The unpleasantness of pain

Sapién-Córdoba, Abraham (2018) The unpleasantness of pain. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Pain is unpleasant. Given that pain is the paradigmatic example of an unpleasant experience, I aim to shed light on what pain and unpleasantness are by trying to understand what it means for a pain to be unpleasant, what the structure of unpleasantness is, and by tackling several problematic aspects of the relation between pain and unpleasantness. By doing this, I will also provide a general account of what it means for an experience that might not be a pain to be unpleasant.

The thesis is organised into seven chapters and divided by three main themes: i) what the unpleasantness of pain consists in, ii) how we can account for the great phenomenal diversity among experiences of unpleasantness, and iii) which cases suggest that there could be pains that are not unpleasant. Broadly, the first two chapters deal with the first theme, the third and fourth chapter with the second theme, and the fifth and sixth chapter focus on the third theme. In the final chapter I offer a conclusion of the three main themes by providing my own view on the unpleasantness of pain. According to this account, an unpleasant experience is something felt, it is a phenomenal property of mental states, and this property should be understood using the determinable determinate distinction. By doing all of this, this thesis will provide a detailed understanding of the nature of pain and unpleasantness.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Submitted jointly to the University of Glasgow and Université Paris-Sorbonne.
• Keywords: Pain, unpleasant, heterogeneity, content, desire, determinable, determinate, masochism.
• Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Philosophy
• Funder's Name: John Templeton Foundation (TEMPLFOU)
• Supervisor's Name: Bain, Dr. David and Brady, Professor Michael
• Date of Award: 2018
• Depositing User: Dr Abraham Sapién-Córdoba
• Unique ID: glathesis:2018-9017
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 15 May 2018 14:14
• Last Modified: 11 Jul 2018 15:52
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/9017