[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.00,0:00:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Delighted to be here
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.00,0:00:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to talk to you about a subject dear to my heart,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.00,0:00:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is beauty.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.00,0:00:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I do the philosophy of art, aesthetics,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.00,0:00:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,actually, for a living.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.00,0:00:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I try to figure out intellectually,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.00,0:00:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,philosophically, psychologically,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.00,0:00:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what the experience of beauty is,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.00,0:00:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what sensibly can be said about it
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.00,0:00:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how people go off the rails in trying to understand it.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.00,0:00:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now this is an extremely complicated subject,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.00,0:00:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in part because the things that we call beautiful
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.00,0:00:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are so different.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.00,0:00:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean just think of the sheer variety --
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.00,0:00:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a baby's face,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.00,0:00:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Berlioz's "Harold in Italy,"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.00,0:00:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,movies like "The Wizard of Oz"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.00,0:00:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or the plays of Chekhov,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.00,0:00:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a central California landscape,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.00,0:00:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a Hokusai view of Mt. Fuji,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.00,0:00:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Der Rosenkavalier,"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.00,0:00:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a stunning match-winning goal
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.00,0:00:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a World Cup soccer match,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.00,0:00:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Van Gogh's "Starry Night,"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.00,0:00:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a Jane Austen novel,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.00,0:01:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fred Astaire dancing across the screen.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.00,0:01:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This brief list includes human beings,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.00,0:01:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,natural landforms,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.00,0:01:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,works of art and skilled human actions.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.00,0:01:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,An account that explains the presence of beauty
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.00,0:01:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in everything on this list
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.00,0:01:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is not going to be easy.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.00,0:01:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can, however, give you at least a taste
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.00,0:01:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of what I regard
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.00,0:01:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as the most powerful theory of beauty
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.00,0:01:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we yet have.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.00,0:01:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we get it not from a philosopher of art,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.00,0:01:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not from a postmodern art theorist
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.00,0:01:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or a bigwig art critic.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.00,0:01:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No, this theory
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.00,0:01:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,comes from an expert
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.00,0:01:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on barnacles and worms and pigeon breeding,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.00,0:01:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you know who I mean:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.00,0:01:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Charles Darwin.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.00,0:01:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course, a lot of people think they already know
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.00,0:01:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the proper answer to the question,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.00,0:01:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"What is beauty?"
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.00,0:01:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's in the eye of the beholder.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.00,0:02:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's whatever moves you personally.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.00,0:02:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or, as some people,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.00,0:02:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,especially academics prefer,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.00,0:02:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,beauty is in the culturally conditioned
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.00,0:02:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,eye of the beholder.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.00,0:02:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People agree that paintings or movies or music
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.00,0:02:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are beautiful
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.00,0:02:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because their cultures determine a uniformity of aesthetic taste.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.00,0:02:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Taste for both natural beauty and for the arts
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.00,0:02:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,travel across cultures
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.00,0:02:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with great ease.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.00,0:02:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Beethoven is adored in Japan.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.00,0:02:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Peruvians love Japanese woodblock prints.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.00,0:02:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Inca sculptures are regarded as treasures
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.00,0:02:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in British museums,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.00,0:02:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while Shakespeare is translated
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.00,0:02:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into every major language of the Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.00,0:02:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or just think about American jazz
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.00,0:02:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or American movies --
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.00,0:02:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they go everywhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.00,0:02:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are many differences among the arts,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.00,0:02:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but there are also universal,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.00,0:02:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cross-cultural aesthetic pleasures
