philosophy
Should We Abolish Human Suffering?
Founder, Abolitionist Project
Psychology, University of Melbourne
0
0
Genesis
Response
Penultimate
Finale
April 8th, 2020
At a time like this – during a worldwide pandemic causing immeasurable pain – I admire David’s conviction, and even envy his belief, that we could create a better world. While David finds tension in my response, I see a disconnect between our approaches arising from his belief that we can fundamentally re-engineer the human state, and mine (which he might argue falls within the category of depressive realism) that we probably cannot.
The disconnect arises, in part, from the kinds of examples that David draws on. The invention of analgesics was a game-changer, not only for childbirth. I for one feel horrified by the prospect of going through invasive surgery without analgesic, and better still anesthetic, relief. So too, as a psychologist, I see the importance of helping people to overcome excessive grief, trauma, depression, and anxiety. Indeed, there is little value in lifelong depression. But, for me, there is a disconnect between focusing on the value of alleviating these instances of acute or chronic pain, and the project of eradicating our ability to experience any pain at all.
David’s admits that paradise engineering would not only need to adjust the brains response to pain receptivity, but would also need to consider how to correct for cognitive biases that may emerge, and which might undermine any gains. I would add to this the need to adjust motivational responding (such as the flight/fight system) to respond to positive hedonic experiences, rather than fear, anxiety, or stress. We would also need to adjust for mechanisms that allow humans to adapt to new environments and experiences, effectively bringing our cognitive, affective, and motivational responses back within normal range. More complex still, we would need to consider how to leverage a sense of achievement, purpose, and ultimately self-actualization in a world where nothing was hard and everything was easy. Perhaps, in world free of pain, we might find low-levels of bliss challenging, allowing us to leverage these higher-order self-cognitions. But, if so, we are back to a relative understanding of human experience, and low-levels of bliss might feel quite uncomfortable indeed.
One other point of disagreement relates to David’s assertion that the pleasure-pain axis is an objective feature of reality. Ever since the gate-control theory of pain, scientists have understood pain as an inherently subjective experience, moderated by our beliefs, the context, and other emotion states. It was during World War 11 that Henry Beecher noticed many soldiers with severe injuries did not report any pain. Why? Their injuries signified they could go home, releasing them from the greater pain of combat on the battlefield. Within this context, their injuries were a welcome relief. Pain is relative and context dependent.
I have a deep respect for anyone who advocates for a better future. If the world’s last painful experience is a dateable event, and this represents a better way of life, then I certainly hope it comes true. In the meantime, however, I will console myself with the silver linings of depressive realism.
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