Imagined and delusional pain

Abstract

Extreme pain and suffering are associated with depression as well as tissue damage. The impossibility of imagining any feelings of pain and suffering intersect with two matters: the kind of imagining involved, and the nature of delusions. These two correspond to the sequence of the following discussion, in which it is contended first that feelings of pain and suffering resist being imagined in a certain, key way (defined here as proprietary imagining P simpliciter), and second that, given a certain analysis of delusional thought, this precludes the possibility of delusional affections while allowing delusions about affections (here affective delusions).

Keywords

• pain
• imagination
• delusion
• affection
• feelings