arating pain and hurt takes an apparently heterogenous phenomenological set and
distinguishes two phenomenologically homogenous partitions. There’s pain, which is a
distinctive sensation with a distinctive motivational role, and there’s hurt, which qualifies
an extraordinarily heterogenous set of mental states but promotes the same activity
toward each of the token mental states that it qualifies” (Klein, 55).

That presents the last of Klein’s arguments, and the last support of his novel idea that pain and suffering are not synonymous. He concludes that it is factual that pains do sometimes cause suffering, yet suffering is not a necessary feature of pains.

I think Klein offers a compelling argument in an arena that seems straightforward. Furthermore, I believe his argument that pain is not the same as suffering is successful. However, this presents a relationship between pain and well-being that needs to be explored. The idea that pain and suffering are not the same, and that pain can exist without suffering presents the idea that pain does not have to have a negative impact on well-being. Suffering has a negative impact on well-being, but since pain isn’t the same as suffering, I think it is only fair that pain doesn’t have to have a negative impact on well-being. Of course, this is completely subjective to the person experiencing the pain and the situation. An argument for this is the fact that people voluntarily choose to do things that hurt, yet bring them joy. Childbirth is a perfect example- the woman endures 9 months of being uncomfortable and then the pain of delivery and labor, all to bring life to something that will bring her joy for the rest of her life. That long-term pain did not negatively impact their well-being, but positively impacted it instead. Another case that supports the idea that pain does not have to negatively affect well-being is patients who undergo elective surgeries, specifically cosmetic and plastic surgeries. These patients are unhappy with their appearance in some way shape or form, which negatively impacts their well-being by lowering self-esteem. Therefore, they subject themselves to the pain of surgery and recovery as a means to an end of their lowered self-esteem and negative well-being. The outcome results in an increase in their self-esteem and well-being. These cases offer just the beginning of scenarios that support the idea that well-being is not always negatively impacted by painful experiences.

Personally, I have experienced this notion that pain can exist without negatively impacting one’s well-being. At the age of thirteen, I had extensive spinal surgery. I was sentenced to recovery for six months, a long six months of pain and a life that looked a little different than the one I lived before. At fifteen and seventeen, I subsequently underwent two more, leaving me hurting and in pain for weeks once again. The pain and lifestyle changes passed, however, and looking back, I don’t consider that my pain caused me to suffer or contributed to a downgrade in my overall well-being. During my recovery, I did not feel in peak condition, but my prosperity stayed the same. Even now, I have the same quality of life as I did before my surgeries. Sure, I still experience residual and chronic pain every day, but I can still walk, exercise, study, spend time with my friends, and go about my days the same as I did before. I am the same me, and my well-being has stayed stable, if not increased due to the lessons and experiences that came out of my operations. The only things that differentiates me from my peers is my experience and the twelve-inch scar that runs down my back.

One might oppose this, however, by asking where do we draw the l