How do we understand the pain of the other? The role of imagination in the verbal communication of physical pain.

Abstract

The article examines the role of imagination in verbal communication of physical pain. Linguistic research shows that the verbal communication of pain is based on figurative language, including metaphor. Drawing on Conceptual Metaphor Theory, the theory of grounded cognition and phenomenology I argue that imagination - understood as an embodied and socially situated capacity for exploring possible experience - plays a crucial role in interpreting and contextualizing pain metaphors. I believe that imagination functions as a bridge between subjective experience and intersubjective communication. The paper develops a non-reductionist account of empathy with people who experience pain.