1 00:00:05,300 --> 00:00:08,500 TYSON: If an extraterrestrial scouting party were to survey Earth, 2 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:11,767 what would they make of us? 3 00:00:13,367 --> 00:00:15,633 Who are we? 4 00:00:17,433 --> 00:00:20,233 Are we as a species capable of fundamental change? 5 00:00:21,133 --> 00:00:24,133 Or is there something in our DNA that will determine our fate? 6 00:00:25,734 --> 00:00:27,633 (groaning and moaning) 7 00:00:27,767 --> 00:00:28,900 (speaking in native language) 8 00:00:29,033 --> 00:00:31,333 TYSON: Do the dead hands of forgotten ancestors impel us 9 00:00:31,467 --> 00:00:33,800 in some direction beyond our control? 10 00:00:36,266 --> 00:00:39,667 Can we free our children from the demons that torment us and 11 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:41,467 haunt our species? 12 00:00:42,767 --> 00:00:45,533 Can we be trusted with our own future? 13 00:00:46,767 --> 00:00:49,133 Since the civilization of Ancient Persia, 14 00:00:49,266 --> 00:00:52,800 and probably even before, we've wondered if there's 15 00:00:52,934 --> 00:00:57,500 something about human nature that contains the seeds of our destruction. 16 00:01:04,867 --> 00:01:10,300 (theme music plays) 17 00:01:29,867 --> 00:01:35,667 ♪ ♪ 18 00:01:55,567 --> 00:02:01,734 ♪ ♪ 19 00:02:08,934 --> 00:02:11,900 TYSON: If there are places on Earth that are sacred to our species, 20 00:02:12,300 --> 00:02:14,533 surely this must be one of them. 21 00:02:15,333 --> 00:02:19,600 The earliest site we know of where fire was tamed for human needs. 22 00:02:21,433 --> 00:02:23,633 More than a million years ago, here, 23 00:02:23,767 --> 00:02:27,633 in what is today known as Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa, 24 00:02:27,767 --> 00:02:31,900 our ancestors gathered and first kindled the hearth of human culture. 25 00:02:36,367 --> 00:02:39,266 Every human being alive today on Earth is a member 26 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:41,567 of the species Homo sapiens. 27 00:02:41,900 --> 00:02:43,934 The so-called "wise ones." 28 00:02:45,734 --> 00:02:49,367 And our forbearers here tonight are Homo erectus, 29 00:02:50,467 --> 00:02:52,667 "those who stood up." 30 00:02:53,033 --> 00:02:56,767 They're not yet us, but we carry them within us. 31 00:02:57,300 --> 00:02:59,367 We don't know much about them. 32 00:02:59,500 --> 00:03:02,467 We think they took care of each other when they became old or ill. 33 00:03:03,266 --> 00:03:05,567 We know they were skilled toolmakers. 34 00:03:08,133 --> 00:03:11,633 It was around fires such as this one that we began to cook our food. 35 00:03:13,533 --> 00:03:15,066 To tell each other stories. 36 00:03:16,033 --> 00:03:20,433 And to create a shared learned identity with our kin. 37 00:03:34,033 --> 00:03:36,834 Had life and humans first evolved only hundreds or even 38 00:03:36,967 --> 00:03:39,734 thousands of years ago, we might know most of what's 39 00:03:39,867 --> 00:03:42,967 important about our past and how we came to be the way we are. 40 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,967 But instead, our species is hundreds of thousands of years old. 41 00:03:48,834 --> 00:03:51,633 Homo erectus, a couple of million. 42 00:03:51,767 --> 00:03:54,033 Primates, tens of millions. 43 00:03:54,166 --> 00:03:56,600 Mammals, more than 200 million. 44 00:03:56,734 --> 00:03:59,533 And life, about four billion years old. 45 00:04:01,033 --> 00:04:04,367 All but a few of our ancestors are wholly unknown to us, 46 00:04:05,934 --> 00:04:08,967 and we sift through the Earth to find the bits of ash and 47 00:04:09,567 --> 00:04:13,500 animal bone that are the only surviving evidence of our humanity. 48 00:04:15,567 --> 00:04:17,567 We only began living with a future in mind, 49 00:04:18,066 --> 00:04:20,767 consciously leaving a detailed record of who we were and what 50 00:04:20,900 --> 00:04:23,467 we believed around 5,000 years ago. 51 00:04:24,633 --> 00:04:28,567 And yet, one thing remained constant from Homo erectus to 52 00:04:29,300 --> 00:04:31,533 the greatness of Ancient Persia. 53 00:04:32,533 --> 00:04:36,734 Our fascination with fire. 54 00:04:37,700 --> 00:04:40,533 And this was true here at Persepolis, 55 00:04:40,667 --> 00:04:43,767 a magnificent complex built by the Persian emperors of the 56 00:04:43,900 --> 00:04:45,567 sixth century BCE, 57 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:50,400 when Persia was the only superpower on Earth. 58 00:05:02,500 --> 00:05:05,800 These great kings worshipped a God named Ahura Mazda, 59 00:05:06,500 --> 00:05:09,100 whose origins in time are lost to us. 60 00:05:09,500 --> 00:05:13,633 His prophet was Zoroaster. 61 00:05:13,767 --> 00:05:16,633 Every Zoroastrian temple was consecrated to fire. 62 00:05:17,633 --> 00:05:20,934 It played the central role in Zoroastrian worship, 63 00:05:21,266 --> 00:05:24,500 symbolizing both the purity of their God and the light 64 00:05:24,633 --> 00:05:26,200 of the illuminated mind. 65 00:05:26,767 --> 00:05:29,734 Tending an eternal flame through the centuries was one 66 00:05:29,867 --> 00:05:32,934 of the few ritual obligations of the Zoroastrians. 67 00:05:33,834 --> 00:05:37,000 They chose this first truly human achievement, 68 00:05:37,133 --> 00:05:38,834 the domestication of fire, 69 00:05:38,967 --> 00:05:41,667 as the focal point of their worship. 70 00:05:42,133 --> 00:05:44,934 The God Ahura Mazda didn't ask much. 71 00:05:45,266 --> 00:05:47,533 He didn't want your ritual sacrifices, 72 00:05:47,667 --> 00:05:49,467 he didn't want your money. 73 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:52,166 All he asked of human beings was good thoughts, 74 00:05:53,166 --> 00:05:55,500 good words and good deeds. 75 00:05:56,567 --> 00:05:59,767 But for some reason, most people couldn't fulfil 76 00:05:59,900 --> 00:06:01,934 these simple requests. 