Within the business and management literature, empathy has taken on increased importance as a central element to leadership, improving marketing strategies, corporate philanthropy, creating organizational connectedness, and as a strategy for preventing managerial wrongdoing. Although defining empathy is difficult, it is the identification with another’s thoughts and emotions through an imaginative process. This identification, ideally, will facilitate a wider connection with stakeholders beyond self-interest and motivate a better business environment. This article argues empathy is an overblown concept that is only marginally supported by the philosophical and psychological research and, therefore, has limited application to business. Empathy is problematic because our inferences of mind are often inaccurate; not everyone is good at empathizing; it’s not necessary to understand action intention; doesn’t motivate helping behaviour; and could lead to immoral actions. My stance is definitively anti-empathy; perspective-taking is not sufficient or necessary as a management or business tool. Our understanding of people rests, not on empathy, but with our emotions, norms, and the social context in which we find ourselves.

在商业和管理文献中，同理心已成为领导力，改进营销策略，企业慈善事业，建立组织联系以及防止管理不当的策略的重要要素。尽管很难定义同情心，但这是通过想象的过程与他人的思想和情感的认同。理想情况下，这种识别将促进与利益相关者之间更广泛的联系，而不仅仅是出于个人利益，并激发一个更好的商业环境。本文认为，同理心是一个过分的概念，仅在哲学和心理学研究中得到了很少的支持，因此在商业上的应用受到限制。同理是有问题的，因为我们的思维推论常常是不准确的。不是每个人都善于同情。不必了解行动意图；不会激发帮助行为；并可能导致不道德的行为。我的立场是绝对的反移情。采取观点作为管理或商业工具是不够的或没有必要的。我们对人的理解不是建立在同理心上，而是建立在我们的情感，规范和我们所处的社会环境中。