> even though it's likely a combination of neurologic and psychologic factors
That can't be emphasized enough in this debate. In short: if you arrived at some magical scan or test that indicated the presence, by degree of nerve stimulation of hand-over-a-hot-flame-type pain, and only prescribed painkillers to people over some threshold, you'd still be both excluding people who were personally suffering as much or more as those who made the cut, and including people who did not experience the same discomfort.
The human sensorium has a lot of experiences in common, but also a ton of differences.
That can't be emphasized enough in this debate. In short: if you arrived at some magical scan or test that indicated the presence, by degree of nerve stimulation of hand-over-a-hot-flame-type pain, and only prescribed painkillers to people over some threshold, you'd still be both excluding people who were personally suffering as much or more as those who made the cut, and including people who did not experience the same discomfort.
The human sensorium has a lot of experiences in common, but also a ton of differences.