Reflections About Pain
The brain does not have to make a “decision” as to how we should perceive the sound. But whether we interpret that loud sound as thunder, a car backfiring, a cannon firing, or as a bomb exploding is a matter of perception. We can always check and find out whether our interpretation is correct. Thus, we may be mistaken about the cause of activation of the auditory (“hearing”) apparatus but, to reiterate, we cannot be mistaken about the experience of having heard the sound. This sensation is “given” to us. The same can be said of pain. We are not mistaken when we experience pain. But we may come up with a number of different interpretations of the experience.
