ALGOSPHERE

An enterprise about suffering

INTRODUCTION TO ALGONOMY
 

THE PROJECT

This Algosphere project consists in producing, on this website and eventually as a book, a document that presents the first elements of a new discipline which is tentatively called algonomy. The origin of algonomy is explained elsewhere. Algonomy may be defined as a branch of systematic knowledge where cumulative verifiable information on the whole range of theoretical and practical matters pertaining specifically to suffering, is sought, or used, in conformity with recognized scientific or academic methods. In short, algonomy is the discipline concerned with suffering.

Some preliminary work is offered on this page.

Special note It seems that today, especially with the proliferation of researches related to brain imaging, it would be possible to elaborate a first scientific theory of suffering, and to publish that theory in the form of an article in a specialized journal. Preliminary moves are being made in that direction. For instance, see hereunder the letter to the editor which appeared in Pain Research and Management, the journal of the Canadian Pain Society.


METHODOLOGY IN ALGONOMY

Methodology is necessary to algonomy in order to develop formally its conceptual basis and its methods. The word methodology here refers to the rationale and the philosophical assumptions that underlie a particular discipline, and that determine how methods (specific principles, practices, procedures) are deployed and interpreted. There can be no detailed guide on how to create a new discipline, but algonomists could probably draw many lessons from studies on how modern knowledge is pursued, or on how new fields are being developed (e.g. pain research, scientific study of consciousness, sociology of happiness...). For now, the main ideas that are proposed in algonomy methodology can be summed up as follows.

The nature of algonomy is a matter for people to explore, to invent, and to agree upon. This discipline is originally conceived as a comprehensive body of theoretical and practical knowledge. It appears to be a very large discipline, given its specific object, the phenomenon of suffering, and its field, the set of all things that may concern directly or indirectly that formal object. Every modern science, it should be noted, seems to be exceedingly large, or indefinitely expansible. At this time, embryonic algonomy can be handled by "general algonomists", but eventually the discipline, like others, will probably have to be divided into a number of specialized parts.

Recognition from the academic community will come to algonomy inasmuch as its "paradigm" helps to produce new theoretical and technical knowledge about suffering and its management. But prior to any demonstrative results, the following considerations may invite confidence in the new paradigm.

  • Algonomy considers suffering as the "specific object" of a "comprehensive" discipline. For the first time, suffering is dealt with as a whole and intrinsic concern. Until now, this concern has generally been subordinated to other preoccupations in politics, economy, society, religion, morals, philosophy, medicine, psychology, neurology, etc., and advances about suffering have mostly followed from our interest in health, knowledge, love, welfare, security, etc. In algonomy, there is a reversal of perspective : suffering is not only specifically and extensively considered, but it is also the chief concern to which other preoccupations are subordinated. Suffering, in its own specificity, is the matter of algonomy : it is not as such the matter of neuroscience, psychotherapy, social work, or medicine because such disciplines are primarily concerned with aspects of suffering that are specific not to suffering itself, but to neuron and brain, or mind and behavior, or social problems, or health and illness. Hopefully, a general discipline about suffering will allow, in knowledge and action about suffering, new progress that other fields cannot make possible.
     

  • Scientifically, algonomy considers suffering as a conceptually defined phenomenon : events or things in the real world are particular and unique, and it is the role of science to turn them into conceptually defined phenomena or facts that are general and comparable to one another. As a conceptually defined phenomenon, suffering is a kind of abstraction comprising temporal, spatial, subjective or other types of attributes, but devoid of particularities such as a date, a place, a specific individual's presence or any other contingent condition of manifestation. This abstractive process makes scientific knowledge possible, because it makes it "verifiable". It may be reminded that there is no truth in science, but only theories that at all time can be proved or disproved. In the same line of thought, it may be noted that all matters that may concern suffering can be treated in scientific algonomy, but only inasmuch as they are amenable to scientific verification. Religious or philosophical viewpoints on suffering, for example, may be approached from a scientific point of view by scientific algonomy or other sciences, although they belong in their specificity to religion or philosophy.
     

