The Ascent of Man

What separates man from other primates, or indeedforever.
other animals? Jacob Bronowski, a mathematicianFrom mathematics to astronomy is a logical step. The
trained in physics, examines the scientific andMayan civilization housed their astronomers in pyramid
intellectual history of humankind in his book Thelike structures and developed calendars to trace the
Ascent of Man. Though the book is based on thejourney of the stars, Copernicus placed the sun at
television series aired on BBC in the 1970s, it is farthe centre of the planetary system and Galileo gave
from outdated. Over 30 years after it was firsthis life to prove that this was so. The lives of these
published; The Ascent of Man still invokes pride in ourpeople have a profound impact on the modern way
past and instills hope for our future in the reader.of life. While no account of the ascent of man can
Covering a wide canvas from the dawn of man untilleave out Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein,
the modern times, Bronowski examines how man hasBronowski describes more than their work. He shows
been the shaper of his surroundings rather than beingus how they thought and how their characters
shaped by it. Every other species has been adapteddefined their work.
to fit into a certain ecological niche; they haveThe Industrial Revolution was the greatest discoverer
evolved for a particular environment. Man, despite hisof power- a time when new sources of energy were
comparatively weak physical attributes has been ablediscovered and used. With this came many of the
to shape the world with his unique set of gifts.characteristics of the modern world that we abhor-
Bronowski believes that it was not so much biologicalthe factory system with inhuman work hours,
evolution, but cultural evolution that has made mantyrannical bosses, pollution and the domination of men
what he is today.by machines. While bringing these to our notice,
Tracing the evolution of human from their hunterBronowski does not leave out the other side of this
gather phase to the present one, he says that theage - the delight of discovery and the sense of fun
change in diet from plant to animal based materialsin finding new ways of doing things. He believes that
gave humans more time free to spend on buildingthis revolution is as important as the Renaissance in
capabilities to get food from sources that could notthe ascent of man- while one established the dignity
be tackled by brute force. The most marked effectof man; the other established the unity of nature.
of this was to foster group action andDescribing the theory of evolution by natural selection
communication. The next single largest step in theput forward by Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace,
ascent of man was the change from a nomadic wayBronowski says that it was the most important single
of life to village agriculture, made possible by a set ofscientific innovation of the nineteenth century. It
natural and human events. Settled agriculture createsshows that the world is in movement and that
a technology from which all sciences take off.creation is not static; it changes with time unlike the
Taking the reader on a journey through time,physical world. Another discovery that has shaped
Bronowski delights in the inventions and scientificbiology is one by contemporary scientists, which
discoveries made over the last ten thousand years-express the cycle of life in a chemical form that links
from the domestication of wheat in 8000 BC to thethem to nature as a whole.
double helix structure of the DNA in the 1950s. HeTuring to the physical sciences, Bronowski says that
describes the tools that extend the human hand asthe aim of the physical sciences has been to give an
an instrument of vision- they reveal new structuresexact picture of the material world. One achievement
and make it possible to put them together inof physics in the twentieth century has been to
imaginative combinations.prove that aim is unattainable! Physicists have shown
By delving deep into the lives and thoughts of anthat there is no absolute knowledge; all information is
extraordinary range of people, Bronowski discusses aimperfect and we have to treat it with humility.
wider range of complex subjects from AnthropologyIn the last chapter in book, titled The Long Childhood,
to Astronomy and from Mathematics to the LifeBronowski goes back to what makes man human
Sciences. He reveals the linkages that bring togetherand what has made the ascent of man possible. He
cultures by introducing us to Pythagoras, who foundsays, "We are all afraid - for our confidence, for the
a basic relation between musical harmony andfuture, for the world. That is the nature of the
mathematics, Euclid, Ptolemy and Arab scholars whohuman imagination. Yet every man, every civilization
delighted in calculation and geometry. The authorhas gone forward because of its engagement with
demonstrates how the spread of ideas along thewhat it has set itself to do. The personal
trade routes - the spread of the numeral system forcommitment of man to his skill, the intellectual
notation of numbers from the Arab world and thecommitment and the emotional commitment working
decimal system from India - changed mathematicstogether as one, has made the Ascent of Man.