The experience of pain is not just a biological phenomenon, but it is also shaped by history and culture. In this seminar, we will examine the ways that pain has been justified and given meaning in Western culture, returning again and again to a core set of questions: What role does pain play in Western culture, philosophy, religion, and the arts? How is it represented? We will conclude with a range of ethical questions: What responsibility do we have to acknowledge the pain of others? How is pain represented in the mass media? And, in the age of medical science, what might it mean (and would it be desirable) for pain someday to be eliminated altogether?