  • Scientifically, algonomy considers suffering as an empirical concept, because it is a psychological process that can be observed through the behavior or the functioning of groups, individuals, bodies, brains, neurons… Suffering can be measured and modified, augmented or diminished, started or stopped. Objective correlations can be established, and empirical knowledge can be developed.
     

  • Scientifically, algonomy considers suffering with a radical, typically scientific stance of objectivity. It does not value suffering negatively nor positively. Consequently, parts of algonomy that are evaluative (e.g. critical studies of theories), or prescriptive (e.g. developmental studies of antalgic factors), or even factual (e.g. inventorial collections), are scientific only inasmuch as "statements of existence of value" are used rather than "intrinsic value judgments". Criteria must be made explicit, in particular, when suffering is said to be good or bad, useful or useless, acceptable or unacceptable, avoidable or unavoidable, light or severe, etc. Authors of documents in scientific algonomy should mandatorily identify in a formal fashion what, how, and especially "whose" values or interests are taken as parameters in their work. Neutral objectivity in science has often been a heuristic device, and hopefully it will have the same serendipity with suffering. Besides, there is a place for ethics in scientific algonomy. The discipline itself cannot and should not have an ethical position, but students of suffering should have one! In short, scientific algonomy as a discipline has only one purpose : universal knowledge about suffering. By itself, it has no other goal, value, strategy, or program of action.


DEFINITION OF SUFFERING

The definition of suffering in Wikipedia, as worked out during the Algosphere project Collaboration to Wikipedia About Suffering, is probably as good as any other. See the article Suffering (as of 2010-09-09) :

"Suffering, or pain in the broad sense, is an individual's basic affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm."

In the same Wikipedia article there is the following section entitled 'Terminology', about words that are often used ambiguously when dealing with this topic :

The word suffering is sometimes used in the narrow sense of physical pain, but more often it refers to mental or emotional pain, or more often yet to pain in the broad sense, i.e. to any unpleasant feeling, emotion or sensation. The word pain usually refers to physical pain, but it is also a common synonym of suffering. The words pain and suffering are often used both together in different ways. For instance, they may be used as interchangeable synonyms. Or they may be used in 'contradistinction' to one another, as in "pain is inevitable, suffering is optional", or "pain is physical, suffering is mental". Or they may be used to define each other, as in "pain is physical suffering", or "suffering is severe physical or mental pain".

Qualifiers, such as mental, emotional, psychological, and spiritual, are often used for referring to certain types of pain or suffering. In particular, mental pain (or suffering) may be used in relationship with physical pain (or suffering) for distinguishing between two wide categories of pain or suffering. A first caveat concerning such a distinction is that it uses physical pain in a sense that normally includes not only the 'typical sensory experience of physical pain' but also other unpleasant bodily experiences such as itching or nausea. A second caveat is that the terms physical or mental should not be taken too literally: physical pain or suffering, as a matter of fact, happens through conscious minds and involves emotional aspects, while mental pain or suffering happens through physical brains and, being an emotion, involves important physiological aspects.

Unpleasantness is another synonym of suffering or pain in the broad sense. More technically, the term is used in physical pain science for referring to the basic affective dimension of pain (its suffering aspect per se), usually in contrast with the sensory dimension, as for instance in this sentence from Professor Donald Price: “Pain-unpleasantness is often, though not always, closely linked to both the intensity and unique qualities of the painful sensation.”[4] Words that are roughly synonymic with suffering, in addition to pain and unpleasantness, include distress, sorrow, unhappiness, misery, affliction, woe, ill, discomfort, displeasure, disagreeableness.

A page in preparation concerning the usage and study of terms and expressions used in algonomy can be seen here: Terminology in Algonomy.


PREPARATORY NOTES FOR AN ALGOMETRY

Measurement and estimation are of prime importance for most rational activities dealing with suffering, and quantitative studies concerning suffering should be developed as an independent subdiscipline, which could be called algometry. A few preparatory notes for algometry are given here.


