On the Mysterious Gift of Sharing Pain - 1/22/2026

Abstract

To understand the suffering of others, we share their pain. At first glance, this appears to be a beautiful and noble ritual of sharing. However, unraveling the intricate mechanisms behind it reveals a cold, conflictual structure that cannot be explained by words like education or empathy. This is an allegory about a "kindness device" and a consideration of the new form of reckoning we unconsciously accept.

Keywords

Empathy device, Ritual of Education, Redistribution of Pain, Flattening of the Heart

Electro-Solid Solidarity

One sunny afternoon, a young man sat in a chair in the corner of an exhibition hall. Electrodes, apparently utilizing the latest technology, were attached to his abdomen. A female attendant flipped the switch, and the young man's face rapidly distorted, before groaning and collapsing. The people gathered around him, some nodding solemnly, others smiling with satisfaction, thinking, "Now he understands."

This device was developed to allow people with certain attributes to experience the pain experienced daily by people with other attributes. It's a "suffering translator," so to speak. After completing the experience, the young man wiped away his sweat and spoke something akin to an apology to someone he had never met. Seeing this, the audience felt convinced that their society had taken another step toward the ideal of mutual understanding. Everyone was filled with the conviction that they were "doing good," and a warm sense of unity permeated the venue.

The True Nature of the Replaced Sensation

But we need to pause for a moment and consider: Is the sharp shock he experienced really the same as someone else's oppressive daily life? It's difficult to say that the transient stimulation of electrical signals accurately replicates the complex changes that quietly but surely occur within the body and the accompanying psychological wear and tear.

Despite this, people accept this "imperfect substitute" as if it were the truth itself. Because it's more convenient. Once the complex and difficult-to-articulate suffering of others is reduced to a simple "numerical value of pain," all that remains is to inflict it on the other person. This lack of consideration for the real problem that needs to be solved. While wisdom and environmental improvements are essential to alleviating suffering, the goal has gradually narrowed to "making the other person suffer the same amount of pain as oneself."

Proxy Understanding = Inflicting Pain + Accepting an Apology

Education as a Ritual of Reckoning

The greatest benefit of this device is not mutual understanding; it is the production of a kind of "debt." The moment the device is activated, the young man seated in the chair is unknowingly thrust into "debt." He is being forced to pay interest with his own body for a past injustice he was not directly involved in.

When the word "shibaki" (beating) is used jokingly, it is a clever device at work that removes psychological barriers to violence in the name of justice. As soon as inflicting pain on a specific person is packaged as "education," it becomes a morally righteous act. People laugh at the agony of others and call it "enlightenment." This is nothing more than a barbaric power-transfer ritual, a more refined, less refutable version of the old-timey town square spectacles.

What remains in the empty town square: Night soon falls, and the lights go out. Only a chair remains. The young man returns home and sleeps, satisfied with the weight of his newfound "understanding." He will continue to remember the terror he felt when hooked up to the device, and will always maintain a step back toward those he cannot see. He has been led to believe that this is politeness and the proper way to be a citizen.

Meanwhile, those who inflicted his pain also feel a sense of emptiness. They are beginning to realize that sharing their suffering with others will not erase their own. But this reckoning, once begun, cannot be stopped. What pain should be poured out next, to whom, and how much? Continuing efforts will be made to make the device more efficient and more "empathetic."

When morning comes, a new young man will sit in the chair. And the world will once again move a little closer to quiet, cold "equality."