77 00:06:02,066 --> 00:06:04,867 Often they had bad thoughts and said evil things, 78 00:06:05,500 --> 00:06:07,800 and some of them committed crimes that were evil. 79 00:06:07,934 --> 00:06:09,633 Why? 80 00:06:10,667 --> 00:06:13,734 It was all because of Ahura Mazda's polar opposite, 81 00:06:14,734 --> 00:06:16,567 Angra Mainyu. 82 00:06:16,700 --> 00:06:19,100 This is where the devil was born. 83 00:06:20,700 --> 00:06:23,000 From his short horns, to his hooves, 84 00:06:24,834 --> 00:06:27,734 Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion from Greece 85 00:06:27,867 --> 00:06:30,166 to India for 1,000 years. 86 00:06:30,700 --> 00:06:33,066 No wonder they were so influential on the religions 87 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:34,900 that came after. 88 00:06:35,033 --> 00:06:39,533 For the Zoroastrians, all the evil in the world, 89 00:06:39,667 --> 00:06:41,567 the crimes committed by humans, 90 00:06:41,700 --> 00:06:44,967 as well as the catastrophes of natural disasters and disease, 91 00:06:45,734 --> 00:06:49,233 were the results of Angra Mainyu's unceasing mischief. 92 00:06:51,100 --> 00:06:53,000 Their God, Ahura Mazda, 93 00:06:53,133 --> 00:06:56,000 looked to human beings to help him defeat the devil. 94 00:06:56,767 --> 00:06:59,934 Any person by their actions could tip the scales of the 95 00:07:00,066 --> 00:07:05,200 whole future of the universe in either the direction of good or evil. 96 00:07:10,633 --> 00:07:12,867 In this prescientific world, 97 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:14,967 when evil reared its ugly head, 98 00:07:15,100 --> 00:07:18,166 what better way to understand it than demonic possession? 99 00:07:24,900 --> 00:07:27,033 (barking) 100 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:37,166 This is not a story of good and evil, 101 00:07:37,300 --> 00:07:40,066 of the struggle between a God and a demon. 102 00:07:40,767 --> 00:07:44,000 It's actually just a story of a predator and its prey. 103 00:07:44,734 --> 00:07:48,734 In this case, the predator is microscopic and it's been 104 00:07:48,867 --> 00:07:51,266 incubating in its victim. 105 00:07:51,967 --> 00:07:55,033 Diseased microbes can be formidable predators. 106 00:07:55,166 --> 00:07:57,867 Not only attacking and eventually killing, 107 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,266 but also taking over their hosts. 108 00:08:00,834 --> 00:08:04,967 Changing their behavior to spread their microorganisms to other hosts. 109 00:08:06,934 --> 00:08:09,033 We're in the bloodstream of that poor, 110 00:08:09,166 --> 00:08:12,333 unlucky dog, who, through no fault of his own, 111 00:08:12,467 --> 00:08:15,867 just because of a chance encounter with a rabid bat, 112 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:20,300 now finds himself the main character in a zombie horror story. 113 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:25,967 Those bullets are the rabies virus. 114 00:08:28,333 --> 00:08:31,166 On being injected into the bloodstream of this placid, 115 00:08:31,300 --> 00:08:34,166 people-loving dog, they head to the dog's brain, 116 00:08:35,166 --> 00:08:36,967 right to the limbic system, 117 00:08:37,100 --> 00:08:41,133 where the control buttons for rage reside. 118 00:08:48,900 --> 00:08:50,333 By attacking the nerve cells, 119 00:08:50,467 --> 00:08:53,300 the rabies virus is converting the poor animal 120 00:08:53,433 --> 00:08:55,633 into a marauding, snarling, 121 00:08:55,767 --> 00:08:59,166 vicious predator without loyalties or love for anyone. 122 00:08:59,567 --> 00:09:01,633 (baby crying) 123 00:09:01,767 --> 00:09:03,867 Rabid animals can be fearless. 124 00:09:04,700 --> 00:09:07,066 Now that the limbic system has been conquered, 125 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:10,266 another detachment of rabies viruses are dispatched to the 126 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,200 saliva manufacturing machinery in the dog's throat. 127 00:09:14,567 --> 00:09:16,867 Their assignment is to put it into overdrive, 128 00:09:17,567 --> 00:09:20,400 while paralyzing the nerves for swallowing. 129 00:09:20,533 --> 00:09:24,100 This maximizes the chances for the infected saliva 130 00:09:24,233 --> 00:09:26,800 to leave the dog and invade the next target. 131 00:09:28,567 --> 00:09:30,767 But how is such a degree of tactical coordination 132 00:09:30,900 --> 00:09:32,734 possible by a virus? 133 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:35,767 How can a virus know which part of another creature's 134 00:09:35,900 --> 00:09:38,367 brain is the seat of anger? 135 00:09:38,867 --> 00:09:42,233 We ourselves didn't figure that out until very recently. 136 00:09:42,367 --> 00:09:45,367 This is the power of evolution by natural selection. 137 00:09:46,567 --> 00:09:48,967 Given enough time, a random mutation, 138 00:09:49,734 --> 00:09:51,667 no matter how highly specialized... 139 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,734 Say, a virus' ability to paralyze a victim's throat, 140 00:09:54,867 --> 00:09:56,934 will take hold. 141 00:09:57,066 --> 00:09:59,800 If it enhances the virus' chance of survival, 142 00:09:59,934 --> 00:10:01,967 it will be passed on. 143 00:10:02,100 --> 00:10:05,633 All it needs in every generation is a victim to 144 00:10:05,767 --> 00:10:07,266 carry the disease. 145 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:10,200 Keeping that wicked flame alive. 146 00:10:10,967 --> 00:10:13,767 The transformation from the family guardian to the 147 00:10:13,900 --> 00:10:16,200 ferocious wild-eyed demon is complete. 148 00:10:16,967 --> 00:10:20,133 The dog is furious, although he has no idea why. 149 00:10:20,700 --> 00:10:22,133 (speaking in native language) 150 00:10:22,266 --> 00:10:24,100 A helpless pawn of the viruses within him, 151 00:10:24,233 --> 00:10:26,867 he can't resist the impulse to attack. 152 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:28,433 If the attack is successful, 153 00:10:28,567 --> 00:10:30,900 the viruses in the dog's saliva will enter the 154 00:10:31,033 --> 00:10:33,467 bloodstream of the victim through the lesion or laceration. 