COLLECTING AND CLASSIFYING

Collecting and classifying are usually among the first activities that are done within a new discipline. It is necessary to collect facts, ideas, documents, and to classify them methodically for convenient retrieval and handling. In algonomy, lists as exhaustive as possible should be set up concerning people or animals who suffer, kinds of suffering, causes of suffering, people and organizations who cause suffering, solutions or strategies relative to suffering, people and organizations who contribute to stop, diminish or prevent excessive suffering, documents having to do with suffering, and many other topics. See a page in preparation : Collecting and Classifying in Algonomy.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

It is important in algonomy to develop a bibliographic subspecialty dealing with documents that can be found on paper, or on the Internet, or on other media, and that are relevant to knowledge and action about suffering. See a page in preparation : Bibliography in Algonomy.


FRENCH ABSTRACT — RÉSUMÉ EN FRANÇAIS

Introduction à l'algonomie
Ce projet d'Algosphère consiste à produire un document qui présente les premiers éléments d'une nouvelle discipline appelée provisoirement algonomie. L'algonomie peut se définir comme une branche du savoir systématique où des connaissances vérifiables et cumulatives concernant toute la variété des matières théoriques et pratiques qui touchent spécifiquement à la souffrance, sont recherchées, et utilisées, en conformité avec des méthodes scientifiques ou académiques reconnues. La méthodologie de la nouvelle discipline fait apparaître que l'étude algonomique de la souffrance relève d'un nouveau paradigme concernant cet objet, qui dès lors peut être considéré comme spécifique, premier, empirique, et digne d'un traitement aussi objectif et exhaustif que possible. Le terme souffrance désigne toute douleur, au sens large, et quelques notes sont offertes sur la terminologie en algonomie. Quelques notes préparatoires sont présentées concernant l'étude quantitative de la souffrance ou algométrie. La collection (des faits, des idées, des documents) et la classification en algonomie sont abordées en ce qui concerne les sortes de souffrance, les gens ou les animaux qui souffrent, les causes de souffrance, les gens et les organisations qui contribuent à produire la souffrance, les solutions ou les stratégies relatives à la souffrance, les gens et les organisations qui contribuent à arrêter, à diminuer ou à prévenir la souffrance excessive, ainsi que d'autres sujets. Enfin, une bibliographie algonomique est en cours de développement.

The following is taken from the journal of the Canadian Pain Society, Pain Research & Management, Volume 14, Number 2, March/April 2009. It is a letter to the editor, by Robert Daoust, page 173. The original text can be found on the Internet.

Letter to the Editor
Re: Craig KD. Knowledge translation and the science of pain. Pain Res Manage 2008;13:464.

Bonjour docteur Craig,
Your editorial about knowledge translation prompts me to send you this message.
I believe the problem of pain science knowledge translation has a political dimension that should be confronted head-on. It is a problem of resource distribution that could be compared, for example, to the one that prevails in nutrition science, in which solutions to hunger are well known but can only be implemented through politically adequate resource distribution.
What modern politics is still lacking, in my view, is an approach to suffering (algonomy; http://www.algosphere.org/indexen.htm) that could inform social-economic management. There is a need for a science of suffering (algoscience; http://www.algosphere.org/intro/index.html), and psychology as well as pain science should be more aware of that need. Your editorial uses the words suffer and suffering, it raises the question of how pain is conceptualized and it states that there is a great need for integrative, even speculative, reviews and theoretical analyses. I would like us to go further
to clarify the link between pain and suffering, to recognize that because pain is an unpleasant experience, it is therefore a kind of suffering, to perform not only reviews and analyses but also to create the new science of suffering that must be created.
If you ever hear of someone who might be interested, able, and available for that kind of creation work, please let me know!

Robert Daoust
Algosphere
Montreal, Quebec

© Algosphere, Montreal 2011

Last modification : 2011/12/03

Email : info@algosphere.org

 

SECTIONS ON THIS PAGE :

The Project

Methodology in Algonomie

Definition of Suffering (Terminology)

Preparatory Notes for an Algometry

Collecting and Classifying

Bibliography

French abstract

Letter to the Editor of Pain Research & Management

 

 

 

Résumé en
français

 

 

 

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