>>10816336>Prove it. Why could the neurological correlates for pain simply be removed?Pain =/= suffering. Any denial of a desire is suffering. All living beings, by definition, are not in thermodynamic equilibrium with the Universe, and must metabolize exergy to keep homeostasis (and prevent thermodynamic equilibrium with the environment, which is equal to death).
For example, plants have no nervous system, but if you cut one even slightly, it will react by releasing a crapton of aromatic organic compounds into the air, warning other plants and other parts of itself that some external factor is interfering with it. Some even have specific compounds for specific traumas (like being bitten by a bug), that will cause receiving plants to produce toxins or to divert resources from where such bug is likely to bite.
If I sonicate bacteria, they will start devouring substrate and absorbing free nucleic acid strands to repair their cell walls, membrane and DNA. Viruses are non living entities when in capsid form, but are considered alive when they are hijacking the ribosomes of a host cell.
All living beings are driven to propagate life by surviving, healing and reproducing.
This translates as a desire to live and reproduce. This implies whenever a lifeform fails at doing so, they suffer. Yet it is also true that no lifeform can last forever, so suffering is a natural part of the definition of life.
Any biological necessity that isn't satisfied is suffering (hunger, lack of breath, lack of sleep, inability to expel waste). Pain is simply an indicator that something is wrong. Beings that feel pain have much better survival chances than those that don't feel it.
To remove suffering, you must remove desire (including the desire to be rid of biological necessities). That's why Buddhists first strive to eliminate conscious desire and when they die naturally they embrace death as a guaranteed relief. Their reasoning is very sound.