155 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:37,367 And then, they'll set about taking over this new victim. 156 00:10:38,900 --> 00:10:42,000 The rabies virus is a brilliant manipulator. 157 00:10:42,500 --> 00:10:45,200 It knows its victims and how to pull their strings. 158 00:10:45,967 --> 00:10:49,300 It coordinates its attack, circumventing defenses, 159 00:10:49,433 --> 00:10:53,300 infiltrating, outflanking, accomplishing a coup d'état 160 00:10:53,433 --> 00:10:58,000 within its prey and turning the most gentle among us into 161 00:10:58,133 --> 00:10:59,800 the most violent. 162 00:11:03,467 --> 00:11:06,367 We are at the mercy of unseen forces. 163 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:11,800 Viruses, microbes, hormones, our very own DNA. 164 00:11:13,934 --> 00:11:17,300 Where does the programming end and free will begin... 165 00:11:17,934 --> 00:11:20,200 (buzz) 166 00:11:20,333 --> 00:11:23,266 If it ever does at all? 167 00:11:28,934 --> 00:11:32,200 TYSON: Do honeybees have free will? 168 00:11:34,367 --> 00:11:38,033 When a honeybee dies, it releases a special chemical. 169 00:11:38,567 --> 00:11:41,934 It's a death pheromone that has a characteristic odor, 170 00:11:42,066 --> 00:11:45,033 signaling its fellow bees to remove it from the hive. 171 00:11:48,100 --> 00:11:51,533 The death pheromone is oleic acid. 172 00:11:52,467 --> 00:11:55,266 What happens if a perfectly healthy bee is dabbed with a 173 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:57,100 drop of oleic acid? 174 00:11:58,700 --> 00:12:01,433 Then, no matter how hearty it might be, 175 00:12:01,567 --> 00:12:03,500 it's carried, kicking and screaming, 176 00:12:03,633 --> 00:12:06,100 out of the hive by oblivious pallbearers. 177 00:12:09,133 --> 00:12:12,467 Do the bees understand the danger of infection from corpses 178 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:15,100 decomposing in the hive? 179 00:12:15,433 --> 00:12:18,433 Are they aware of the connection between death and oleic acid? 180 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:23,333 Do they have any idea what death is? 181 00:12:23,467 --> 00:12:26,066 Do we? 182 00:12:26,467 --> 00:12:29,367 In the tens of millions of years of collective bee 183 00:12:29,500 --> 00:12:33,000 experience, there's never been a way that a bee could give 184 00:12:33,133 --> 00:12:35,700 off oleic acid other than by dying. 185 00:12:36,533 --> 00:12:39,600 So, for bees, there's no ambiguity here. 186 00:12:40,100 --> 00:12:43,467 Scent of oleic acid always means dead bee. 187 00:12:45,233 --> 00:12:47,667 There's been no reason for evolution to develop a greater 188 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:50,567 sense of nuance about it. 189 00:12:50,700 --> 00:12:54,000 Elaborate, contemplative machinery is unnecessary to 190 00:12:54,133 --> 00:12:56,700 assess the situation. 191 00:12:56,834 --> 00:13:00,166 Bee perceptions are adequate for bee needs. 192 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:07,100 Something similar is true for moths. 193 00:13:08,633 --> 00:13:12,100 This poor guy has no idea what the problem is. 194 00:13:12,900 --> 00:13:16,033 There have been moths for 190 million years, 195 00:13:16,700 --> 00:13:19,333 and clear glass windows for only about 1,000. 196 00:13:20,100 --> 00:13:23,533 No wonder there isn't a voice in the moth's brain that tells it: 197 00:13:23,667 --> 00:13:25,633 if you keep bumping into something, 198 00:13:25,767 --> 00:13:29,000 even if you can't see it, you should try to fly around it. 199 00:13:29,867 --> 00:13:32,433 Until very recently on nature's time scale, 200 00:13:32,567 --> 00:13:35,734 there were no penalties for moths without any such inner voice. 201 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:41,667 Moths evolved in a world without glass windows. 202 00:13:52,533 --> 00:13:55,633 What then are we to conclude when we find similar, 203 00:13:55,767 --> 00:13:59,700 very simple behavioral programs unsupervised by any 204 00:13:59,834 --> 00:14:03,133 apparent central executive control in so-called 205 00:14:03,266 --> 00:14:04,700 "higher animals"? 206 00:14:06,433 --> 00:14:09,467 When a goose egg rolls out of the nest, 207 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:12,133 does the mother goose who has been incubating her eggs 208 00:14:12,266 --> 00:14:16,400 for weeks understand the importance of retrieving one that has rolled away? 209 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:19,700 Can she tell if one is missing? 210 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:24,767 In fact, she will retrieve almost anything placed near the nest. 211 00:14:25,467 --> 00:14:28,567 Including ping pong balls and beer bottles. 212 00:14:28,934 --> 00:14:32,066 The value of this behavior for goose genes is clear. 213 00:14:32,500 --> 00:14:35,166 She understands something, but by our standards, 214 00:14:35,300 --> 00:14:37,734 not very much. 215 00:14:38,467 --> 00:14:41,300 Does a beetle have any emotions? 216 00:14:41,433 --> 00:14:43,500 Any consciousness? 217 00:14:43,633 --> 00:14:47,367 Or is it only a subtle robot made of organic matter? 218 00:14:47,500 --> 00:14:51,367 A carbon-based automaton packed with sensors and actuators, 219 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,667 programs and subroutines, all ultimately manufactured 220 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:58,367 according to its DNA instructions? 221 00:14:58,867 --> 00:15:01,433 We might be willing to grant the proposition that insects 222 00:15:01,567 --> 00:15:04,400 or even geese are mindless machines. 223 00:15:07,834 --> 00:15:10,600 But what about us? 224 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:14,700 What, if anything, do the other animals think? 225 00:15:14,834 --> 00:15:18,467 What might they have to say to us if we could only communicate? 226 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:21,166 When we observe them carefully, 227 00:15:21,300 --> 00:15:24,567 don't we find evidence of spontaneous decision-making? 