Where does physical pain come from?

[STT]

Mind simply has ability to experience any form, Qualia. Feeling is not something which happen in the brain as a result of motion of matter.

 

[IWantGod]

But don’t animals feel pain? They have no immaterial aspect.

I don’t know if that’s true. In any case we could build a sophisticated robot that responds to damage, and even makes crying sounds as a response, but that is not the same thing as actually experiencing pain. If Animals really do experience pain then it would seem that they are experiencing something that cannot be defined in physical terms.

 

[JanSobieskiIII]

Because from an evolutionary standpoint creatures that can feel pain survive longer to reproduce.

If we couldn’t feel pain we’d have no aversion to it and would likely get ourselves killed from recklessness.

 

[QwertyGirl]

I was always taught it exists to be an alarm system so that we know when something is wrong with our bodies. I think the question might be, why is it so unpleasant. But that is just my opinion. I took biology for business majors, so I wouldn’t take it to the bank.

 

[Gertabelle]

catholic1seeks:

But don’t animals feel pain? They have no immaterial aspect.

I don’t know if that’s true. In any case we could build a sophisticated robot that responds to damage, and even makes crying sounds as a response, but that is not the same thing as actually experiencing pain. If Animals really do experience pain then it would seem that they are experiencing something that cannot be defined in physical terms.

Of course the experience of pain can be defined in physical terms!

Seriously, this is basic anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry. Pain is transmitted through atomic interchanges along the surface of each neuron, which causes chemicals to be released in the synaptic gaps between neurons (remember axons and dendrites).

When messages get to the brain, further chain reactions take place – to remove us from danger (one signal that pain is giving us), or to care for the pained area, etc.

My dog absolutely experiences pain. Ever accidentally stepped on a cat’s tail or a dog’s paw? That yowl or yelp is their expression of experiencing pain. But just as you or I would move our hand away from a flame before thinking about it, the cat or dog’s response might also be outside of their control, an instinctual reaction placed their by God for the survival of the species.

My point is that there are absolutely ways to define physical pain in scientific terms. This is not the realm of the supernatural, in my opinion. It’s just science.

 

[IWantGod]

Of course the experience of pain can be defined in physical terms!

Seriously, this is basic anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry. Pain is transmitted through atomic interchanges along the surface of each neuron, which causes chemicals to be released in the synaptic gaps between neurons (remember axons and dendrites).

When messages get to the brain, further chain reactions take place – to remove us from danger (one signal that pain is giving us), or to care for the pained area, etc.

I am talking about the experience of pain, not the physiological activity that actualizes that experience.

 

[Gertabelle]

And what do you mean by “the experience of pain”?

Are you talking about our thinking processes regarding our experience of pain? (e.g., “I shouldn’t have put my hand on that table saw,” or “I shouldn’t have tried juggling cacti.”)

Are you talking about our fear of pain? (e.g., “I have to get a root canal. I hope it doesn’t hurt.”)

 

[Pup7]

Not only that but there is acute and chronic pain. In the second, the brain releases natural opiate in response to the electrical signals to try and relieve the pain.

That’s done in every form of pain.

Pain is pain. Acute and chronic are medical terms defined by specific parameters. The body doesn’t “know” the difference. We define it and quantify it because we treat it differently.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

There is definitely a subjective aspect to pain. The ‘subjective’ aspect tends to be the only point that people use to argue against materialism (explanatory or metaphysical). While there is an explanatory gap (how physical/objective → subjective) that doesn’t necessarily point to a metaphysical gap or difference (material and immaterial). Here I assume that you’re lumping in subjective with immaterial.

Some argue that the subjective is still physical but it’s simply a different perspective. It only exist in some abstract form and we simply lack a physical vocabulary to label such abstract/subjective aspects. I disagree with this of course because I view subjective aspect as having some metaphysical existence. Purely subjective experiences, like mental imagery/simulation, can cause things. Having causal powers alone points to existence. These experiences (e.g. mental imagery) lack physical properties which is evidenced by the fact that they’re unobservable but still produce causes. Dr. Heather Barry Kappes and Dr. Carey K. Morewedge have a paper on ‘mental simulation’ that covers some of this phenomena.

Read here.

Excerpt:

Mentally simulating an experience causes similar cognitive, physiological, and/or behavioral consequences as having the corresponding experience in reality.

I have much more evidence as well but I’ll leave it at that.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Pain is the body’s warning system, physical pain is not an emotion.

 

[Augustinian]

rying to figure out how physical pain exists, if all our sensations are simply just a message (which is immaterial) our brain sends to our body.

Pain is a gift, an alert that something is wrong.

There are a few people who don’t have the capacity to feel pain, and they are usually missing fingers with all the burns and other injuries they got without being able to feel it and get out of the way.

 

[ASC]

Nerves send the message to the brain.

 

[meltzerboy2]

Yes, the study of consciousness is a big topic and cuts across several disciplines, including psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, physics, and theology.