When I got up to get away from the computer just now I practically fell over. My left leg had gone to sleep. Because I'd been sitting, motionless, with my legs crossed for an hour so as not to wake up the cat in my lap.

The cat eventually woke itelf. It was draped over my leg like a tatty old fur piece. Its head kept getting closer to the floor. The whole cat seemed to be gradually lengthening. Finally it realized its peril, pulled itself together, frantically digging its claws into me. Not deeply enough to wake my leg up, however.

Why would I put a cat's comfort ahead of my own? It isn't reasonable.

How many drivers will swerve their vehicle to avoid an animal in the road, potentially endangering themselves and their passengers? That is certainly not a reasoned reaction.

Common wisdom says we have evolved from creatures resembling killer apes. Only our intelligence allows us to rise above our violent instincts. But it sometimes seems to me that we possess an innate respect for life which our intelligence convinces us to set aside. The worst evils in the world are not the result of instinctive reactions but of well thought out plans.