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.00,0:02:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and values.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.00,0:02:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How can we explain
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.00,0:03:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this universality?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.00,0:03:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The best answer lies in trying to reconstruct
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.00,0:03:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a Darwinian evolutionary history
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.00,0:03:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of our artistic and aesthetic tastes.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.00,0:03:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We need to reverse-engineer
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.00,0:03:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our present artistic tastes and preferences
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.00,0:03:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and explain how they came
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.00,0:03:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be engraved in our minds
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.00,0:03:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the actions of both our prehistoric,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.00,0:03:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,largely pleistocene environments,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.00,0:03:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where we became fully human,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.00,0:03:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also by the social situations
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.00,0:03:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in which we evolved.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.00,0:03:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This reverse engineering
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.00,0:03:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can also enlist help
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.00,0:03:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the human record
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.00,0:03:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,preserved in prehistory.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.00,0:03:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean fossils, cave paintings and so forth.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.00,0:03:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it should take into account
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.00,0:03:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what we know of the aesthetic interests
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.00,0:03:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of isolated hunter-gatherer bands
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.00,0:03:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that survived into the 19th and the 20th centuries.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.00,0:03:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I personally
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.00,0:03:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have no doubt whatsoever
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.00,0:03:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the experience of beauty,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.00,0:04:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with its emotional intensity and pleasure,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.00,0:04:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,belongs to our evolved human psychology.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.00,0:04:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The experience of beauty is one component
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.00,0:04:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a whole series of Darwinian adaptations.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.00,0:04:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Beauty is an adaptive effect,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.00,0:04:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which we extend
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.00,0:04:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and intensify
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.00,0:04:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the creation and enjoyment
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.00,0:04:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of works of art and entertainment.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.00,0:04:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As many of you will know,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.00,0:04:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,evolution operates by two main primary mechanisms.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.00,0:04:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first of these is natural selection --
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.00,0:04:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's random mutation and selective retention --
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.00,0:04:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,along with our basic anatomy and physiology --
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.00,0:04:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the evolution of the pancreas or the eye or the fingernails.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.00,0:04:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Natural selection also explains
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.00,0:04:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many basic revulsions,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.00,0:04:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,such as the horrid smell of rotting meat,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.00,0:04:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or fears, such as the fear of snakes
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.00,0:04:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or standing close to the edge of a cliff.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.00,0:04:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Natural selection also explains pleasures --
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.00,0:04:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sexual pleasure,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.00,0:05:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our liking for sweet, fat and proteins,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.00,0:05:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which in turn explains a lot of popular foods,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.00,0:05:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from ripe fruits through chocolate malts
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.00,0:05:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and barbecued ribs.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.00,0:05:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The other great principle of evolution
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.00,0:05:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is sexual selection,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.00,0:05:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it operates very differently.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.00,0:05:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The peacock's magnificent tail
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.00,0:05:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the most famous example of this.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.00,0:05:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It did not evolve for natural survival.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.00,0:05:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, it goes against natural survival.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.00,0:05:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No, the peacock's tail
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.00,0:05:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,results from the mating choices
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.00,0:05:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,made by peahens.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.00,0:05:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's quite a familiar story.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.00,0:05:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's women who actually push history forward.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.00,0:05:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Darwin himself, by the way,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.00,0:05:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had no doubts that the peacock's tail
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.00,0:05:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was beautiful in the eyes of the peahen.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.00,0:05:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He actually used that word.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.00,0:05:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, keeping these ideas firmly in mind,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.00,0:05:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can say that the experience of beauty