228 00:15:25,033 --> 00:15:28,700 When we consider the genetic kinship of all life on Earth, 229 00:15:28,834 --> 00:15:32,600 is it plausible that humans have immortal souls and all 230 00:15:32,734 --> 00:15:35,200 other animals do not? 231 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:41,166 In nature, the goose's egg retrieval program is adequate. 232 00:15:41,300 --> 00:15:44,266 But when the goslings hatch, and especially just before 233 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:46,333 they're ready to leave the nest, 234 00:15:46,467 --> 00:15:49,100 the mother is delicately attuned to the nuances of 235 00:15:49,233 --> 00:15:51,533 their sounds, looks and smells. 236 00:15:52,333 --> 00:15:54,800 She has learned about her chicks. 237 00:15:54,934 --> 00:15:57,900 Now she knows her own very well and would not confuse 238 00:15:58,033 --> 00:16:01,333 them with an alien object, or even someone else's goslings, 239 00:16:02,066 --> 00:16:05,233 however similar they may seem to a human observer. 240 00:16:06,867 --> 00:16:09,433 Consider our friend the beetle again. 241 00:16:09,567 --> 00:16:13,200 It can see, walk, run, smell, taste, 242 00:16:13,934 --> 00:16:17,567 fly, mate, eat, excrete and lay eggs. 243 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:22,367 It has internal programs for accomplishing these functions 244 00:16:22,734 --> 00:16:26,233 contained in a brain with a mass of only a milligram, 245 00:16:26,900 --> 00:16:28,333 and specialized, 246 00:16:28,467 --> 00:16:31,433 dedicated organs for carrying the programs out. 247 00:16:31,867 --> 00:16:33,800 But is that all? 248 00:16:33,934 --> 00:16:35,767 Is there anyone in charge? 249 00:16:35,900 --> 00:16:37,600 Anyone inside? 250 00:16:37,734 --> 00:16:40,667 Anyone controlling all these functions? 251 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:43,567 And what do we mean, by "anyone"? 252 00:16:43,700 --> 00:16:46,834 Or is the beetle just the sum of its functions and nothing else, 253 00:16:47,533 --> 00:16:51,767 with no executive authority, no insect soul? 254 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:55,767 A stowaway. 255 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:04,533 See how it's triangulating on me, 256 00:17:04,667 --> 00:17:06,533 trying to get a sense of this immense, 257 00:17:06,667 --> 00:17:09,400 looming three-dimensional monster before it? 258 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:12,600 The fly strides along, unconcernedly, 259 00:17:12,734 --> 00:17:16,333 until you lift a rolled newspaper and it quickly buzzes off. 260 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:20,567 We know this behavior is wired into the fly's neurons. 261 00:17:21,567 --> 00:17:24,000 (buzz) 262 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:28,467 Some scientists get nervous if you ask about the 263 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:30,767 consciousness of a housefly. 264 00:17:31,934 --> 00:17:35,200 On the inside, within its tiny brain, 265 00:17:35,333 --> 00:17:37,800 does it have no perception of making choices? 266 00:17:39,967 --> 00:17:42,433 No awareness of its own existence? 267 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:45,400 Not a milligram's worth of self-consciousness? 268 00:17:45,767 --> 00:17:48,400 Not a hint of hope for the future? 269 00:17:48,533 --> 00:17:52,333 Not even a little satisfaction at a day's work well done? 270 00:17:54,700 --> 00:17:58,000 If its brain is one millionth the mass of ours, 271 00:17:58,700 --> 00:18:01,567 shall we deny it one millionth of our feelings 272 00:18:01,700 --> 00:18:03,700 and our thoughts? 273 00:18:03,834 --> 00:18:07,033 And if, after carefully weighing such matters, 274 00:18:07,166 --> 00:18:10,667 we insist it is still only a robot, 275 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:15,433 how sure are we that this judgment doesn't apply to us as well? 276 00:18:21,734 --> 00:18:24,433 What is distinctly human? 277 00:18:24,567 --> 00:18:28,333 Is there anything that's ours alone? 278 00:18:39,066 --> 00:18:41,867 TYSON: Would our imaginary extraterrestrial observer 279 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:46,667 think that there's anything we do that distinguishes us from 280 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:49,467 every other living thing on Earth? 281 00:18:50,367 --> 00:18:52,967 Something that all or almost all of us, 282 00:18:53,100 --> 00:18:54,900 of every culture throughout history, 283 00:18:55,033 --> 00:18:57,133 have done and still do? 284 00:18:57,266 --> 00:19:00,567 Something that no other animal does? 285 00:19:03,233 --> 00:19:06,400 Plato was one of the earliest commentators to define 286 00:19:06,533 --> 00:19:07,800 what is human. 287 00:19:07,934 --> 00:19:11,000 He declared, "Man is a featherless biped." 288 00:19:12,266 --> 00:19:15,767 When news of Plato's definition reached the philosopher Diogenes, 289 00:19:16,467 --> 00:19:19,567 he brought a plucked chicken to Plato's academy, 290 00:19:19,934 --> 00:19:23,567 asking the assembled scholars to salute Plato's man. 291 00:19:24,133 --> 00:19:25,934 (laughter) 292 00:19:26,066 --> 00:19:27,900 Plato's protégé, Aristotle, 293 00:19:28,033 --> 00:19:29,433 took another crack at it. 294 00:19:29,567 --> 00:19:32,433 He said, "Man is a social animal. 295 00:19:32,567 --> 00:19:35,100 Man is a political animal." 296 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:39,133 But ants, 297 00:19:42,100 --> 00:19:46,433 bees and termites 298 00:19:48,033 --> 00:19:52,767 have much better organized and much more stable social structures than we have. 299 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:58,700 The 16th century French philosopher Michel de Montaigne wrote, 300 00:19:59,567 --> 00:20:04,400 "As to fidelity, there is no animal in the world so treacherous as man." 301 00:20:05,934 --> 00:20:08,734 But he never dated a firefly. 