Compassionate Purpose - Discussion with Magnus Vinding

A live interview/discussion with Magnus Vinding covering his new book 'Compassionate Purpose - Personal Inspiration for a Better World' - there will be an arc of interview questions covered, with some time for Q&A afterwards.

Magnus Vinding is the author of Suffering-Focused Ethics (2020), Reasoned Politics (2022), and Compassionate Purpose (2026). He received a degree in mathematics from the University of Copenhagen and is co-founder of the Center for Reducing Suffering.

"How are we to live, in a world in which there is so much unnecessary suffering? Magnus Vinding looks unflinchingly at that question, and gives an answer that is realistic, and yet inspiring. Read this book. It may change your life."

— Peter Singer, author of Animal Liberation

# Compassionate Purpose: Personal Inspiration for a Better World

What if the point of self-improvement were not just to feel better or get ahead, but to become more capable of helping in a hurting world?

In Compassionate Purpose, Magnus Vinding bridges self-help and ethics with a framework for personal development in service of a larger goal: reducing extreme suffering. From self-compassion and motivation to habits, relationships, and concrete action, this book is a toolkit for building a life that takes suffering seriously without losing hope or direction.

"Often when we consider compassion, the qualities of kindness, empathy, care, and acceptance immediately come to mind. But at the heart of compassion is suffering, something almost completely overlooked, yet compassion only exists because of suffering. Magnus Vinding does an outstanding job in his book Compassionate Purpose, shedding light on the complexity of suffering and how compassion can transform the experience for the better. Whatever you do, please read this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and couldn't put it down."

— James N. Kirby, director of the Compassionate Mind Research Group at the University of Queensland, author of Choose Compassion

"Compassionate Purpose is a serious and thoughtful exploration of how ethical concern for suffering can be integrated with a personally meaningful sense of purpose. Readers looking for a clear-eyed, unsentimental examination of compassion as a lived commitment — rather than a passing feeling — will find much here to reflect on."

— Steven C. Hayes, co-developer of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, author of A Liberated Mind