First off thank you for your time to comment and offer your thoughts. I certainly encourage an open dialog as I know this is a "touchy" subject.
However, as to the idea of pain I would like to offer this for discussion --
"Definition of Pain
Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pain has both physical and emotional components. The physical part of pain results from nerve stimulation. Pain may be contained to a discrete area, as in an injury, or it can be more diffuse, as in disorders like fibromyalgia. Pain is mediated by specific nerve fibers that carry the pain impulses to the brain where their conscious appreciation may be modified by many factors. "
- MedicineNet.com
I tried very hard to see if this "Myth" was credible, but based on science,
Pain is literally the conscious reaction of the brain to firing nerve endings as a result of
some undesirable (or even potentially unwanted) environmental stimuli
Simply, Pain is experienced by the brain in a process termed nociception. This is the detection of a stimulus by a pain receptor, and transmission of the information to the brain via nerves.
Traditionally, Pain may be experienced in response to ...
- Stimulation of a Pain receptor (nociceptor), which can be caused by any number of stimuli such as: chemical, heat or from some physical effect beyond a tolerance level.- Actual damage to a pain nerve
- Brain Damage interupting this pathway
I'll end with this, and I think this is what defines your point Kimbo (please correct em if I'm wrong!)...
It's the idea that in order for Pain to exist, you must have a sentient life with a consciousness vs the simple presence of the nervous pathways and physiological responses associated with pain.
As a result, I often ran into this:
"
In order to show that a fish experiences pain, it is necessary to show that a fish has consciousness.
Without consciousness, there is no pain."
- Dr. James D. Rose, Ph.D., Univ. of Wyoming (a critic of fish sensations)
Please feel free to share your information.
Thanks