302 00:20:09,834 --> 00:20:13,433 You know how fireflies blink on and off to attract a female? 303 00:20:17,767 --> 00:20:21,400 Well, some males sabotage their fellow fireflies come-on 304 00:20:21,533 --> 00:20:23,033 by adding their own blinks. 305 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:26,066 It's like hacking a friend's romantic message to his 306 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:28,767 girlfriend and turning it into an insult. 307 00:20:30,900 --> 00:20:33,767 The female gets turned off and the saboteur now has his 308 00:20:33,900 --> 00:20:35,567 chance with her. 309 00:20:35,934 --> 00:20:37,867 Man, that's cold. 310 00:20:40,533 --> 00:20:43,467 Adam Smith, the 18th century Scottish philosopher, 311 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:45,800 wrote in his classic justification of free 312 00:20:45,934 --> 00:20:49,600 enterprise capitalism that the propensity to barter, 313 00:20:49,734 --> 00:20:52,467 to exchange one thing for another, 314 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:55,166 is to be found in no other race of animals. 315 00:20:56,333 --> 00:20:58,667 Is this true? 316 00:20:59,333 --> 00:21:04,166 Chimpanzees are fond of trade and understand the idea very well. 317 00:21:05,767 --> 00:21:08,633 Food for sex, a back rub for sex, 318 00:21:09,834 --> 00:21:11,900 betrayal of the leader for sex, 319 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:15,533 "spare my baby's life" for sex. 320 00:21:16,767 --> 00:21:18,767 Virtually anything for sex. 321 00:21:21,700 --> 00:21:24,767 Okay, but we're the only species that makes art, right? 322 00:21:25,767 --> 00:21:29,767 Except this work of art was created by a bowerbird. 323 00:21:40,934 --> 00:21:43,567 As was this one. 324 00:21:45,133 --> 00:21:47,467 And this one. 325 00:21:48,500 --> 00:21:51,066 We're the only species that parents their young through 326 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:53,567 adolescence into adulthood. 327 00:21:54,100 --> 00:21:55,467 Wrong again. 328 00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:58,834 The elephants parent at least as long as we do. 329 00:22:01,734 --> 00:22:04,967 All right, well, we're the only species that enslaves and 330 00:22:05,100 --> 00:22:08,667 exploits other animals, keeping them in captivity. 331 00:22:16,166 --> 00:22:20,567 Tell that to this poor cockroach of the African savanna. 332 00:22:20,700 --> 00:22:23,900 An emerald wasp is stalking it to drug and enslave 333 00:22:24,033 --> 00:22:26,200 it in its basement. 334 00:22:28,734 --> 00:22:31,633 The wasp administers a venom which robs the cockroach of 335 00:22:31,767 --> 00:22:34,200 its will to escape. 336 00:22:38,934 --> 00:22:40,900 Turn on the lights, and this is one roach that 337 00:22:41,033 --> 00:22:43,200 won't scurry away. 338 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:51,266 Now the wasp drags the roach to her lair, 339 00:23:00,834 --> 00:23:05,600 depositing a single egg on the roach's body... 340 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:14,233 before boarding up the entrance with rocks and pieces of wood. 341 00:23:19,300 --> 00:23:23,834 The idea is to keep the roach alive as long as possible so 342 00:23:23,967 --> 00:23:26,967 that its organs will remain fresh. 343 00:23:30,266 --> 00:23:33,300 The wasp's offspring will bore into the roach's body and 344 00:23:33,433 --> 00:23:35,333 feast upon it. 345 00:23:35,467 --> 00:23:36,867 When it's full grown, 346 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:39,767 it will tunnel out of the roach's grave. 347 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:47,033 Yeah, but what about using tools, technology? 348 00:24:16,533 --> 00:24:18,767 Kissing? 349 00:24:38,867 --> 00:24:44,800 ♪ ♪ 350 00:24:57,300 --> 00:24:59,300 Could it be that after all, 351 00:24:59,433 --> 00:25:05,900 our species' only real distinction is our neurotic need to feel special? 352 00:25:18,967 --> 00:25:20,800 Remember this place? 353 00:25:20,934 --> 00:25:24,066 It's the memorial to the broken branches of the tree of life. 354 00:25:24,767 --> 00:25:27,700 It's mostly filled with the casualties of environmental 355 00:25:27,834 --> 00:25:31,934 catastrophe and competition that happened long before we ever got here, 356 00:25:34,934 --> 00:25:37,934 but there is a corridor that we built ourselves. 357 00:25:46,834 --> 00:25:51,367 What lies beyond are all those species we ourselves 358 00:25:51,500 --> 00:25:54,200 have rendered extinct. 359 00:25:54,333 --> 00:25:57,834 Could there be some connection to that widespread delusion of 360 00:25:57,967 --> 00:26:00,133 our separateness from the rest of nature? 361 00:26:01,533 --> 00:26:05,200 A sharp distinction between humans and animals is 362 00:26:05,333 --> 00:26:08,533 essential if we are to bend them to our will, 363 00:26:08,900 --> 00:26:11,033 make them work for us, wear them, 364 00:26:11,166 --> 00:26:15,333 eat them, experiment on them, wipe them out entirely without 365 00:26:15,834 --> 00:26:20,567 any disquieting tinges of guilt or regret. 366 00:26:33,300 --> 00:26:35,867 (thunder) 367 00:26:40,967 --> 00:26:44,367 But we all know that this carelessness is starting to 368 00:26:44,500 --> 00:26:46,433 catch up with us. 369 00:26:59,233 --> 00:27:04,266 Are we automata, robots, our destiny written in our 370 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:06,867 DNA with no possibility of escape? 371 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,867 Is DNA destiny? 372 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? 373 00:27:33,467 --> 00:27:39,600 ♪ ♪ 374 00:27:52,300 --> 00:27:54,200 TYSON: Okay, just for argument's sake, 375 00:27:54,333 --> 00:27:56,233 suppose we're nothing more than the sum total 376 00:27:56,367 --> 00:27:58,433 of our genetic inheritance. 377 00:27:58,567 --> 00:28:00,500 That's not as bad as it sounds. 