Pain that can be withstood before unconsciousness takes over.Presumably empirical studies (even if only observational rather than empirical)...?
Shanks -- Could you elucidate the two (including your parenthetical) phrases in red? I am not sure I understand how you distinguish "observational" and "empirical."
The notion of pain tolerance has always seemed odd to me. At face value, it belongs to the same category of speech addressed yesterday in the Empathy thread. It seems to me that since "subjective states" (a troubling term) are immeasurable as such, that they are necessarily incommensurable, as well. So that pain tolerance must refer to some empirically quantifiable response to an empirically quantifiable stimulus. Perhaps wwh could tell us--if I'm on the mark--what these might be. If my conjecture is right, while such measures seem useful, I don't see how they could, or should be expected to supplant the "subjective" report of "subjective" suffering--or a care giver's considered judgment thereof.
As to your second points on maternity, I will withhold any remarks here except to say, as a point of interest and not bawdiness, that men are capable of producing milk and, to some extent, at least, and suckling infants. (Or so I have read--Dr. Bill?). The subject of maternity might make an interesting non-word thread.
