The Ascent of Man (Episode 4): The Hidden Structure

Episode 4, “The Hidden Structure,” follows humanity’s quest to see beneath the surface of things, from the first controlled use of fire and early metalworking to the mystical experiments of the alchemists, asking how heat and transformation reveal the inner order of matter. Bronowski moves through furnaces, forges, and laboratories to trace a line from Promethean fire and alchemical symbolism to the birth of modern chemistry, showing how the search for gold, purity, and “essences” slowly became a disciplined science that uncovered the layered structure of the physical world.bbc+4​

1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001p904

2. http://www.infocobuild.com/books-and-films/science/TheAscentOfMan/episode-04.html

3. https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/the-ascent-of-man/episodes-season-1/1030202348/

4. http://www.markrkelly.com/Blog/2025/05/10/j-bronowksi-the-ascent-of-man/

5. https://abagond.wordpress.com/2009/12/12/jacob-bronowski-the-hidden-structure/

1. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1484311/

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ascent_of_Man

3. https://www.organism.earth/library/document/ascent-of-man-10

4. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wms4m/episodes/guide