Genius of the Ancient World: Buddha ep.1
Bettany Hughes's three-part series profiles three very different thinkers - Buddha, Socrates, and Confucius - and assesses the major contribution they have made to different philosophical and religious traditions. [video width="1280" height="720" id="935" src="" poster="" loop="false" autoplay="false" preload="metadata" videopress_guid=""][/video] Content-wise, the programs are extremely good: Hughes interviews several experts in Buddhism, classical philosophy, and Confucianism; and visits several of the ancient sites associated with all three of them. Although the arguments are sometimes difficult to follow - especially in the Buddhist program - they are crisply advanced by a presenter who possesses an obvious enthusiasm for her subjects. And yet there is a strange feeling of similarity about all three programs, despite the diversity of subject-matter. We witness Hughes tramping across va