Pijn in het tijdperk van haar technische elimineerbaarheid

Pain in the age of its technical eliminability (Norbert Vogel, abstract bachelor thesis June 2014) Physical pain is a useful warning signal of tissue damage, its main biological function being the prevention of further damage and the promotion of recovery. However, often such a function cannot be shown to be present. In such cases, the question arises whether pain is a meaningless torment, or whether it has other meanings in human life. While religious leaders traditionally have stressed the importance for salvation of the soul, philosophers have tried to find meanings in a more worldly context. Physical suffering might be a good training in courage, humility or public spirit, or it might promote creativity in the mind of the artist. The main purpose of this paper is to question these positions. It is argued, primarily against Buytendijk and Nietzsche, that no intrinsic value can reasonably be attributed to physical pain. Consequently, modern techniques to alleviate pain can be fully applied without existential hesitation.