RobinZ comments on Pain - Less Wrong

32 Post author: Alicorn 02 August 2009 07:12PM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Comments (195)

You are viewing a single comment's thread.

Comment author: RobinZ 03 August 2009 01:24:01PM *  18 points [-]

I think you are confusing levels, here. Observe:

Q. What, if anything, is bad about having the functional equipment to feel pain?

A. Pain is a useful indicator of conditions harmful to the body, and therefore can only be bad insofar as it (a) is less than optimal for that purpose or (b) has undesirable side effects.

Q. What, if anything, is bad about feeling pain?

A. Feeling pain frequently causes a reduction of pleasure, and in extreme circumstances can cause distraction from important tasks or significant psychological harm.

In other words, the falling of the tree causes mechanical vibrations but no auditory experiences.

(Yes, I repeat some things which have been said before. I apologize. My point is to note the confusion in the question.)