03,333 --> 00:42:05,200
Hear that?
574
00:42:05,333 --> 00:42:08,800
This is one of the few temples of
Ashoka that survived the vandals,
575
00:42:09,567 --> 00:42:12,433
a cave in the hills of Barabar in India.
576
00:42:12,900 --> 00:42:15,667
It's famous for its echo.
577
00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:19,133
The sound waves of my voice
ricochet off the walls until
578
00:42:19,266 --> 00:42:22,266
they're completely absorbed
by the surfaces of objects,
579
00:42:23,066 --> 00:42:27,066
and there's nothing left at all.
580
00:42:32,033 --> 00:42:34,033
But Ashoka's dream is different.
581
00:42:35,400 --> 00:42:39,867
Its echo grows louder and louder with time.
582
00:43:04,266 --> 00:43:07,333
Who are we?
583
00:43:08,133 --> 00:43:10,500
You tell me.
584
00:43:49,166 --> 00:43:51,200
Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services.
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