Pain (philosophy)

Philosophy of pain may be about suffering in general or more specifically about physical pain. The experience of pain is, due to its seeming universality, a very good portal through which to view various aspects of human life. Discussions in philosophy of mind concerning qualia has given rise to a body of knowledge called philosophy of pain, which is about pain in the narrow sense of physical pain, and which must be distinguished from philosophical works concerning pain in the broad sense of suffering. This article covers both topics.

Historical views of pain

Two near contemporaries in the 18th and 19th centuries, Jeremy Bentham and the Marquis de Sade had very different views on these matters. Bentham saw pain and pleasure as objective phenomena, and defined utilitarianism on that principle. However the Marquis de Sade offered a wholly different view - which is that pain itself has an ethics, and that pursuit of pain, or imposing it, may be as useful and just as pleasurable, and that this indeed is the purpose of the state - to indulge the desire to inflict pain in revenge, for instance, via the law (in his time most punishment was in fact the dealing out of pain). The 19th-century view in Europe was that Bentham's view had to be promoted, de Sade's (which it found painful) suppressed so intensely that it - as de Sade predicted - became a pleasure in itself to indulge. The Victorian culture is often cited as the best example of this hypocrisy.

Pain (Puff Daddy song)

"Pain" is a song on Puff Daddy's 1997 album No Way Out.

The song is about tragedies from Puff Daddy's life, including the murder of his father Melvin Combs in 1972, the New York City College Stampede of 1991 and the death of his label-mate and friend Notorious BIG in 1997.

The song features audio from Notorious BIG which was recorded before his death when the song was made.

There is a completely different song also entitled Pain on the follow-up album Forever.

Pain (musical project)

Pain (typeset as PAIN) is a musical project from Sweden that mix heavy metal with influences from electronic music and techno. The project started out as a hobby project for front man Peter Tägtgren, whose idea was to fuse heavy metal with 1980s-inspired electro-industrial and techno influences. Tägtgren, who is also the vocalist/guitarist of Hypocrisy and producer of his own The Abyss studios, is the only current member.

Pain's self-titled debut was released in 1997, and since then Pain has released six more albums and a DVD. Starting with their second, all of Pain's albums have made the Swedish charts, thanks in large part to hit singles such as "End of the Line", "Shut Your Mouth", and "Same Old Song". In early February 2006, Blabbermouth.net reported that Pain had signed with Roadrunner Records. Currently, Pain is under the Nuclear Blast Records banner.

In 2008, Pain was on tour as a supporting performer for the Finnish symphonic power metal band Nightwish. During this tour singer Peter Tägtgren, drummer David Wallin, and bassist Johan Husgafvel were assaulted by a gang in Leipzig. Tägtgren received 10 stitches in his face, Wallin suffered a concussion and stitches to his head, and Husgafvel had his nose broken.