A World Of Ideas With Bill Moyers: A Confucian Life In America With Tu Wei Ming; A World Of Ideas With Bill Moyers: Ethics And Work With Joanne Ciulla; A World Of Ideas With Bill Moyers: Money With Jacob Needleman; A World Of Ideas With Bill Moyers: Science And Gender With Evelyn Fox Keller

Generally speaking, conversations with Bill Moyers usually turn out to be fascinating, and the first season of A World of Ideas offered many provocative sessions from landmark figures in various areas. Overall, however, these four new entries are disappointing. A Confucian Life in America with Tu Wei Ming assumes an understanding of Confucian philosophy from the start, and then spends most of the time exploring recent political developments in China--making the title somewhat misleading. While Tu Wei Ming's comments on the tension between Western ways and Eastern thought are interesting, few viewers will gain a real understanding of the complex variables at work in modern China today--especially in a wide-ranging half-hour. Ethics and Work with Joanne Ciulla briefly explores the morals of 80s entrepreneurship, and then posits the need for an international set of norms in a global economy. While issues such as trust and loyalty in the workplace, and the meaningfulness of work are touched upon, the discussion is too vague and freewheeling to cover either of the stated topics, "Ethics" or "Work," in any detail. Money with Jacob Needleman is perhaps the most disappointing of the bunch. Needleman, a philosopher who is currently working on a new book about how money affects our lives, spends about a minute on the subject of money, before shifting to an embarrassingly simple discourse on higher states of consciousness. He uses the example of the feelings he experienced while watching an Apollo liftoff, and then wonders if we could all be in these higher states most of the time. The problem is obvious: we can't have a mood lifting Apollo liftoff every moment of the day, and it would be very difficult indeed to truly "experience the moment" of, say, waiting in a long checkout line at the supermarket, as a transcendental experience. Science and Gender with Evelyn Keller has the comparative benefits of at least being about what it says its about--the role of gender in science, or, more specifically, the language of science. Keller provides excellent historical and contemporary examples from the scientific literature that equate "masculinity" with "objectivity" and "femininity" with "emotion." Arguing that the language of science has shaped the content of science, she makes some astute observations about how dangerous these gender-related concepts can be for the future. Science and Gender with Evelyn Keller is recommended. The other selections are not necessary purchases. (See: SMITHSONIAN WORLD: TALES OF THE HUMAN DAWN for availability.)