Public lecture: ‘Why is Suffering Valuable?’

Published: 17 February 2015

Professor Michael Brady, Friday 6 March 2015, 12:10–13:00 John McIntyre Building, Room 201.

Professor Michael Brady

Friday 6 March 2015, 12:10–13:00

John McIntyre Building, Room 201

Abstract

Suffering is both widespread and varied: think of all of the very many kinds of pain, emotional distress, physical discomfort, and mental anguish that human beings experience. It is, moreover, widely agreed that all of these different forms of suffering are bad: we have reason to avoid, alleviate, and reduce our own suffering, and the suffering of others. However, suffering can also be valuable, and in many different ways. In this talk I'll explain some of the ways in which suffering can be good for us, and for others.


First published: 17 February 2015