Liking that it hurts: the case of the masochist and second-order desire accounts of pain’s unpleasantness

Mitchell, Jonathan 2022. Liking that it hurts: the case of the masochist and second-order desire accounts of pain’s unpleasantness. American Philosophical Quarterly 59 (2) , pp. 181-189. 10.5406/21521123.59.2.06

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Abstract

Recent work on pain focuses on the question ‘what makes pains unpleasant’. SOD views claim that the unpleasantness of pain consists in a second-order intrinsic desire that the pain experience itself cease or stop. This paper considers a significant objection to SOD views by considering the case of the masochist. It is argued that various ways in which the SOD view might try to account for the case of the masochist encounter problems. The conclusion is that until we have a convincing explanation of how SOD views can handle masochistic psychology, then we should look elsewhere for an account of pains unpleasantness.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	English, Communication and Philosophy
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
Publisher:	University of Illinois Press
ISSN:	0003-0481
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	24 June 2022
Date of Acceptance:	23 July 2020
Last Modified:	08 Nov 2023 08:12
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/145097

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