Suffering

In N.H., the problems of pain and s. are of the greatest importance. A distinction is made between pain (as a psycho-physical response to bodily injury, whether it comes from the outside or from inside the body) and s., which corresponds to a mental posture towards problems, whether real or alleged. Having established this distinction, it is said that the motor of human action is the overcoming of physical pain and the resulting search for physical pleasure. The activity of the civilizing process is channeled in this direction. Thus, there is a correspondence between the development of science and of social organization and the solutions that are given to this problem. Social organization itself starts out from the temporal and spatial finiteness of the human being as an individual; and this finiteness, marked by pain and defenselessness, is countered with social endeavor. Hunger, lack of shelter and protection from the elements, disease and all kinds of bodily difficulties are combated, thanks to the advance of society and ― little by little ― the progress of science. S., however, is mental, and does not correspond to the non-satisfaction of immediate needs, nor does it arise as a bodily response to painful physical stimuli. The fear of sickness, loneliness, poverty, and death cannot be resolved in physical terms, but through an existential position in front of life in general. At any rate, one suffers through different pathways such as perception, memory and imagination. Not, however, because of the perception of painful physical stimuli, but because of the perception of stimuli from situations one is unable to attain, or that give rise to despair generated by one’s failure to attain them, etc. The pathways of memory and imagination present their own characteristics as well. Certainly, consciousness is structural and comprehensive, so that this distinction between paths is only useful for purposes of analysis, and when one suffers it happens globally, it is about the suffering consciousness, even if it may be possible in each case to distinguish certain more pronounced aspects. The surpassing of pain and suffering is foremost in the activities of humanists, and it is from this conception that their vision starts of the need for shared social endeavor, in favor of science, social justice, and against all violence and discrimination. On the other hand, humanism likewise has much to contribute with respect to the problem of the meaning of life, one’s emplacement in front of life and the development of the human being, in order to overcome mental s.