Want to stay current with Arthur’s writing? Sign up to get an email every time a new column comes out. “The art of life lies in taking pleasures as they pass,” said the ancient Greek philosopher ...

Redheaded women give a new meaning to red hot. Aside from their striking appearance, women with naturally red locks have several other enviable differences than those with other hair colors. The ...

Left: Fluids were delivered using an MR-compatible fluid delivery system (gustometer) and removed from participants’ mouths during the experiment using a suction device. Middle: Capsaicin or chocolate ...

In bondage, discipline, and sado-masochism (BDSM), dominant players (doms, tops) may inflict pain—in kink parlance, “intense sensation”—on submissive participants (subs, bottoms). The pain ranges from ...

Benezra, Neal, ed., "Affinities and Intuitions: The Gerald S. Elliott Collection of Contemporary Art," New York: Thames and Hudson, (The Art Institute of Chicago), 1990. Circular neon sign. The text ...

Doctors have long taken for granted a devil’s bargain: Relieving intense pain, such as that caused by surgery and traumatic injury, risks inducing the sort of pleasure that could leave patients ...

If you search for the true meaning of happiness, you will find that it is a state of being happy. But what is it to be happy?

In the quest for a reliable way to detect any stirrings of a sentient “I” in artificial intelligence systems, researchers are turning to one area of experience—pain—that inarguably unites a vast swath ...