Suffering is a word we are all familiar with. I dare say that, it is a concept we are all familiar with in principle and in reality.

But, are you sure we do?

Do we know what it means to suffer?

What causes suffering?

And how to recognize suffering?

Let me hear your opinion on this, what does it mean to suffer?

Examples?
Analogies.

Explain what suffering means, how it is recognized and how possibly it can be stopped.

Which kind question is this one again
Ok,what I think suffering really is?
Chemicals in our brains causes suffering,and happiness too.That's it!
No matter what the stimulus may be,you could win a 100 million pounds lotto,but if your "Happy chemicals" ain't cooperating- No happiness for you.If your "suffer chemicals" won't cooperate- No suffering for you also.
Some dancing chemicals in your brain is essentially what's making your life so miserable.
It's all very relative and very adaptable also.In addition to being largely shaped by our expectations.
For example,viewing OLADEEGBU's argument is a source of suffering to my brain but joy to others.
The living conditions of our ancient forefathers would be considered suffering to us,the same way ours may be considered the same by future generations- the joy we feel on getting our dream ride is the same joy they felt on getting that new donkey.
That developed nation's have more depressed souls and suicide rates than developing one's.
Or that...(to be continued)

tartar9:

For example,viewing OLADEEGBU's argument is a source of suffering to my brain but joy to others.

Me too! Though the suffering is his own and I don't suffer at all myself. I pity him for suffering so much, is more accurate, and just hope and pray he finds a cure. No one deserves to suffer like he does except the devil itself, I suppose.

I'm reserving my opinion on op, as promised.

well this is a very tough question this is turning to philosophy.

With my basic understanding, suffering is basically when we feel pain either physically or emotionally

Analogy: Imagine you borrow your best friend all your life savings and the person promises to return the money on a particular. Just for you to find out that he died a day he was supposed to return the money.

there would be two reasons why you will shed tears
1) Your best friend is gone
2) your money is gone
This is the best analogy i can give considering suffering

Suffering would be constant and persistent,mostly involuntary subjection to things(physical and emotional) that one would consider harmful,toxic or negative to one's state of being. Most people suffer in one way or another but we've made light of it when it comes to emotional suffering. We call them "our demons".We hide our demons and put on a brave and cheerful front,sometimes we even forget about them,whilst drowning inside..It's the way the world works and while some people have found escapes, others ultimately embraced them since " you can't really win" tbh.. Then you have those who are insistent that suffering still lies beyond this forsaken reality we find ourselves in.SMH for these guys.

It can't possibly be stopped unless a world without the negative consequences/effects of the human condition is created(Paradise,heaven,utopia etc). It can only be alleviated or temporarily escaped from while you remain a living being in this reality...Hopefully whatever lies beyond all this,ensures permanent freedom from the inescapable.

The conundrum tho would be,whether it's really suffering if at some point it becomes nonexistent..Zooming out kinda perspective

budaatum:

Me too! Though the suffering is his own and I don't suffer at all myself. I pity him for suffering so much, is more accurate, and just hope and pray he finds a cure. No one deserves to suffer like he does except the devil itself, I suppose.

I'm reserving my opinion on op, as promised.

Reserving your opinion?

hakeem4:
well this is a very tough question this is turning to philosophy.

Well, that's the idea.

With my basic understanding, suffering is basically when we feel pain either physically or emotionally

Interesting: I have a question.

There are type of people who derive pleasure from pain especially sexual pleasure, I believe it is called BDSM.

So, at the point they are inflicting this pain, they are obviously experiencing pain, are they also suffering?

Analogy: Imagine you borrow your best friend all your life savings and the person promises to return the money on a particular. Just for you to find out that he died a day he was supposed to return the money.

there would be two reasons why you will shed tears
1) Your best friend is gone
2) your money is gone
This is the best analogy i can give considering suffering

Hahahaha thats good enough. I believe there is a problem above requiring your attention. Lol

EmperorHarry:
The conundrum tho would be,whether it's really suffering if at some point it becomes nonexistent..Zooming out kinda perspective

Elaborate. I don't seem to get it.

johnydon22:


Reserving your opinion?

Yes now! I apologised and promised I would until your threads have developed, and would now add, "or you free me to respond"!

budaatum:

Makes me feel guilty when I respond to your threads and seem to take them over. But how can I possible not respond to the most thoughtful threads on here? I should perhaps wait a bit and let them develop, so please accept my most profound apologies johnydon. I shall try to resist in future.

You said writing was your illness johny. Am I to assume you do not read too?

johnydon22:
Elaborate. I don't seem to get it.

We can only grasp the concept of suffering while we are capable of processing it...Let's say someone got burnt to death. Between the time the person started feeling the pain of severe burns and death,such a person could actually say he/she was actually suffering..Now do we really say such a person suffered if at the end of death,there's no trace of such suffering subjectively for the victim. It's like someone who won the lottery and lived luxuriously until he/she loses memories of such...Subjectively the person never really enjoyed anything if he/she can't recall actually enjoying it...So if oblivion is the end,does all of it count as suffering if there's no recollection of such after existence? This is kinda what makes suicide easy for some people cos they believe that the torture/suffering they'd feel before death would become "nonexistent" after it... This is not really related to the OP

johnydon22:
Suffering is a word we are all familiar with. I dare say that, it is a concept we are all familiar with in principle and in reality.

