Full Idea
I propose the hypothesis that pain, or the state of being in pain, is a functional state of a whole organism.
Gist of Idea
Is pain a functional state of a complete organism?
Source
Hilary Putnam (The Nature of Mental States [1968], p.54)
Book Reference
'The Philosophy of Mind', ed/tr. Beakley,B /Ludlow P [MIT 1992], p.54
A Reaction
This sounds wrong right from the start. Pain hurts. The fact that it leads to avoidance behaviour etc. seems much more like a by-product of pain than its essence.