Finding a meaning for pain: Definitions, sense-making, and philosophical health

Pain has proven to be a refractory problem in US healthcare. This paper argues that starting to address this requires viewing pain-assessment as a form of sense-making that occurs between patients and providers. Section I argues that two standard definitions of 'pain' that are thought to subtend pain assessment are not viable. Section II proffers a very different way to think about the meaning of 'pain'. Section III develops this novel account by pairing Rorty's account of hermeneutics with recent developments in the pain-assessment literature. Finally, section four moves beyond Rorty by linking sense-making to philosophical health. Should this prove persuasive, I will have shown an area in biomedicine where philosophy is not an 'optional add on', but a vitally important part of what should be clinical practice.