Suffering

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Suffering is any aversive (not necessarily unwanted) experience and the corresponding negative emotion. It is usually associated with pain and unhappiness, but any condition can be suffering if it is subjectively aversive. Antonyms include happiness or pleasure. Most moral systems are based upon or at least mention suffering as being undesirable or evil.

Related terms are sadness, sorrow and grief. Some view anger as a type of suffering. Boredom, or ennui is the suffering from a lack of interesting things to experience or do (physically or intellectually), while not in the mood of "doing nothing".

1 Abolitionism
2 Suffering and the Brain
3 Suffering Addressed by Major Faiths
4 Philosophy
5 Sociology
6 Law
7 See also

[edit] Abolitionism

As sometimes distinct from the movement to abolish slavery, abolitionism is also used to describe the project to eliminate sentient suffering through the use of science/rationality. Abolitionism (an outgrowth of utilitarianism), portrays suffering as the result of Darwinian genetic design and proposes that humans can replace the pain/pleasure axis with gradients of bliss through compassionate/intelligent genetic engineering as an interim solution to the problem of suffering. See: [1] [2] [3] [4].

[edit] Suffering and the Brain

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Neuroscience has now isolated a potential "suffering center of the brain". It's the anterior cingulate cortex (or gyrus). It fires up if a healthy person gets a dagger between the ribs, or is left off an invitation list[5]. That is, the anterior cingulate cortex is active in the presence of both physical and socially inflicted suffering.

[edit] Suffering Addressed by Major Faiths

[edit] Buddhism

In Buddhism, the central problem is identified as dukkha, a term in Pali and Sanskrit which can be translated as suffering or unsatisfactoriness; because this term is often misinterpreted in translation, it should be noted that dukkha specifically also includes an "underlying angst" and not only a more active conception of pain or suffering (see Viparinama-dukkha and Sankhara-dukkha, under dukkha); these latter forms are brought about due to the inherent changing nature of all phenomena (namely, that unease that comes from an ongoing, not fully conscious realization that anything one is or does will ultimately disintegrate). The fundamental principles of Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths, describe dukkha and a method of "awakening" from it. See also: samsara see also the different approaches of Buddhism and Christianity to the question of suffering.

Though it has existed for thousands of years - the Buddhist religion has not been proven as a means for an individual to transcend suffering, though some Buddhist practitioners have measured relatively high on indicators of affective status.

Buddhists believe that we are reborn when we die. This process is called Samsara. By following the eight-fold path and bearing in mind the four noble truths Buddhist believe that we can free ourselves from this constant cycle and reach Nirvana (a bit like heaven). This is decribed by the wheel of life.

[edit] Judaism and Non-Catholic Christianity

The book of Job is widely regarded as a profound poetical reflection on the nature and meaning of suffering. For other biblical references to suffering, mostly from the New Testament, see: [6] [7].

[edit] Roman Catholicism

In the Roman Catholic Church, suffering is seen as a result of man’s evil. Through the Crucifixion, Christ joined Himself to man’s suffering and transformed it into a redemptive act. Humanity, through suffering, joins in the redemption of the human race from sin. See also The Apostolic Letter Of John Paul II on the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering

The Roman Catholic religion does not espouse a method for an individual to eliminate suffering in their subjective life - rather it proposes that humans should accept their genetic design 'as is' and wait for an afterlife.

[edit] Philosophy

Some think the philosophy of existentialism sees suffering more in terms of something that helps people define their existence. An example of this can be seen in the work of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who specifically saw suffering as having the profound potential to increase man's appreciation of life.

[edit] Sociology

Social suffering, according to Iain Wilkinson in Suffering - A Sociological Introduction, is increasingly a concern in sociological fields such as medical anthropology, ethnography, mass media analysis, and Holocaust studies.

[edit] Law

The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment [8], 1984 defines "torture" as involving "suffering":

"...the term 'torture' means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions."