What's Wrong With Suffering?

[Epic Beard Man]

I put this in the Religious Debate section because I often hear that God is bad because He allows suffering. Alright, pony up. What's wrong with suffering.

As a medical healthcare worker I see suffering every time I work. I would state that God allows suffering for several reasons and one of them is knowledge. Knowledge of the body and mind. Without mental disorders we would not have medications to mitigate distress. Without Cancer we would not have medication to help reduce and/or cure this ailment. Individual suffering like utilitarianism is about saving the greater good or the greater society.

Individuals that suffer is an unfortunate part of existence because it is the side effect of mortality. We exist, we experience pain as well as pleasure and we die. Some of us suffer and die or some of us suffer for a prolonged period of time and then we die. Suffering itself such as the experiencing of pain is not inherently evil because it is the response of stimuli that affects us. Suffering is what it is.....I don't think none of which is evil or malevolent.

 

[sandy whitelinger]

Mirriam Webster defines suffer as to sustain loss or damage in transitive verb form.
To sustain loss or damage are both negative effects. Taking something away from the whole.

What makes it negative? The definition doesnt state that. It's a presumption on your part. Why do you presume that and why is negative correlating as bad?

 

[sandy whitelinger]

As a medical healthcare worker I see suffering every time I work. I would state that God allows suffering for several reasons and one of them is knowledge. Knowledge of the body and mind. Without mental disorders we would not have medications to mitigate distress. Without Cancer we would not have medication to help reduce and/or cure this ailment. Individual suffering like utilitarianism is about saving the greater good or the greater society.

Individuals that suffer is an unfortunate part of existence because it is the side effect of mortality. We exist, we experience pain as well as pleasure and we die. Some of us suffer and die or some of us suffer for a prolonged period of time and then we die. Suffering itself such as the experiencing of pain is not inherently evil because it is the response of stimuli that affects us. Suffering is what it is.....I don't think none of which is evil and malevolent.

I belive you understand, by crackey.

 

[sandy whitelinger]

Mirriam Webster defines suffer as to sustain loss or damage in transitive verb form.
To sustain loss or damage are both negative effects. Taking something away from the whole.

I suffered a colonoscopy once. What did I lose?

 

[Epic Beard Man]

Suffering is defined as those experiences and events that are distressing in valence for a person experiencing them. Thus they are negative experiences (pain, trauma, depression, anxiety, stress, meaninglessness etc.). It's their negative, bitter qualia that makes them unwanted and hence bad as experienced. That's what makes them wrong as we wish our experiences to have positive, sweet qualia.

We tend to gravitate towards good or pleasure due to learning as infants/adolescents what it feels like to experience pain. You're right though, we want to experience "good" because it relates to our pleasure senses. I think anything we see in relation to good or bad relates to this..

 

[ADigitalArtist]

What makes it negative? The definition doesnt state that. It's a presumption on your part. Why do you presume that and why is negative correlating as bad?

Those are negative by the definition of negative. Words have interplay.

 

[Epic Beard Man]

I belive you understand, by crackey.

Ok now where is my cookie!

 

[ADigitalArtist]

I suffered a colonoscopy once. What did I lose?

Comfort, time, dollars, healthy bowel function for a time.
You also gained things too, but you didn't gain things because of your suffering but despite it. If you didn't gain knowledge from the test as a net benefit you wouldn't do it, because suffering for the sake of suffering is not a worthy goal.

The suffering wasn't good, the knowledge was.

 

[sandy whitelinger]

Those are negative by the definition of negative. Words have interplay.

Ok, show me that definition of negative.

 

[sandy whitelinger]

Ok now where is my cookie!

Only frubals.

 

[Epic Beard Man]

Only frubals.

 

[sandy whitelinger]

Comfort, time, dollars, healthy bowel function for a time.

Oh hell, spicy chicken wings do that to me. Are they evil too?

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I put this in the Religious Debate section because I often hear that God is bad because He allows suffering. Alright, pony up. What's wrong with suffering.

If everyone, quote on quote, would be be peaceful (It Can happy if it were politically possible) as a group, suffering would take on a different perspective: birth, life, sickness, and death. When that happens, Id assume the idea of inherited sin would disapear. No one would blame god if they lived in peace.

God's (abrahamic) character reflects the people. God doesnt cause suffering. We externalize our problems on another so we experience pain in order to learn from our guilt.

Its not too complicated especially after observation. You see a pattern cross culturally.

 

[sandy whitelinger]

You're older than I pictured you.

 

[Epic Beard Man]

You're older than I pictured you.

 

[sandy whitelinger]

If everyone, quote on quote, would be be peaceful (It Can happy if it were politically posible) as a group, suffering would take on a different perspective: birth, life, sicknessx and death. When that happens, Id assume the idea of inherited sin would disapear. No one would blame god if they lived in peace.

God's (abrahamic) character reflects the people. God doesnt cause suffering. We externalize our problems on another so we experience pain in order to learn from our guilt.

Its not too complicated especially after observation. You see a pattern cross culturally.

I'm clueless as to what you just said. I recognize all the words and everything...but...dayum.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

Oh hell, spicy chicken wings do that to me. Are they evil too?

That you enjoy the taste doesn't mean you enjoy the intestinal discomfurture. If you could choose to have the taste without the suffering you would, because suffering for suffering's sake is silly.

Things aren't good or bad, effects are. A toxic mushroom isn't bad, just because it's bad for you to eat. But eating it is bad, as it has unjustifiable suffering without enough net gain.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Haha. Sorry.

No one would blame god if we lived independent decide to live in peace together.

We externalize our suffering on someone else such as blame. In doing so, we learn from ourselves from how we define the other (scapegoating).

It isnt hard to understand (the nature and morality of suffering and the religious). With close observation, its the same idea even across cultures.

 

[sandy whitelinger]

That you enjoy the taste doesn't mean you enjoy the intestinal discomfurture. If you could choose to have the taste without the suffering you would, because suffering for suffering's sake is silly.

Things aren't good or bad, effects are. A toxic mushroom isn't bad, just because it's bad for you to eat. But eating it is bad, as it has unjustifiable suffering without enough net gain.

Oh I see, now "unjustifiable" suffering is bad. But my diarrhea is ok, then, because the chicken wings justified it.

 

[Trailblazer]

And why can't suffering be sweet?

Ever been suicidal?