Boise State University

Suffering and Modernity

Scraping Barnacles

Modern political life is shaped by our desire to remove pain through the techniques of science.  This effort is noble; it is also both fruitless and superficial, in that it doesn't adequately account for why we find pain and suffering so problematic.  Any attempt to come to terms with the problem of pain must not only show us what to do about it, but also show us where our concern with pain comes from.

Making Suffering Sensible

The modern understanding of pain is promising, but also understands itself improperly. Not only is the modern approach impossible, but, even if it were possible, it would be undesirable. The greatest critics of Enlightenment echo the reservations put forward by Christian thinkers in this respect. This criticism of Enlightenment aspirations further exposes an embarrassing lacuna in modern thinking: it cannot explain the origin of our problem with pain. Such a question opens the door to a more sympathetic Christian understanding of the world.

Question and Answer Session