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.00,0:05:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is one of the ways that evolution has
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.00,0:06:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of arousing and sustaining
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.00,0:06:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,interest or fascination,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.00,0:06:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even obsession,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.00,0:06:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in order to encourage us
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.00,0:06:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,toward making the most adaptive decisions
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.00,0:06:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for survival and reproduction.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.00,0:06:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Beauty is nature's way
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.00,0:06:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of acting at a distance,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.00,0:06:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so to speak.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.00,0:06:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, you can't expect to eat
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.00,0:06:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an adaptively beneficial landscape.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.00,0:06:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It would hardly do to eat your baby
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.00,0:06:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or your lover.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:29.00,0:06:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So evolution's trick
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.00,0:06:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is to make them beautiful,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:33.00,0:06:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to have them exert a kind of magnetism
Dialogue: 0,0:06:36.00,0:06:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to give you the pleasure of simply looking at them.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:40.00,0:06:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Consider briefly an important source of aesthetic pleasure,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.00,0:06:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the magnetic pull
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.00,0:06:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of beautiful landscapes.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:47.00,0:06:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People in very different cultures
Dialogue: 0,0:06:49.00,0:06:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all over the world
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.00,0:06:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tend to like a particular kind of landscape,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:54.00,0:06:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a landscape that just happens to be similar
Dialogue: 0,0:06:57.00,0:07:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the pleistocene savannas where we evolved.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.00,0:07:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This landscape shows up today
Dialogue: 0,0:07:02.00,0:07:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on calendars, on postcards,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.00,0:07:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the design of golf courses and public parks
Dialogue: 0,0:07:08.00,0:07:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in gold-framed pictures
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.00,0:07:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that hang in living rooms
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.00,0:07:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from New York to New Zealand.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.00,0:07:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a kind of Hudson River school landscape
Dialogue: 0,0:07:18.00,0:07:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,featuring open spaces
Dialogue: 0,0:07:20.00,0:07:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of low grasses
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.00,0:07:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,interspersed with copses of trees.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:25.00,0:07:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The trees, by the way, are often preferred
Dialogue: 0,0:07:27.00,0:07:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if they fork near the ground,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:29.00,0:07:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is to say, if they're trees you could scramble up
Dialogue: 0,0:07:32.00,0:07:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you were in a tight fix.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:35.00,0:07:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The landscape shows the presence
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.00,0:07:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of water directly in view,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.00,0:07:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or evidence of water in a bluish distance,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.00,0:07:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,indications of animal or bird life
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.00,0:07:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as well as diverse greenery
Dialogue: 0,0:07:48.00,0:07:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and finally -- get this --
Dialogue: 0,0:07:51.00,0:07:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a path
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.00,0:07:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or a road,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.00,0:07:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,perhaps a riverbank or a shoreline,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.00,0:08:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that extends into the distance,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:01.00,0:08:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,almost inviting you to follow it.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:05.00,0:08:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This landscape type is regarded as beautiful,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.00,0:08:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even by people in countries
Dialogue: 0,0:08:10.00,0:08:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that don't have it.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:12.00,0:08:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The ideal savanna landscape
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.00,0:08:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is one of the clearest examples
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.00,0:08:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where human beings everywhere
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.00,0:08:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,find beauty
Dialogue: 0,0:08:20.00,0:08:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in similar visual experience.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:22.00,0:08:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, someone might argue,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:24.00,0:08:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's natural beauty.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:26.00,0:08:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How about artistic beauty?
Dialogue: 0,0:08:29.00,0:08:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Isn't that exhaustively cultural?
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.00,0:08:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No, I don't think it is.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.00,0:08:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And once again, I'd like to look back to prehistory
Dialogue: 0,0:08:37.00,0:08:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to say something about it.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:39.00,0:08:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is widely assumed
Dialogue: 0,0:08:41.00,0:08:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the earliest human artworks
Dialogue: 0,0:08:43.00,0:08:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are the stupendously skillful cave paintings
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.00,0:08:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we all know from Lascaux
Dialogue: 0,0:08:48.00,0:08:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Chauvet.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:51.00,0:08:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Chauvet caves
Dialogue: 0,0:08:53.00,0:08:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are about 32,000 years old,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:55.00,0:08:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,along with a few small, realistic sculptures
Dialogue: 0,0:08:58.00,0:09:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of women and animals from the same period.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:05.00,0:09:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But artistic and decorative skills
