On the relation of injury to pain the John J. Bonica Lecture (original) (raw)

Feeling and Experiencing Pain. A Comparison Between Different Conceptual Models

Humana.Mente: Journal of Philosophical Studies, 2018

In this paper the complex phenomenon of pain is discussed and analysed along different theoretical paths: cognitivism, hermeneutics, phenomenology. The neuro-cognitive approach is exemplified through Paul and Patricia Churchland's writings; then H.-G. Gadamer's hermeneutical approach is evaluated. While apparently opposite, they share a common assumption, namely that the body is basically to be conceived of as not really different from the Cartesian Res extensa. Some problems thus arise: in particular, the aspect of reflexivity implied in any experience of pain is overlooked. Accordingly, an adequate approach to feeling pain must take the phenomenological path. This means to discuss Husserl's but also Scheler's and Heidegger's contributions, in order to bring to the fore the complexity of the phenomenon of pain, which shows a particular and paradoxical structure: exposing the subject feeling pain to its own internal exteriority.

Human Pain-Physical and Non-Physical

International Journal of Indian Psychology, 2021

Pain hurts, be it physical or mental (non-physical). None of us escape it but how many of us have given a thought to which pain is more severe the physical or non-physical. Just consider the famous lines by C.S. Lewis-" Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also harder to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden; it is easier to say, "My tooth is aching" than to say, "My heart is broken". These lines speak volumes about the emotional pain's intensity over the physical pain. In this paper, we shall be delving deep into facets of pain both physical as well as non-physical and shall understand their meanings, their comparative imprints on the affected person, the brain processes underlying both types of pain, and ways and means of treating both pains. Also, we shall examine whether the end results of pain are always negative or sometimes the pain leaves a "spark" which proves to be a great positive game-changer.

Perspectives on Pain: Introduction

19: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century, 2012

Throughout history, pain has been understood to be a universal yet intensely personal experience. For the eighteenth-century faithful, the agonies arising from a cancerous tumour might have been interpreted as a divine gift, an opportunity to submit fully to God's will, or even to be purged of sin. For the worn out mill-worker of the nineteenth century, the pain of a mangled arm caused by malfunctioning machinery could have been understood as an unjust punishment. Today's marathon runner may view pain as an endurance test, a barrier to be pushed through and past; a necessary means to a triumphant end.