I doubt people really are familiar with what the full concept of what suffer/suffering is in principle and in reality

Suffering or to suffer, apparently, is human(s) as well as a divine. Human beings suffer, just as well as God suffer(s)

johnydon22:
But, are you sure we do?

I am sure we all dont understand or grasp fully what the word suffer/suffering means

johnydon22:
Do we know what it means to suffer?

Now you're about talking. I dont think we really know what it means to suffer. We often associated suffer/suffering with only negative, less positive connotations. It really isnt always like that

johnydon22:
What causes suffering?

Suffering can be self inflicted, one can deliberately give in to suffering, one can be made to suffer, also one can be subjected to suffering etcetera

johnydon22:
And how to recognize suffering?

May recognize suffering from out of feeling discomfort/having pain. May recognize suffering from deliberately putting oneself through to a particular situation or submitting oneself to a particular person or stimulus

johnydon22:
Let me hear your opinion on this, what does it mean to suffer?

I am of the mind and sensing that OP seems to gravitate or lean towards associating suffering with only negative and/or bad connotations

johnydon22:
Examples?

"But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
- Matthew 19:14

"And He healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him"
- Mark 1:34

"Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day."
- Luke 9:22

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
- Romans 8:18

"For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:"
- 1 Peter 2:21

"Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf."
- 1 Peter 4:16

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,"
- Galatians 5:22

"Of course, none of you should suffer for being a murderer, thief, criminal, or troublemaker.
(i.e. if you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs)"
1 Peter 4:15

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
- 2 Peter 3:9

johnydon22:
Analogies.

Explain what suffering means

There are many types of suffering, and this is implying that the many types of suffering, would explain differently what suffering means

johnydon22:
how it is recognized and how possibly it can be stopped.

One type of suffering can be recognised from having an experience of pain, hardship, distress, discomfort etcetera. One of the ways, to possibly stop the suffering, is to eject, oneself from the connect with where or what is the pain, hardship, distress, discomfort etcetera.

Another is to remove the pain, hardship, distress, discomfort etcetera object that brought about the suffering in the first place or thats generating the suffering

These two are arent an exhaustible list, but for the sake of keeping it short and simple, giving just two ways

Some sufferings are good/bad indicators, this depending on, if you're a cup is half empty or half full sort of person. Take for an example, holding a hot cup of tea, the right kind of suffer of pain will warn you about the hotness of the cup, hence the recoil or reflex action upon suffering the pain of the heat

Doubled post

johnydon22:



Interesting: I have a question.

There are type of people who derive pleasure from pain especially sexual pleasure, I believe it is called BDSM.

So, at the point they are inflicting this pain, they are obviously experiencing pain, are they also suffering?

Yes they are suffering physically but not sexually and emotionally

hakeem4:

Yes they are suffering physically but not sexually and emotionally

I wouldn't see it as suffering at all if I'm dieing of enjoyment
Like I commented before,either suffering or happiness- it's all in the head.

johnydon22:


Do we know what it means to suffer?

Suffering is the perception by an organism that conditions are adverse to its wellbeing. We know because we have experienced it and have seen other organisms in similar conditions have similar reactions to us.

What causes suffering?

Primary cause of suffering is adversity to the organism's wellbeing but in our case, as conscious beings we also have causes that are not linked to adversity for example psychosomatic ills.

And how to recognize suffering?

I'd say the way we recognize suffering is the reaction to the condition causing it. A ill person can moan and appear feeble, same thing with an animal.

how possibly it can be stopped.

We can alleviate the conditions that cause the suffering which naturally causes the suffering to ease with varying degrees of efficacy. What we cannot seem to be able to do is eliminate it altogether, as it seems to be part of the cause-effect nature of this universe.

hakeem4:

Yes they are suffering physically but not sexually and emotionally

Sexual pleasure is a physical pleasure. So, you are saying they are experiencing pleasure and suffering at the same time?

johnydon22:
Sexual pleasure is a physical pleasure. So, you are saying they are experiencing pleasure and suffering at the same time?

I hope I can locate this YouTube video I watched a couple of months ago. It's about a paraplegic describing having sexual pleasure and this is someone not feeling anything from the waist down, meaning he has no means below the waist for having physical sexual pleasure sensations.

MuttleyLaff:
I hope I can locate this YouTube video I watched a couple of months ago. It's about a paraplegic describing having sexual pleasure and this is someone not feeling anything from the waist down, meaning he has no means below the waist for having physical sexual pleasure sensations.

Above the waist up?

johnydon22:
Above the waist up?

What physical sensation from above the waist are you thinking of?
Drops flat on its face, your assertion that sexual pleasure is a physical pleasure. Its not necessarily a physical pleasure. Take for example, the impotent guy, who likes and enjoys watching a strange guy straffing his wife, while he just sits, in a corner of the room watching. Weird isn't that.