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Among the magnum opuses of Sir David Attenborough is
“Zoo Quest,” a
TV program that the BBC broadcast throughout Europe for the decade commencing
in 1954. In this series, the life of animals in the wild was filmed
in Africa, South East Asia, South America, Australia, and other parts
of the world. After that, Sir David Attenborough continued to produce
outstanding documentaries, one after another:
“Life on Earth (1979),”
a series on the evolution of life on this planet;
“The Living Planet
(1984),” depicting the natural world from an ecological perspective;
“The Trials of Life (1990),” describing the struggle for existence among
wild animals; and
“The Private Life of Plants (1995),” showing how plants
struggle for existence in various habitats. These series have been broadcast
in many countries in the world and have received great acclaim. In the
20th century, science has made breakthrough progress through analytical
and reductive research methodologies. In the field of life science also,
molecular research has developed at an unprecedented pace. At the same
time, it cannot be denied that people, affected by such scientific progress,
threaten to lose the real vision of life-forms, the subjects of such
analytical research. Sir David Attenborough has described particulars
of struggles among life-forms through films, strongly advocating an
important perspective of grasping phenomena connected with life-forms
in a comprehensive manner. In this respect, his works have underlined
basic aspects of biology by presenting a holistic view of the natural
world, raising incisive questions about today's science and presenting
insightful suggestions. Sir David Attenborough's films feature not only
beautiful images of rare life-forms and unique ecologies, but also a
clear perspective, with deep understanding and a straightforward approach
to the essentials of global life, such as the evolution of life, various
ecologies, struggles for existence and interdependence of life-forms.
All of his works have strong appeal for international audiences in that
they express deep awe of life and a strong will to seek an answer to
the question
“What is life?” In this respect, his works have provided
audiences with vital pointers in considering how people should coexist
with nature. For these achievements, Sir David Attenborough has received
high acclaim as a researcher as well in the United Kingdom: he was selected
as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1983, and was knighted in 1985.
Therefore, we have concluded that his achievements are surely worthy
for the award of the International Cosmos Prize, the aim of which has
been to search out and give recognition to individuals and teams from
all over the world that have contributed to promotion of the basic concept
of the Prize, The
“Harmonious Coexistence of
Nature and Mankind.”
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