378 00:28:00,867 --> 00:28:04,033 There are passages in our DNA that are every bit 379 00:28:04,166 --> 00:28:07,500 as heroic as anything ever written in any epic saga. 380 00:28:19,700 --> 00:28:23,500 (growl) 381 00:28:28,734 --> 00:28:32,233 The mother is stotting, deliberately putting her own 382 00:28:32,367 --> 00:28:36,667 life in danger to alert the herd and buy time for them... 383 00:28:59,133 --> 00:29:03,100 so that her offspring and the rest of the herd can get away. 384 00:29:04,233 --> 00:29:07,200 If this isn't heroism, what is? 385 00:29:07,567 --> 00:29:11,567 And yet, this act of valor is encoded in the Thomson's gazelle's programming. 386 00:29:12,433 --> 00:29:14,633 Does that make it any less brave? 387 00:29:14,767 --> 00:29:18,300 She risks being eaten in order to save her kin. 388 00:29:18,767 --> 00:29:21,233 And that's the key. 389 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:24,633 Kin selection is that genetic impulse for self-sacrifice 390 00:29:24,767 --> 00:29:28,433 prevalent throughout the kingdoms of life, even us. 391 00:29:30,233 --> 00:29:32,000 Skeptical? 392 00:29:32,133 --> 00:29:34,400 Then do this thought experiment with me. 393 00:29:37,266 --> 00:29:40,133 Imagine trying to sleep soundly at night, 394 00:29:40,266 --> 00:29:42,500 knowing that your children are starving, 395 00:29:42,633 --> 00:29:45,300 homeless or gravely ill. 396 00:29:45,433 --> 00:29:48,734 For almost all of us, this would be unthinkable, 397 00:29:49,100 --> 00:29:53,633 but 16,000 children die each day of easily preventable 398 00:29:53,767 --> 00:29:56,200 hunger, neglect, or disease. 399 00:29:57,333 --> 00:30:01,567 Children continue to die as we sleep well and watch this show. 400 00:30:03,433 --> 00:30:05,300 They're far away. 401 00:30:05,433 --> 00:30:07,667 They're not directly related to us. 402 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:10,667 Now tell me you don't believe in the reality 403 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:12,800 of kin selection. 404 00:30:12,934 --> 00:30:16,467 We will die to protect the carriers of our DNA and 405 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:20,233 turn away from the suffering of those who don't. 406 00:30:20,567 --> 00:30:24,133 Kin selection can inspire us to die saving a brother, 407 00:30:24,266 --> 00:30:27,500 but it's also the drive exploited by the demagogue 408 00:30:27,633 --> 00:30:30,233 and the supremacist. 409 00:30:30,367 --> 00:30:32,700 The "us" against "them." 410 00:30:38,500 --> 00:30:40,133 Another thought experiment: 411 00:30:40,266 --> 00:30:42,133 Imagine you're making the first approach to a 412 00:30:42,266 --> 00:30:44,300 newly discovered planet. 413 00:30:44,433 --> 00:30:47,266 You've used various techniques to ascertain that this world 414 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:49,667 supports an astonishing variety of life-forms. 415 00:30:50,867 --> 00:30:54,200 You want to make contact, but not with their version of a 416 00:30:54,333 --> 00:30:56,734 scorpion, cobra, or great white shark. 417 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:02,700 You want to find the life-form that's most likely to respond gently, 418 00:31:02,834 --> 00:31:05,166 with empathy and intelligence. 419 00:31:07,834 --> 00:31:10,400 These macaque monkeys are members of what might 420 00:31:10,533 --> 00:31:13,133 be the most compassionate species on earth. 421 00:31:13,734 --> 00:31:16,533 This was demonstrated in a ghastly series of experiments 422 00:31:16,667 --> 00:31:18,533 conducted in the 1960s. 423 00:31:19,333 --> 00:31:23,233 15 macaques were fed only if they were willing to pull a 424 00:31:23,367 --> 00:31:26,867 chain and electrically shock an unrelated macaque whose 425 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:29,433 agony was in plain view through a one-way mirror. 426 00:31:30,500 --> 00:31:33,800 If they refused to shock another macaque, they starved. 427 00:31:35,667 --> 00:31:37,100 After learning the ropes, 428 00:31:37,233 --> 00:31:39,900 the monkeys frequently refused to pull the chain. 429 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:43,500 In one experiment, only a small percentage would do so, 430 00:31:43,633 --> 00:31:46,667 while more than two-thirds preferred to go hungry. 431 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:49,800 One macaque went without food for nearly two weeks 432 00:31:49,934 --> 00:31:52,600 rather than hurt its fellows. 433 00:31:52,734 --> 00:31:55,166 Here's the part that really gets me. 434 00:31:55,300 --> 00:31:57,700 Macaques who had themselves been shocked in previous 435 00:31:57,834 --> 00:32:01,333 experiments were even less willing to pull the chain. 436 00:32:03,567 --> 00:32:06,266 The relative social status or gender of the macaques had 437 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:09,233 little bearing on their reluctance to hurt others. 438 00:32:09,934 --> 00:32:14,100 These experiments permit us to glimpse in non-humans a 439 00:32:14,233 --> 00:32:17,567 saintly willingness to make sacrifices in order to save others, 440 00:32:18,867 --> 00:32:22,367 even those who are not close kin. 441 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:26,800 The heartless selfishness of the rabies virus, 442 00:32:26,934 --> 00:32:29,767 and the transcendent empathy of the macaques, 443 00:32:29,900 --> 00:32:32,433 are the extreme ends of a continuum, 444 00:32:32,567 --> 00:32:35,200 one that we, ourselves, are on. 445 00:32:37,266 --> 00:32:40,133 It was the evolution of successively larger brains 446 00:32:40,266 --> 00:32:43,300 through the generations of our ancestors that transformed 447 00:32:43,433 --> 00:32:47,300 human childbirth into an excruciating experience. 448 00:32:48,266 --> 00:32:51,133 (speaking in native language) 449 00:32:51,667 --> 00:32:54,066 TYSON: Feeling, in mammals at least, 450 00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:56,200 is mainly controlled by lower, 451 00:32:56,333 --> 00:32:58,266 more ancient parts of the brain... 452 00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:00,367 And thinking, by the higher, 453 00:33:00,500 --> 00:33:02,867 more recently evolved outer layers. 