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Humans search for pain in order to make themselves feel better

The idea that pain is sexy, exciting or enjoyable is a first-world thrill. When pain is real, so too is imminent danger. Without any immediate threat to one’s daily routine, fists full of hair ripped from someone’s head during a hallway cat fight is pleasurable not only to watch, but for some, to experience first-hand.

Let’s assume that women chase intense emotional devastation primarily because with that pain comes the eventual recovery and also a sense of power and control.

With that in mind, let’s also assume that men enjoy the pain of being scratched or bitten for the same sense of power and toughness, merely on a physical level.

Only the most complicated brains and senses of awareness can evolve into a state where inherently negative experiences bring pleasure.

Why? Because there is no danger at the top of the food chain.

We hunt each other because otherwise we would feel too safe. We cut ourselves, not for a stereotypical need for attention, but because everything else in the world of a privileged, contented individual is too bearable. Like riding a roller coaster merely to spite a fear of heights, we chase pain to spite a fear of developing weakness – mentally, physically and emotionally.

“Philosophers have often looked for the defining feature of humans – language, rationality, culture and so on. I’d stick with this: Man is the only animal that likes Tabasco sauce,” Yale psychologist Paul Bloom said. The quote is from Bloom’s book, “How Pleasure Works: The New Science of Why We Like What We Like” and was published in a semi-recent article by New York Times reporter James Gorman in which the human inclination to enjoy pain is referred to as “A Perk of Our Evolution.”

Though Gorman’s article is primarily centered on the idea of enjoying the pain of hot chili peppers, he argues that, “Chili pungency is not technically a taste.” This implies that the feeling of one’s tongue burning is the source of enjoyment, not the flavor of the pepper. In this sense, human beings stand alone.

There are no other animals that enjoy hot peppers. Humans are the only beings that can, and do, actively pursue negative sensations. Once achieved, an instinctive competitive drive compels us to push for more. We want to know that we can handle more, take more, feel more.

We enjoy discovering that there is nothing to fear in our own ability to cause pain. As Nelson Mandela famously said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

It is not unintelligent or primitive to actively pursue pain. In fact, it is a sign of a highly evolved and incredibly complex mental, emotional and physical capacity. Though this is not necessarily a conversation to bring up casually over dinner with one’s parents, neither should it be kept under wraps that pain has the potential to bring more pleasure than agony.

Paige Pelonis is a sophomore journalism and international studies double major and a contributing writer for the Daily 49er

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