Pain. Suffering. Affliction. We live our lives everyday, knowing that just around the corner there will be more of it waiting for us as we traverse through the ups and downs of life. Outside of the confines of the hospital, people endlessly suffer from chronic pain without any treatment. But why do these people suffer from chronic pain? Why is phantom pain mysterious to current scientists and doctors? In this essay, I will be discussing on three main topics in phantom pain, such as the theory of pain as described by the British philosopher Gilbert Ryle, phantom pain in amputees and finally the current pain perception theory of the Neuromatrix.
Firstly, before we delve into the mystery of phantom pain, one main question to be conscious of…show more content… He believed that the mind and the body were one whole entity, and our actions and words are due to our mental attributes gained from our external environment, developing the belief of Philosophical Behaviourism. (The Information Philosopher, 2018) For example, a team cheering on bleachers is asked about the team. The coach states that “This team has a great team spirit!” A firm believer of the Philosophical Behaviourism will enquire, “Where is this spirit? I can’t see it?”, portraying the view of the behaviour of team by their encouragement and cheers, rather than the intangible aspects of their “souls”. Ryle believe that mind-body dualism is a fallacy, hence using the term, “The Ghost in the Machine”, conveying his views how ghosts aren’t real and humans merely clockwork beings in the world. (Philosophy Basics, 2008)
So how does this all apply to phantom pain? According to philosophical behaviourism of Gilbert Ryle, the loss of the limb should not bring any aspect of pain. After all, the limb amputated is part of the physical body and hence should not trigger any form of pain. Yet, according an research article in the British Journal of Anesthesia, the incidence rate of phantom pain over the year has increase to 60% to 80%. However, 61% of phantom limb sufferers only report these painful occurrences, and only 17%