454 00:33:05,433 --> 00:33:08,467 A rudimentary ability to think was superimposed on 455 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:11,400 the preexisting programmed behaviors. 456 00:33:14,834 --> 00:33:18,700 This is the evolutionary baggage we carry with us into 457 00:33:18,834 --> 00:33:21,133 the schoolyard, into the marriage, 458 00:33:21,767 --> 00:33:24,700 into the voting booth, into the lynch mob, 459 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,300 and onto the battlefield. 460 00:33:28,867 --> 00:33:31,633 So, what does that tell us about our future? 461 00:33:32,166 --> 00:33:36,200 Will it be nothing more than a series of dreary repetitions, 462 00:33:36,333 --> 00:33:38,600 with no escape for our children? 463 00:33:41,767 --> 00:33:44,633 I know a story that gives me hope. 464 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:48,600 It's the saga of a life that means we can change. 465 00:33:48,734 --> 00:33:50,834 From this distance in time, 466 00:33:50,967 --> 00:33:53,567 it's hard to know how much of it is true. 467 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:57,266 It happened a couple of thousand years ago, 468 00:33:57,400 --> 00:33:59,433 which is a long time to us, 469 00:33:59,567 --> 00:34:03,200 but only about five seconds ago on the Cosmic Calendar. 470 00:34:05,500 --> 00:34:07,233 The Cosmic Calendar 471 00:34:07,367 --> 00:34:10,467 compresses all of time into a single year. 472 00:34:10,734 --> 00:34:12,867 I know no better way of wrapping our heads around the 473 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,200 fact that we are still very young, 474 00:34:15,333 --> 00:34:17,533 very new to the universe. 475 00:34:17,867 --> 00:34:20,567 January first is the big bang, 476 00:34:21,066 --> 00:34:25,367 and midnight on December 31 on our cosmic year is this very second. 477 00:34:27,734 --> 00:34:32,500 All of cosmic evolution, nearly 14 billion years, 478 00:34:32,633 --> 00:34:34,667 compressed into a single earth year. 479 00:34:38,500 --> 00:34:41,467 Only five Cosmic Calendar seconds ago, 480 00:34:42,033 --> 00:34:44,533 which represents about 2,200 years, 481 00:34:45,567 --> 00:34:48,367 much of the world was in the grip of absolute rulers. 482 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:52,934 Their armies rampaged across the planet, bringing 483 00:34:53,066 --> 00:34:56,700 torture, rape, murder, 484 00:34:57,900 --> 00:35:00,533 and mass enslavement wherever they went. 485 00:35:03,133 --> 00:35:07,433 A young man came out of an obscure backwater called Macedonia and, 486 00:35:07,567 --> 00:35:08,834 in less than a decade, 487 00:35:08,967 --> 00:35:12,266 carved out an empire that stretched from the Adriatic to 488 00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:14,767 beyond the Indus river in India. 489 00:35:16,734 --> 00:35:19,300 Along the way, Alexander the Great crushed 490 00:35:19,433 --> 00:35:21,767 the implacable Persian army. 491 00:35:23,467 --> 00:35:25,300 And at about the same time, 492 00:35:25,433 --> 00:35:28,500 King Chandragupta conquered all of northern India. 493 00:35:29,467 --> 00:35:33,367 His son, Bindusara, assumed the throne after his death. 494 00:35:39,066 --> 00:35:41,667 As Bindusara's own death approached, 495 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:45,867 he intended to bequeath his empire to a favored heir. 496 00:35:46,433 --> 00:35:49,400 And legend has it that another son, 497 00:35:49,533 --> 00:35:51,967 one who had been rejected by Bindusara, 498 00:35:52,100 --> 00:35:55,734 was so ruthless in his quest for power that he murdered 499 00:35:55,867 --> 00:35:58,800 every one of his 99 half-brothers. 500 00:36:00,867 --> 00:36:02,200 (screaming) 501 00:36:02,333 --> 00:36:04,734 Dressed in the finery that only an emperor was entitled to wear, 502 00:36:04,867 --> 00:36:08,600 the hated son stood before his dying father and declared contemptuously, 503 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:12,967 "I am your successor now!" 504 00:36:16,066 --> 00:36:19,467 This was Ashoka... 505 00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:21,734 And he was just getting started. 506 00:36:29,767 --> 00:36:33,667 TYSON: In the 2nd century BCE, the Indian emperor Ashoka 507 00:36:34,166 --> 00:36:38,800 initiated a reign of terror known for its new heights of sadism and cruelty. 508 00:36:40,834 --> 00:36:43,934 When Ashoka's ministers balked at his command to cut down all 509 00:36:44,066 --> 00:36:47,033 the fruit trees surrounding his palace, 510 00:36:47,166 --> 00:36:50,867 Ashoka said, "Fine, we'll cut off your heads instead." 511 00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:57,700 (screaming) 512 00:36:58,433 --> 00:37:00,800 His fiendishness knew no bounds. 513 00:37:00,934 --> 00:37:03,934 Ashoka built a magnificent palace for his unsuspecting victims. 514 00:37:06,100 --> 00:37:09,100 They did not know until it was too late that deep inside the 515 00:37:09,233 --> 00:37:13,000 palace were torture rooms designed to inflict the five 516 00:37:13,133 --> 00:37:15,467 most painful ways to die. 517 00:37:17,100 --> 00:37:19,767 It came to be known as Ashoka's Hell. 518 00:37:21,767 --> 00:37:24,600 But that was not Ashoka's greatest atrocity. 519 00:37:25,100 --> 00:37:27,667 He now set out to complete the conquest of India that his 520 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:31,000 grandfather had begun. 521 00:37:31,133 --> 00:37:33,100 The nation of Kalinga, to the south, 522 00:37:33,233 --> 00:37:35,967 knew no peace could be made with such a madman. 523 00:37:36,100 --> 00:37:38,533 They courageously stood their ground as Ashoka's army 524 00:37:38,667 --> 00:37:40,767 besieged the city. 525 00:37:40,900 --> 00:37:42,667 When they could bear no more, 526 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:45,100 Ashoka sent his troops in for the kill. 527 00:37:46,633 --> 00:37:49,166 (screaming) 528 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:53,834 (grunting) 529 00:37:59,367 --> 00:38:01,900 As Ashoka surveyed his triumph, 530 00:38:02,033 --> 00:38:04,166 there was one who dared to approach him. 531 00:38:17,033 --> 00:38:20,700 MONK: Mighty king, you, who are so powerful you can 532 00:38:20,834 --> 00:38:23,767 take hundreds of thousands of lives at your whim. 533 00:38:25,300 --> 00:38:27,967 Show me how powerful you really are, 534 00:38:28,100 --> 00:38:31,500 give back but one life to this dead child. 