Pain, Perception, and Subjectivity: An Interdisciplinary Inquiry

Abstract

Pain is a universal yet deeply subjective phenomenon that cannot be fully understood solely as a physiological response to noxious stimuli. Pain involves sensory, cognitive, emotional, and socio-cultural dimensions that interact dynamically to shape both what pain is and how it is experienced. This interdisciplinary review synthesizes perspectives from neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, anthropology, and clinical research to explore how pain emerges through the interplay of bodily signals, neural processing, personal experience, and cultural context. Drawing on contemporary models—such as predictive processing, phenomenological analyses, and embodied cognition—we argue that pain is not a simple physical signal but an experience constructed by the brain and body within a subjective life-world. We discuss neural mechanisms underlying pain perception, critiquing dualistic frameworks and emphasizing integrative models that account for the affective and interpretive aspects of pain. We also explore cultural variability in pain perception, the impact of personal history and meaning-making, and implications for clinical practice and pain management. By reconsidering pain through an interdisciplinary lens, this paper illuminates the complexity of pain as both a body-world phenomenon and a lived, subjective experience.