Pain as a Folk Psychological Concept: A Clinical Perspective

Author: Resnik D.B.¹

Source: Brain and Mind, Volume 1, Number 2, August 2000 , pp. 193-207(15)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

This paper develops an instrumentalistic argument against an eliminativist approach to using the folk concept of pain in clinical medicine and draws some implications for biomedical theories of pain. The paper argues that the folk concept of pain plays a fundamental role in several aspects of clinical medicine, including the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and symptoms, relieving human suffering, and the doctor-patient relationship. Since clinicians must be able to apply biomedical theories of pain in medical practice, these theories should not stray too far from pain's clinical realities. Biomedical theories of pain should at least incorporate an analog of the folk concept of pain, even if this concept is revised in light of scientific advances.

Keywords: pain; folk psychology; eliminativism; clinical medicine; biomedical science

Language: English

Document Type: Regular paper

Affiliations: 1: Department of Medical Humanities, Brody School of Medicine, East Caroline University, Greenville, NC 27858, U.S.A.

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