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Corporate Social Responsibility and Dehumanization

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Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is widely viewed as an important feature of contemporary business. It is characterized by the notion that organizations ought to voluntarily recognize and, where possible, practically mitigate the social impacts of its business activities, and that doing so allows organizations to meet the expectations of affected stakeholders. However, CSR initiatives are almost universally tethered to the idea that corporations exist to serve their own performance objectives, and that these will ultimately take precedence over wider macro-social considerations. The present paper proposes that this conception of CSR mirrors the underlying neurological tension between the domains of analytic reasoning and empathic or socioemotional reasoning, and the neural correlates of each. Using the opposing domains hypothesis, it is proposed that CSR, as it is currently conceived of and practiced, is antithetical to social and ethical reasoning at the level of the brain, can increase the scope for dehumanization, and demands calling the ethical dimensions of CSR into question.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Organizational Behavior, Brain, Mind and Consciousness Lab, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Gareth Craze

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  1. Gareth Craze
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Correspondence to Gareth Craze.

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The author(s) whose name(s) is/are listed in this manuscript certify that they have NO affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest (such as honoraria; educational grants; participation in speakers’ bureaus; membership, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interest; and expert testimony or patent-licensing arrangements), or non-financial interest (such as personal or professional relationships, affi liations, knowledge or beliefs) in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

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Craze, G. Corporate Social Responsibility and Dehumanization. Philosophy of Management 18, 43–53 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40926-018-0085-2

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