Publication
Title
The sensory-discriminative and affective-motivational aspects of pain
Author
Abstract
What is the difference between pain and standard exteroceptive perceptual processes, such as vision or audition? According to the most common view, pain constitutes the internal perception of bodily damage. Following on from this definition, pain is just like exteroceptive perception, with the only difference being that it is not oriented toward publicly available objects, but rather toward events that are taking place in/to one's own body. Many theorists, however, have stressed that pain should not be seen as a kind of perception, but rather that it should be seen as a kind of affection or motivation to act instead. Though pain undeniably has a discriminatory aspect, what makes it special is its affective-motivational quality of hurting. In this article, we discuss the relation between pain and perception, at both the conceptual and empirical levels. We first review the ways in which the perception of internal damage differs from the perception of external objects. We then turn to the question of how the affective-motivational dimension of pain is different from the affective-motivational aspects that are present for other perceptual processes. We discuss how these differences between pain and exteroceptive perception can account for the fact that the experience of pain is more subjective than other perceptual experiences.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews. - Fayetteville, N. Y, 1978, currens
Publication
Fayetteville, N. Y : ANKHO International Inc , 2010
ISSN
0149-7634
DOI
10.1016/J.NEUBIOREV.2008.07.008
Volume/pages
34 :2 (2010) , p. 214-222
ISI
000272267500009
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 11.05.2009
Last edited 23.08.2022
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