Main content

02/05/2011

In a special programme looking at empathy and cruelty, Andrew Marr talks to Simon Baron-Cohen, Gwen Adshead, Julian Baggini and Val McDermid.

Andrew Marr explores how far empathy, or the lack of it, can explain cruelty. Simon Baron-Cohen proposes turning the focus away from evil or specific personality disorders, and to understand human behaviour by studying the 'empathy circuit' in the brain. Gwen Adshead, a forensic psychotherapist at Broadmoor Hospital and the crime writer Val McDermid question whether this would help in their line of work, and the philosopher Julian Baggini tries to pin down what we mean when we talk about the self.

Producer: Katy Hickman.

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Mon 2 May 2011 09:00

Broadcast

  • Mon 2 May 2011 09:00

Podcast