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EPISODE · Feb 27, 2014 · 42 MIN

The Eye

from In Our Time: Science · host BBC Radio 4

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the eye. Humans have been attempting to understand the workings and significance of the organ for at least 2500 years. Some ancient philosophers believed that the eye enabled creatures to see by emitting its own light. The function and structures of the eye became an area of particular interest to doctors in the Islamic Golden Age. In Renaissance Europe the work of thinkers including Kepler and Descartes revolutionised thinking about how the organ worked, but it took several hundred years for the eye to be thoroughly understood. Eyes have long attracted more than purely scientific interest, known even today as the 'windows on the soul'.With:Patricia Fara Senior Tutor of Clare College, University of CambridgeWilliam Ayliffe Gresham Professor of Physic at Gresham CollegeRobert Iliffe Professor of Intellectual History and History of Science at the University of SussexProducer: Thomas Morris.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Feb 27, 2014

What this episode covers

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the eye. Humans have been attempting to understand the workings and significance of the organ for at least 2500 years. Some ancient philosophers believed that the eye enabled creatures to see by emitting its own light. The function and structures of the eye became an area of particular interest to doctors in the Islamic Golden Age. In Renaissance Europe the work of thinkers including Kepler and Descartes revolutionised thinking about how the organ worked, but it took several hundred years for the eye to be thoroughly understood. Eyes have long attracted more than purely scientific interest, known even today as the 'windows on the soul'.With:Patricia Fara Senior Tutor of Clare College, University of CambridgeWilliam Ayliffe Gresham Professor of Physic at Gresham CollegeRobert Iliffe Professor of Intellectual History and History of Science at the University of SussexProducer: Thomas Morris.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of In Our Time: Science?

This episode is 42 minutes long.

When was this In Our Time: Science episode published?

This episode was published on February 27, 2014.

What is this episode about?

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the eye. Humans have been attempting to understand the workings and significance of the organ for at least 2500 years. Some ancient philosophers believed that the eye enabled creatures to see by emitting its own...

Can I download this In Our Time: Science episode?

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