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Fergal Keane reflects on the vital human instinct of compassion and how it benefits us as individuals to be compassionate. He considers how, when faced with evil, a sense of justice can interfere with compassion. He concludes that although there are times when compassion might overwhelm critical reasoning and propel us into disaster, it can also move us to mercy and the healing of wounds.

To illustrate his argument Fergal Keane draws on the writing of Bernard Schlink and Cormac McCarthy, the poetry of Elizabeth Jennings and Michael Longley, and the music of Leonard Cohen and Morten Lauridsen.

The readers are Liza Sadovy and Patrick Drury.

Producer: Ronni Davis
A Unique production for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4.