Some conceptual and ethical concerns about current views of pain (original) (raw)

The paper discusses conceptual and ethical concerns surrounding the definition and understanding of pain, particularly focusing on subjective experiences reported by individuals in the absence of obvious physiological causes. It highlights a moral tension arising from the current operationalization of pain that, while inclusive of subjective reports, may inadvertently support practices that downplay the pain of animals and infants. The author calls for a reassessment of pain definitions and advocates for a more inclusive view that recognizes pain in non-linguistic beings, thus emphasizing the need for more consistent pain management practices in both human and animal healthcare.