Volume 16, 1998
Philosophical Anthropology
Claudia Márquez Pemartín
Pages 68-74
The Feeling of Pain
A Metaphysical Interpretation from Thomas Aquinas
The metaphysical concepts of act and potency that are central to the Thomistic tradition can help us solve the problem of understanding pain, sorrow and grief. Human beings, as natural creatures, are composed of act and potency. If rightly understood, these concepts can give a rational explanation to the reality of pain-without having recourse to religious beliefs-by accepting it as a natural derivation of our natural limits.