Re: "Powerful and Coldhearted"

To the editor:



Inzlicht and Obhi (Powerful and coldhearted, 7/27/14) problematically generalize from the laboratory an inverse relationship between power and empathy.  No doubt power can have a corrupting impact on empathy - the dysfunction in Washington is an unfortunate and blatant example. But when we think about power, it is important to ask what kind of power we are talking about. The article suggests that the 'power' explored in the authors' research involved power as domination and submission. Someone who feels subordinate to others has a higher likelihood of surviving if she is attuned to the emotional states of others (i.e., empathic). On the contrary, it is more difficult to dominate someone if you are empathizing with that person's predicament.

However, empathy can be, in itself, an important expression of power.  As a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst empathy is my most important tool. Arguably the most powerful man on earth, the Pope, seems to possess deep empathy. The authors state it is hard for influential people to feel empathy. If the pope is not among the most 'influential people' in the world who is?



Respectfully submitted


Larry S.  Sandberg