It's in your head

A conference at the Hebrew University, which will also be open to the general public, will deal with aspects of pain

Pain is one of the biggest problems of the human race's quality of life: nearly 20% of the population reports chronic pain and almost all of us suffer from pain from time to time, with headache, back pain and joint pain being the most common. To deal with pain cultural, physiological, psychological and ethical aspects.

Although the study of pain is an old field of research, many questions are still a mystery - what is the experience of pain? What neurological mechanisms explain the sensation of pain? Is it possible to financially compensate those who suffered pain during torture? And how can music help ease the pain? These and other questions will be the focus of a unique interdisciplinary conference of its kind by the research group "Knowledge and Pain" from the Scholion Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Jewish Studies of the Hebrew University.

"The human need to express pain and give it an explanation is inherent in all cultures, therefore the study of pain in the past and present is central to the understanding of any culture" says Prof. Esther Cohen from the Department of History at the Hebrew University and the organizers of the conference. "The research project of the school group was established with the aim of bringing together biologists, anthropologists, healers, philosophers and historians so that together they can deepen the intellectual interest in the subject."

In the session that will deal with different research approaches to the phenomenon of pain, Prof. Marshall Davor from the Institute of Life Sciences at the Hebrew University will discuss the neurobiological aspects of pain. According to Prof. Devor, the central question in this field is what are the biological mechanisms in the brain that are responsible for the experience of pain and where do they integrate with the emotional mechanism of suffering. According to Prof. Devor, a deep understanding of pain requires identifying the brain process that transforms a sensory signal in the brain into a cognitive and emotional experience.

A philosophical point of view on the subject will be provided by Dr. Eliezer Malchiel from the Department of Philosophy at the Hebrew University. Dr. Melchiel will argue in his lecture that since pain is an event that also has a psychological-subjective side, the thoughts of the person having the pain play a role in determining the nature of the pain. According to him, this is true not only for thoughts about pain but also for the very experience of pain. A person can be more or less aware of his pain, he can concentrate his attention on the pain or distract him from the pain. However, according to Dr. Melchiel, there is always a fundamental connection between what a person understands as pain and the very experience of his pain.

In the session dealing with the value of suffering, Prof. Paul Windling from Oxford-Brooks University will lecture on the topic of compensation for the victims of the Nazi experiments and in particular on the different approaches to the question of whether and how it is even possible to compensate a person for physical and mental pain. Prof. Windling will focus on the public debate that arose after World War II between the UN representatives who supported providing compensation for the pain and suffering of the Nazi victims, and the German government officials who insisted on compensation based on a narrower medical criterion of damage to health.

In the last session that will be dedicated to the issue of healing pain, Dr. Roni Yager-Granot from the Department of Musicology at the Hebrew University will examine the question of whether music can help in situations of pain? Dr. Yager-Granot will review the mechanisms that explain how music may help relieve pain. The mechanisms offered today emphasize the ability of music to divert attention from the pain and provide the patient with a feeling of increased control over his condition. Dr. Garnot-Yager will propose to examine the possibility of using animal models as suitable models for studying the effect of music on reactions of stress, anxiety and pain.

The conference will open on Monday, March 23, at 18:40 at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem with a lecture by Prof. Barbara Rosenwein from Lowell University in Chicago, who will examine the approach of the philosopher Thomas Aquinas to emotions and pain. The seminar will be held on Tuesday, March 24, starting at 9:00 a.m. in the Rabin building, room 2001, Mount Scopus campus of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. All sessions are open to the general public and will be held in English. See attached order.