RE: The Purpose of Pain
January 27, 2021 at 2:02 pm
(This post was last modified: January 27, 2021 at 2:18 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
I don't see any shortage of things that goad human beings out of complacency - and I'll note that the most complacent people are often those in the most pain.
I don't personally think that we would be improved by the absence of pain, but, likewise, I doubt the value of pain for improvement. That's not what pain does. I don't personally think that the existence of pain demonstrates that the creator of this world (whether we're talking fairy tales or something more serious) is evil, either, since it's pretty clear that pain is an accident of biology in the grandest sense of the word. No one to blame or be thankful to, nothing to be happy or upset over. I don't think that it's a poor design relative to the natural constraints of it's production, either.
We got it from our parents, who had no choice in the matter themselves, and who spent their lives trying to minimize it as most of us will do for our own. Pain has no specific or necessary or reliable outcome with respect to learning, it barely manages that with respect to it's own biological function. Indelible stamp and all that.
With respect to what might drive our urge for change in state. Maybe we've got that backward. There's just no stop button. No brakes on this train, or, none that we know how to operate. What we conceptualize as an urge may more accurately be our inability to remain in any particular state indefinitely. That said, I've never found myself sitting around happy thinking - "man, I would just love to go find me some misery right about now". Anecdotal, I know.
I don't personally think that we would be improved by the absence of pain, but, likewise, I doubt the value of pain for improvement. That's not what pain does. I don't personally think that the existence of pain demonstrates that the creator of this world (whether we're talking fairy tales or something more serious) is evil, either, since it's pretty clear that pain is an accident of biology in the grandest sense of the word. No one to blame or be thankful to, nothing to be happy or upset over. I don't think that it's a poor design relative to the natural constraints of it's production, either.
We got it from our parents, who had no choice in the matter themselves, and who spent their lives trying to minimize it as most of us will do for our own. Pain has no specific or necessary or reliable outcome with respect to learning, it barely manages that with respect to it's own biological function. Indelible stamp and all that.
With respect to what might drive our urge for change in state. Maybe we've got that backward. There's just no stop button. No brakes on this train, or, none that we know how to operate. What we conceptualize as an urge may more accurately be our inability to remain in any particular state indefinitely. That said, I've never found myself sitting around happy thinking - "man, I would just love to go find me some misery right about now". Anecdotal, I know.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
