Cutting edge debate and talks from the world's leading thinkers, free for everyone

The Agony & the Ecstasy

Is pain a necessary part of human experience?

Barry C Smith, Christopher Hamilton, Havi Carel, Raymond Tallis.

Watch this week's IaI top rated events
world hands environment
Thumbnail101
After Capitalism Talk
music notation
Join now or to join the conversation.
The Debate

We take it for granted that eradicating pain is desirable. And since De Quincey remarked that a quarter of human misery was toothache, remarkable strides have indeed been made. But is it possible, and do we want, to eliminate pain and suffering entirely or is it necessary to life?

The Panel

Physician Raymond Tallis, philosophers Christopher Hamilton and Barry C. Smith, and metaphysician Havi Carel, who has a terminal illness, question the purpose of pain.

Becoming Human
Bracha Ettinger, Griselda Pollock
The Myth of Being Happy
Richard Schoch
Why Society Drives You Mad
Richard Bentall
Jump to what you want to see in the debate
  • Raymond Tallis
    The Pitch
    Physician and philosopher argues that pain is essential to survival.
  • Christopher Hamilton
    The Pitch
    Philosopher of religion believes pain is the poison of life.
  • Havi Carel
    The Pitch
    Philosopher of medicine seeks the eradication of physical pain.
  • Barry C Smith
    The Pitch
    Philosopher of language and mind thinks pleasure and pain are inseparable.
  • The Debate
    Theme One
    Does pain enrich life?
  • The Debate
    Theme Two
    Should we find meaning in physical suffering?
Embed
Rate this video:

Events to watch next

Join the conversation

Agnes on 22/05/2013 3:39am

Things are moving forward for the better. amazing. <a href="http://www.gw2gw2.com/gold.html">http://www.gw2gw2.com/gold.html</a>;

Report spam

Demaemiaincjaix on 14/05/2013 1:55pm

mayomypaype <a href="http://vikaswieier.com">xaikalitag</a> Oriliftvolf iziananatt optowcalo http://gussannghor.com itebyperePect

Report spam

ChowchillaC on 22/11/2012 3:50pm

Raymond Tallis is right as usual. Of course humans can't escape physical suffering, even if it has been somewhat lessoned after generations of scientific advancement. A life without pain would be a life without physical sensation, and a life without physical sensation is a life condemned to exist in a voidless bubble utterly displaced from the world.

Report spam

Copy and paste the code below to embed or link to this video.

Embed:
Embed options
Link:
  • Bold Text
    Example: [b]Bold[/b]
  • Italic Text
    Example: [i]Italic Text[/i]
  • Underlined Text
    Example: [u]Underlined[/u]
  • Struck-out Text
    Example: [s]Struck-out[/s]
  • Coloured text
    Example: [color=blue]blue text[/color]
  • Alignment
    Example: [align=right]right aligned[/align]
  • Code Block
    Unformatted code block
    Example: [code]Code block[/code]
  • Email link
    Create link to an email address
    Example: [email]you@yoursite.com[/email]
  • Email link
    Create link to an email address
    Example: [email=you@yoursite.com]Email[/email]
  • Unordered list
    Unordered list
    Example: [ulist][*]unordered item 1[/ulist]
  • Image
    Show an image in your post
    Example: [img]http://www.website.com/image.jpg[/img]
  • Website link
    Link to another website or URL
    Example: [url]http://www.website.com/[/url]
  • Website link
    Link to another website or URL
    Example: [url=http://www.website.com/]Website[/url]
  • Video Seek
    Converted to a link which jumps to that point in the video
    Example: 00:34

 

 

© 2013 Institute of Art and Ideas