Why Do We Think Pain Is Bad?

This paper explores the origins of the “pain value intuition,” which claims that conscious pain is intrinsically bad. In previous studies, the “evaluative acquaintance account” is dominant, explaining that we have this intuition because we know the badness of pain directly through acquaintance. However, I propose the “evolutionary account,” which explains that we have this intuition because it enhanced our ancestors’ fitness, regardless of pain’s intrinsic badness; I argue that the evolutionary account should be the default explanation. This challenges many theories, including cognitivist hedonism, that rely on the evaluative acquaintance account to explain the value of conscious experiences.