Abstract
This paper develops an instrumentalistic argumentagainst an eliminativist approach to using the folkconcept of pain in clinical medicine and draws someimplications for biomedical theories of pain. Thepaper argues that the folk concept of pain plays afundamental role in several aspects of clinicalmedicine, including the diagnosis and treatment ofdiseases and symptoms, relieving human suffering, andthe doctor-patient relationship. Since clinicians mustbe able to apply biomedical theories of pain inmedical practice, these theories should not stray toofar from pain's clinical realities. Biomedicaltheories of pain should at least incorporate an analogof the folk concept of pain, even if this concept isrevised in light of scientific advances.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Albert, D., Munson, R. and Resnik, D., 1988: Medical Reasoning, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
Bickle, J., 1992: Revisionary physicalism, Biology and Philosophy 7(4), 411–430.
Bradley, G., 1993: Disease, Diagnosis, and Decisions, John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Cahill, M. (ed.), 1997: Expert Pain Management, Springhouse, Springhouse, PA.
Cassell, E., 1991: The Nature of Suffering, Oxford University Press, New York.
Christensen, S. and Turner, D. (eds), 1993: Folk Psychology and the Philosophy of Mind, Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
Churchland, P. S., 1986: Neurophilosophy, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Culver, C. and Gert, B., 1982: Philosophy in Medicine, Oxford University Press, New York.
Cupples, S., 1992: Pain as a hurtful experience: A philosophical analysis and implications for nursing care, Nursing Forum 27(1), 5–11.
Dennett, D., 1987: The Intentional Stance, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
De Sousa, R., 1991: The Rationality of Emotion, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Van Fraassen, B., 1980: The Scientific Image, Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Goldman, A., 1986: Epistemology and Cognition, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Gustafson, D., 1995: Belief in pain, Consciousness and Cognition 4, 323–345.
Gustafson, D., 1999: Pain, qualia, and the explanatory gap, Philosoph. Psychol. 11(3), 371–387.
Hardastle, V., 1997: When a pain is not, J. Philosophy 94(8), 381–409.
Hardcastle, V., 1999: The Myth of Pain, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Hawthorne, J. and Redmond, K., 1998: Pain: Causes and Management, Blackwell, Oxford.
Horgan, T. and Woodward, J., 1985: Folk psychology is here to stay, Philosoph. Rev. 94, 197–226.
International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), 1986: Pain terms: A current list with definitions and notes on usage, Pain (Supplement) 3, 217.
Jacquette, D., 1994: Philosophy of Mind, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Kitcher, P., 1994: The Advancement of Science, Oxford University Press, New York.
Little, M., 1995: Humane Medicine, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Lycan, W., 1987: Consciousness, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Lycan, W., 1996: Philosophy of mind, in N. Bunnin and E. Tsui-James (eds), The Blackwell Companion to Philosophy, Blackwell, Oxford.
Pellegrino, E. and Thomasma, D., 1981: A Philosophical Basis of Medical Practice, Oxford University Press, New York.
Pitcher, G., 1976: Pain and unpleasantness, in S. Spicker and T. Englehardt (eds), Philosophical Dimensions of the Neuro-Medical Sciences, Reidel, Dordrecht, pp. 181–196.
Resnik, D., 1995: To test or not to test: A clinical dilemma, Theoretical Medicine 16, 141–152.
Rosenberg, A., 1995: Philosophy of Social Science, 2nd edn, Westview Press, Boulder, CO.
Schaffner, K., 1994: Discovery and Explanation in Biology and Medicine, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Sox, H., Blatt, M., Higgins, M. and Marton, K., 1988: Medical Decision Making, Butterworths, Boston.
Spiro, H., 1992: What is empathy and can it be taught? Ann. Internal Medicine 116, 843–846.
Thagard, P., 1988: Computational Philosophy of Science, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Thagard, P., 1993: Conceptual Revolutions, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Wulff, H., Pedersen, S. and Rosenberg, R., 1990: Philosophy of Medicine, 2nd edn, Blackwell, Oxford.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Resnik, D.B. Pain as a Folk Psychological Concept: A Clinical Perspective. Brain and Mind 1, 193–207 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010027213464
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010027213464