Lorimer just wrote this opening paragraph for a book chapter. Heidi said “Stick that up as a blog post”. Lorimer said “OK”. The rest is history……
Biological organisms are proficient at protecting themselves from threat. Seminal work more than a century ago clearly demonstrated that even unicellular organisms can propel themselves away from physical threat[1]. The sophistication with which organisms can protect themselves from threat increases in line with the sophistication of the organism. Mammals are a fine case in point, with a protective armory that includes monosynaptic motor responses, co-ordinated polysynaptic motor responses, sympathetic, endocrine, local and systemic immune responses. The most sophisticated response however, one that is particularly well developed (and certainly well studied) in humans, is a conscious experience that motivates the entire organism to take drastic protective action. This experience is called pain.
References
1. Jennings, H. (1906). Behavior of lower organisms., (Bloomington, : Indiana University Press).
See also
Jennings, H. (1908). THE INTERPRETATION OF THE BEHAVIOR OF THE LOWER ORGANISMS Science, 27 (696), 698-710 DOI: 10.1126/science.27.696.698