535 00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:39,900 TYSON: Who was this fearless beggar who dared 536 00:38:40,033 --> 00:38:43,166 to confront Ashoka with his crimes? 537 00:38:43,533 --> 00:38:46,667 His exact identity is lost to us, 538 00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:49,900 but we do know that he was a disciple of Buddha, 539 00:38:50,033 --> 00:38:52,266 then a little known philosopher who had lived 540 00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:55,800 almost 200 years before. 541 00:38:55,934 --> 00:38:57,800 Buddha preached nonviolence, 542 00:38:57,934 --> 00:39:00,633 awareness and compassion. 543 00:39:00,767 --> 00:39:03,533 His followers renounced wealth to wander the earth 544 00:39:03,667 --> 00:39:06,633 spreading Buddha's teachings by their example. 545 00:39:07,133 --> 00:39:09,867 This monk was one of them. 546 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:11,967 And with his courage and wisdom, 547 00:39:12,100 --> 00:39:14,834 he found the heart in a heartless man. 548 00:39:16,433 --> 00:39:19,133 Ashoka was never the same. 549 00:39:21,867 --> 00:39:23,800 TYSON: He erected this pillar, 550 00:39:23,934 --> 00:39:27,066 one of many, on the site of his greatest crime. 551 00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:31,900 Engraved on it was one of the first edicts of Ashoka. 552 00:39:32,033 --> 00:39:33,967 ASHOKA: All are my children. 553 00:39:34,100 --> 00:39:37,700 I desire for my own children their welfare and happiness, 554 00:39:37,834 --> 00:39:40,867 and this I desire for all. 555 00:39:47,934 --> 00:39:50,033 TYSON: It wasn't that Ashoka was violating the 556 00:39:50,166 --> 00:39:52,100 laws of kin selection. 557 00:39:52,233 --> 00:39:55,133 It was that his definition of who was kin to him had 558 00:39:55,266 --> 00:39:58,567 expanded to include everyone. 559 00:39:59,100 --> 00:40:01,100 He banned the rituals of animal sacrifice and 560 00:40:01,233 --> 00:40:03,066 hunting for sport. 561 00:40:03,200 --> 00:40:05,633 He established veterinary hospitals throughout India, 562 00:40:05,767 --> 00:40:08,800 and he counselled his citizens to be kind to animals. 563 00:40:15,333 --> 00:40:18,600 Ashoka saw to it that wells were dug to bring water to the 564 00:40:18,734 --> 00:40:20,266 towns and villages. 565 00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:22,800 He planted trees and built shelters along the roads of 566 00:40:22,934 --> 00:40:26,266 India so that the traveler would always feel welcome and 567 00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:30,200 animals would have the mercy of shade. 568 00:40:31,633 --> 00:40:33,567 Ashoka signed peace treaties with the small 569 00:40:33,700 --> 00:40:37,133 neighboring countries that had once trembled at the mention of his name. 570 00:40:37,433 --> 00:40:40,100 He would govern India for another 30 years, 571 00:40:40,233 --> 00:40:43,133 and he used that time to build schools, universities, 572 00:40:43,266 --> 00:40:46,066 hospitals, even hospices. 573 00:40:46,433 --> 00:40:49,100 He introduced the education of women and saw no reason why 574 00:40:49,233 --> 00:40:51,967 they could not be ordained as monks. 575 00:40:52,333 --> 00:40:55,333 He instituted free health care for all and made sure 576 00:40:55,467 --> 00:40:59,233 that the medicines of the time were available to everyone. 577 00:41:04,266 --> 00:41:07,367 He decreed that all religions be honored equally. 578 00:41:07,500 --> 00:41:10,033 He ordered judicial review of those wrongfully imprisoned 579 00:41:10,166 --> 00:41:12,133 or harshly treated. 580 00:41:12,266 --> 00:41:15,133 The temples and palaces of Ashoka's reign, 581 00:41:15,266 --> 00:41:18,033 and most of the pillars he erected throughout India, 582 00:41:18,166 --> 00:41:20,967 were destroyed by generations of religious fanatics, 583 00:41:21,500 --> 00:41:25,000 outraged by what they considered to be his godlessness. 584 00:41:29,233 --> 00:41:32,633 But despite their best efforts, his legacy lives on. 585 00:41:33,533 --> 00:41:35,600 Buddhism became one of the world's most 586 00:41:35,734 --> 00:41:37,900 influential religious philosophies. 587 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:42,934 Ashoka's edicts were carved in stone in Aramaic, 588 00:41:44,133 --> 00:41:45,967 the language of Jesus, 589 00:41:46,100 --> 00:41:49,633 a couple of hundred years before his birth. 590 00:41:52,900 --> 00:41:53,900 (echoing) 591 00:41:54,033 --> 00:41:56,433 Ashoka sent Buddhist emissaries to the Middle East 592 00:41:56,567 --> 00:42:00,200 to teach, compassion, mercy, humility, 593 00:42:00,333 --> 00:42:02,767 and the love of peace. 594 00:42:03,333 --> 00:42:05,200 Hear that? 595 00:42:05,333 --> 00:42:08,800 This is one of the few temples of Ashoka that survived the vandals, 596 00:42:09,567 --> 00:42:12,433 a cave in the hills of Barabar in India. 597 00:42:12,900 --> 00:42:15,667 It's famous for its echo. 598 00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:19,133 The sound waves of my voice ricochet off the walls until 599 00:42:19,266 --> 00:42:22,266 they're completely absorbed by the surfaces of objects, 600 00:42:23,066 --> 00:42:27,066 and there's nothing left at all. 601 00:42:32,033 --> 00:42:34,033 But Ashoka's dream is different. 602 00:42:35,400 --> 00:42:39,867 Its echo grows louder and louder with time. 603 00:42:52,834 --> 00:42:56,066 (baby crying) 604 00:43:04,266 --> 00:43:07,333 Who are we? 605 00:43:08,133 --> 00:43:10,500 You tell me. 606 00:43:49,166 --> 00:43:51,200 Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services.