Dialogue: 0,0:09:07.00,0:09:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are actually much older than that.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:11.00,0:09:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Beautiful shell necklaces
Dialogue: 0,0:09:13.00,0:09:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that look like something you'd see at an arts and crafts fair,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:16.00,0:09:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as well as ochre body paint,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:18.00,0:09:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have been found
Dialogue: 0,0:09:20.00,0:09:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from around 100,000 years ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:22.00,0:09:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the most intriguing prehistoric artifacts
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.00,0:09:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are older even than this.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.00,0:09:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have in mind
Dialogue: 0,0:09:29.00,0:09:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the so-called Acheulian hand axes.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:33.00,0:09:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The oldest stone tools are choppers
Dialogue: 0,0:09:36.00,0:09:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the Olduvai Gorge in East Africa.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:38.00,0:09:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They go back about two-and-a-half-million years.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:41.00,0:09:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These crude tools
Dialogue: 0,0:09:43.00,0:09:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were around for thousands of centuries,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:46.00,0:09:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until around 1.4 million years ago
Dialogue: 0,0:09:49.00,0:09:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when Homo erectus
Dialogue: 0,0:09:51.00,0:09:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,started shaping
Dialogue: 0,0:09:53.00,0:09:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,single, thin stone blades,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:55.00,0:09:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sometimes rounded ovals,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:58.00,0:10:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but often in what are to our eyes
Dialogue: 0,0:10:00.00,0:10:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an arresting, symmetrical pointed leaf
Dialogue: 0,0:10:03.00,0:10:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or teardrop form.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:05.00,0:10:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These Acheulian hand axes --
Dialogue: 0,0:10:07.00,0:10:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they're named after St. Acheul in France,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.00,0:10:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where finds were made in 19th century --
Dialogue: 0,0:10:12.00,0:10:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have been unearthed in their thousands,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:15.00,0:10:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,scattered across Asia, Europe and Africa,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:18.00,0:10:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,almost everywhere Homo erectus
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.00,0:10:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Homo ergaster roamed.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:24.00,0:10:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, the sheer numbers of these hand axes
Dialogue: 0,0:10:27.00,0:10:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,shows that they can't have been made
Dialogue: 0,0:10:29.00,0:10:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for butchering animals.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:31.00,0:10:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the plot really thickens when you realize
Dialogue: 0,0:10:34.00,0:10:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that, unlike other pleistocene tools,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:37.00,0:10:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the hand axes often exhibit
Dialogue: 0,0:10:39.00,0:10:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,no evidence of wear
Dialogue: 0,0:10:41.00,0:10:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on their delicate blade edges.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:43.00,0:10:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And some, in any event, are too big
Dialogue: 0,0:10:45.00,0:10:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to use for butchery.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:48.00,0:10:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their symmetry, their attractive materials
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.00,0:10:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and, above all,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:52.00,0:10:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their meticulous workmanship
Dialogue: 0,0:10:54.00,0:10:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are simply quite beautiful
Dialogue: 0,0:10:57.00,0:11:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to our eyes, even today.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.00,0:11:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what were these ancient --
Dialogue: 0,0:11:04.00,0:11:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, they're ancient, they're foreign,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:06.00,0:11:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they're at the same time
Dialogue: 0,0:11:08.00,0:11:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,somehow familiar.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:10.00,0:11:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What were these artifacts for?
Dialogue: 0,0:11:13.00,0:11:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The best available answer
Dialogue: 0,0:11:15.00,0:11:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that they were literally
Dialogue: 0,0:11:17.00,0:11:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the earliest known works of art,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:19.00,0:11:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,practical tools transformed
Dialogue: 0,0:11:21.00,0:11:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into captivating aesthetic objects,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:24.00,0:11:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,contemplated both for their elegant shape
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.00,0:11:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and their virtuoso craftsmanship.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.00,0:11:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hand axes mark
Dialogue: 0,0:11:32.00,0:11:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an evolutionary advance in human history --
Dialogue: 0,0:11:34.00,0:11:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tools fashioned to function
Dialogue: 0,0:11:36.00,0:11:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as what Darwinians call "fitness signals" --
Dialogue: 0,0:11:39.00,0:11:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is to say, displays
Dialogue: 0,0:11:41.00,0:11:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are performances
Dialogue: 0,0:11:43.00,0:11:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like the peacock's tail,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:45.00,0:11:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,except that, unlike hair and feathers,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:48.00,0:11:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the hand axes are consciously
Dialogue: 0,0:11:50.00,0:11:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cleverly crafted.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:52.00,0:11:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Competently made hand axes
Dialogue: 0,0:11:54.00,0:11:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,indicated desirable personal qualities --
Dialogue: 0,0:11:58.00,0:12:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,intelligence, fine motor control,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:01.00,0:12:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,planning ability,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:03.00,0:12:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,conscientiousness
Dialogue: 0,0:12:05.00,0:12:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sometimes access to rare materials.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:08.00,0:12:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over tens of thousands of generations,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:11.00,0:12:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,such skills increased the status
Dialogue: 0,0:12:13.00,0:12:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of those who displayed them
Dialogue: 0,0:12:15.00,0:12:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and gained a reproductive advantage
Dialogue: 0,0:12:17.00,0:12:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,over the less capable.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:19.00,0:12:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know, it's an old line,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:21.00,0:12:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it has been shown to work --
Dialogue: 0,0:12:23.00,0:12:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Why don't you come up to my cave, so I can show you my hand axes?"
