This web documentary, coordinated by Raphaele Andrault and Ariana Bayle (IHRIM – Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3), is the result of multidisciplinary research work (literature, language, history and philosophy). It was born out of an observation: if we read through medical texts from the 16th-18th centuries, we are struck by the omnipresence of the problem of pain, which goes against the widely held idea doctors and philosophers did not seriously concern themselves with pain until the end of the 18th century.
Through a comparative analysis of various sources (texts, images, music), our team of researchers has uncovered recurring questions that contradict some of our prejudices and sometimes resonate more strongly than we could have imagined with the concerns of modern medicine.