The meaning of life - as communicated to me by Eris herself

[Elder Iptuous]

is there a clear delineation of the two?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

is there a clear delineation of the two?

No, of course not. But I really don't have any patience for such retarded semantical/philosophical discussions, because they lead to the argument that a wealthy child who doesn't get the color of Porche they wanted for their 16th birthday suffers as authentically as the impoverished child who grows up neglected, beaten, and starved, and is raped by her dad on her 16th birthday.

I think that most of us can apply some measure of relativity to various forms of strife, and use our intelligence to determine whether something is suffering or mere disappointment.

[Elder Iptuous]

yeppa.
it's all relative.

(i did think this was meant to be a retarded semantical/philosophical discussions, but i wouldn't have expected anyone here to give the argument stated.  )

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I've heard it.

[P3nT4gR4m]

Interesting point. Maybe suffering is a subjective reaction to varying degrees of objective strife? The pain may be the same but we all have different thresholds.

[Elder Iptuous]

Interesting point. Maybe suffering is a subjective reaction to varying degrees of objective strife? The pain may be the same but we all have different thresholds.

For the sake of science we must subject a rich kid to something awful.

[LMNO]

I'm really glad you don't have my address.

[Doktor Howl]

Question:  Is being subjected to a moderate level of discipline "suffering"?

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

Question:  Is being subjected to a moderate level of discipline "suffering"?

I don't think so, I don't think being subject to a strict discipline can be called suffering. 

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Interesting point. Maybe suffering is a subjective reaction to varying degrees of objective strife? The pain may be the same but we all have different thresholds.

Pure wankery. Some people learn to tolerate pain better after they've been exposed to it, is all, but a coddled brat simply does not hurt as much from bruising his shin as, say, an 18-year-old soldier hurts from being shot in the leg.

Want evidence? No matter how sheltered someone has been, people do not experience clinical trauma disorders after being denied a luxury, but they do after being starved.

To me, the clearest delineation of the existence of suffering vs. disappointment is the presence of fear. Real fear generated from your brain's limbic system, not "Oh noes I'm afraid I might not be able to get a reservation on Friday".

Luckily, science today tells us a lot about trauma, suffering, fear, and how the brain reflects and reacts to them.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Question:  Is being subjected to a moderate level of discipline "suffering"?

When you say "discipline" do you mean "punishment"? Most people do, although the words are not synonymous.

If yes, then by "punishment" do you mean "hitting"?

[Elder Iptuous]

it seems readily apparent to me that 'suffering' is a broadly flexible term and only has specific meaning in context.
so, i would say that, in some sense, any discipline can fall under the term.
why not?

of course, i know that you don't suffer fools easily, so you may disregard my view as deemed necessary.  

[Doktor Howl]

Question:  Is being subjected to a moderate level of discipline "suffering"?

When you say "discipline" do you mean "punishment"? Most people do, although the words are not synonymous.

If yes, then by "punishment" do you mean "hitting"?

Discipline, in my view, does include punishment.  Spanking, grounding, time outs, etc, as appropriate.

(I am a firm believer that spanking doesn't work after age 5.  Note that I differentiate between "spanking" and "knocking the kid into next week".)

[Cramulus]

I wrote a long reply, but it kind of turned into its own thing - http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=29742.0

[LMNO]

Nigel, I have encountered something interesting: I witnessed someone go full bio-survuval mode (like a base level "threat to survival" reaction) in response to checking their bank and seeing a negative balance.

That is to say, they were not under any direct physical threat to their existence, but they had (or something had made them become) trained their brain and body to treat the abstract concept of "money" as a physically tangible thing.

While we can rationally say that having a negative bank balance would not be classified as physical suffering, this person had all the mannerisims and adrenaline-fueled mania normally associated with fear of imminent death.