Dialogue: 0,0:12:26.00,0:12:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:12:28.00,0:12:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Except, of course, what's interesting about this
Dialogue: 0,0:12:31.00,0:12:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that we can't be sure how that idea was conveyed,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:34.00,0:12:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because the Homo erectus
Dialogue: 0,0:12:36.00,0:12:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that made these objects
Dialogue: 0,0:12:39.00,0:12:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,did not have language.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:41.00,0:12:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's hard to grasp,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:43.00,0:12:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's an incredible fact.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:46.00,0:12:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This object was made
Dialogue: 0,0:12:48.00,0:12:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by a hominid ancestor,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:51.00,0:12:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Homo erectus or Homo ergaster,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:55.00,0:12:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between 50,000 and 100,000 years
Dialogue: 0,0:12:58.00,0:13:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before language.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:01.00,0:13:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Stretching over a million years,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:03.00,0:13:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the hand axe tradition
Dialogue: 0,0:13:05.00,0:13:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the longest artistic tradition
Dialogue: 0,0:13:08.00,0:13:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in human and proto-human history.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:11.00,0:13:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By the end of the hand axe epic, Homo sapiens --
Dialogue: 0,0:13:14.00,0:13:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as they were then called, finally --
Dialogue: 0,0:13:16.00,0:13:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were doubtless finding new ways
Dialogue: 0,0:13:18.00,0:13:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to amuse and amaze each other
Dialogue: 0,0:13:21.00,0:13:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by, who knows, telling jokes,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:23.00,0:13:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,storytelling, dancing, or hairstyling.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:26.00,0:13:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yes, hairstyling -- I insist on that.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:29.00,0:13:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For us moderns,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:31.00,0:13:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,virtuoso technique
Dialogue: 0,0:13:33.00,0:13:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is used to create imaginary worlds
Dialogue: 0,0:13:35.00,0:13:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in fiction and in movies,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:37.00,0:13:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to express intense emotions
Dialogue: 0,0:13:39.00,0:13:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with music, painting and dance.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:42.00,0:13:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But still,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:44.00,0:13:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one fundamental trait
Dialogue: 0,0:13:46.00,0:13:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the ancestral personality persists
Dialogue: 0,0:13:48.00,0:13:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in our aesthetic cravings:
Dialogue: 0,0:13:51.00,0:13:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the beauty we find
Dialogue: 0,0:13:53.00,0:13:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in skilled performances.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:55.00,0:13:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,From Lascaux to the Louvre
Dialogue: 0,0:13:57.00,0:13:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to Carnegie Hall,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:59.00,0:14:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,human beings
Dialogue: 0,0:14:01.00,0:14:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have a permanent innate taste
Dialogue: 0,0:14:03.00,0:14:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for virtuoso displays in the arts.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:07.00,0:14:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We find beauty
Dialogue: 0,0:14:09.00,0:14:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in something done well.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:13.00,0:14:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the next time you pass a jewelry shop window
Dialogue: 0,0:14:15.00,0:14:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,displaying a beautifully cut
Dialogue: 0,0:14:17.00,0:14:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,teardrop-shaped stone,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:19.00,0:14:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,don't be so sure
Dialogue: 0,0:14:21.00,0:14:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's just your culture telling you
Dialogue: 0,0:14:23.00,0:14:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that that sparkling jewel is beautiful.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:25.00,0:14:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Your distant ancestors loved that shape
Dialogue: 0,0:14:28.00,0:14:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and found beauty in the skill needed to make it,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:31.00,0:14:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even before
Dialogue: 0,0:14:33.00,0:14:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they could put their love into words.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:35.00,0:14:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Is beauty in the eye of the beholder?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:38.00,0:14:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No, it's deep in our minds.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:41.00,0:14:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a gift handed down from the intelligent skills
Dialogue: 0,0:14:44.00,0:14:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and rich emotional lives
Dialogue: 0,0:14:46.00,0:14:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of our most ancient ancestors.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:49.00,0:14:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our powerful reaction to images,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:51.00,0:14:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the expression of emotion in art,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:54.00,0:14:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the beauty of music, to the night sky,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:57.00,0:15:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will be with us and our descendants
Dialogue: 0,0:15:00.00,0:15:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for as long as the human race exists.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:03.00,0:15:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:05.00,0:15:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)