Suffering

Suffering, or pain in a broad sense,^[1] may be an experience of unpleasantness or aversion, possibly associated with the perception of harm or threat of harm in an individual.^[2] Suffering is the basic element that makes up the negative valence of affective phenomena. The opposite of suffering is pleasure or happiness.

Suffering is often categorized as physical^[3] or mental.^[4] It may come in all degrees of intensity, from mild to intolerable. Factors of duration and frequency of occurrence usually compound that of intensity. Attitudes toward suffering may vary widely, in the sufferer or other people, according to how much it is regarded as avoidable or unavoidable, useful or useless, deserved or undeserved.

Suffering occurs in the lives of sentient beings in numerous manners, often dramatically. As a result, many fields of human activity are concerned with some aspects of suffering. These aspects may include the nature of suffering, its processes, its origin and causes, its meaning and significance, its related personal, social, and cultural behaviors,^[5] its remedies, management, and uses.

^ See 'Terminology'. See also the entry 'Pleasure' in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, which begins with this paragraph: "Pleasure, in the inclusive usages most important in moral psychology, ethical theory, and the studies of mind, includes all joy and gladness – all our feeling good, or happy. It is often contrasted with similarly inclusive pain or suffering, which is similarly thought of as including all our feeling bad." It should be mentioned that most encyclopedias, like the one mentioned above and Britannica, do not have an article about suffering and describe pain in the physical sense only.
^ For instance, Wayne Hudson in Historicizing Suffering, Chapter 14 of Perspectives on Human Suffering (Jeff Malpas and Norelle Lickiss, editors, Springer, 2012) : "According to the standard account suffering is a universal human experience described as a negative basic feeling or emotion that involves a subjective character of unpleasantness, aversion, harm or threat of harm to body or mind (Spelman 1997; Cassell 1991)."
^ Examples of physical suffering: pain of various types, excessive heat, excessive cold, itching, hunger, thirst, nausea, air hunger, sleep deprivation. "IASP Pain Terminology". Archived from the original on September 26, 2008. Retrieved September 11, 2008."UAB – School of Medicine – Center for Palliative and Supportive Care". Archived from the original on 2007-10-28. Retrieved 2008-09-11. Other examples are given by L. W. Sumner, on p. 103 of Welfare, Happiness, and Ethics: "Think for a moment of the many physical symptoms which, when persistent, can make our lives miserable: nausea, hiccups, sneezing, dizziness, disorientation, loss of balance, itching, 'pins and needles', 'restless legs', tics, twitching, fatigue, difficulty in breathing, and so on."
^ Mental suffering can also be called psychological or emotional (see Psychological pain). Examples of mental suffering: depression (mood) / hopelessness, grief, sadness / loneliness / heartbreak, disgust, irritation, anger, jealousy, envy, craving or yearning, frustration, anguish, angst, fear, anxiety / panic, shame / guilt, regret, embarrassment / humiliation, restlessness.
^ Eggerman, Panter Brick, Mark, Catherine (2010). "Suffering, hope, and entrapment: Resilience and cultural values in Afghanistan". Social Science & Medicine. 71 (1): 71–83. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.03.023. PMC 3125115. PMID 20452111.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[1] See 'Terminology'. See also the entry 'Pleasure' in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, which begins with this paragraph: "Pleasure, in the inclusive usages most important in moral psychology, ethical theory, and the studies of mind, includes all joy and gladness – all our feeling good, or happy. It is often contrasted with similarly inclusive pain or suffering, which is similarly thought of as including all our feeling bad." It should be mentioned that most encyclopedias, like the one mentioned above and Britannica, do not have an article about suffering and describe pain in the physical sense only.

[2] For instance, Wayne Hudson in Historicizing Suffering, Chapter 14 of Perspectives on Human Suffering (Jeff Malpas and Norelle Lickiss, editors, Springer, 2012) : "According to the standard account suffering is a universal human experience described as a negative basic feeling or emotion that involves a subjective character of unpleasantness, aversion, harm or threat of harm to body or mind (Spelman 1997; Cassell 1991)."

[3] Examples of physical suffering: pain of various types, excessive heat, excessive cold, itching, hunger, thirst, nausea, air hunger, sleep deprivation. "IASP Pain Terminology". Archived from the original on September 26, 2008. Retrieved September 11, 2008."UAB – School of Medicine – Center for Palliative and Supportive Care". Archived from the original on 2007-10-28. Retrieved 2008-09-11. Other examples are given by L. W. Sumner, on p. 103 of Welfare, Happiness, and Ethics: "Think for a moment of the many physical symptoms which, when persistent, can make our lives miserable: nausea, hiccups, sneezing, dizziness, disorientation, loss of balance, itching, 'pins and needles', 'restless legs', tics, twitching, fatigue, difficulty in breathing, and so on."

[4] Mental suffering can also be called psychological or emotional (see Psychological pain). Examples of mental suffering: depression (mood) / hopelessness, grief, sadness / loneliness / heartbreak, disgust, irritation, anger, jealousy, envy, craving or yearning, frustration, anguish, angst, fear, anxiety / panic, shame / guilt, regret, embarrassment / humiliation, restlessness.

[5] Eggerman, Panter Brick, Mark, Catherine (2010). "Suffering, hope, and entrapment: Resilience and cultural values in Afghanistan". Social Science & Medicine. 71 (1): 71–83. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.03.023. PMC 3125115. PMID 20452111.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

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