Epicurean Philosophy And Boomer Word Associations ("Feeling No Pain")

    I was listening to an old song earlier this week, and one set of lyrics struck me as worthy of discussion here:

    Quote from Harry Chapin: Sequel

    You see, ten years ago it was the front seat
    Drivin' stoned and feelin' no pain
    Now here I am straight and sittin' in the back
    Hitting Sixteen Parkside Lane

    I think those lyrics are now so ingrained in me that I will never be able to disassociate use of the term "feeling no pain" in conversation from "feeling stoned." And I associate "stoned" as meaning "on drugs."

    I expect that a lot of readers here will understand this association, but maybe this terminology has passed out of common usage and younger people don't feel the same association.

    So this is a question to which I'd appreciate feedback. I expect different answers from different people, but I don't know exactly how those differences will break down.

    I expect at some point this association won't be so automatic, and with the passing of boomers and subsequent generations the old association will break down. But I don't know how to test this other than ask.

    The question is: To what extent does hearing someone say that they are "feeling no pain" automatically invoke an association that what they mean is that they are "stoned?"


  • Cassius October 24, 2024 at 9:40 AM

    Changed the title of the thread from “Epicurean Philosophy And Boomer Word Associations” to “Epicurean Philosophy And Boomer Word Associations ("Feeling No Pain")”.
    Quote from Cassius

    The question is: To what extent does hearing someone say that they are "feeling no pain" automatically invoke an association that what they mean is that they are "stoned?"

    I tend to use "stoned" when I want to express feeling "disoriented", closer to an anesthetized state of νάρκη (nárkē, from which we derive our word "narcotic"), meaning "torpor" or "numbness". In this regard, anything that numbs pleasure along with pain (I'm thinking of narcotics, not cannabinoids) might be painless, but also, pleasure-less, and that wordplay doesn't help us enjoy pleasure.

    (As a regular user, I express the pleasant relief I feel as being "mellow"or "relaxed", as opposed "stoned" or "baked", which I would reserve for states that resemble drunkenness.)

    Slang, however, is fluid, and not only can mean anything we want, not only does mean multiple things to different people, but has, throughout our own history been used in mutually contradictory ways: words like "stoned" have meant everything from stumbling intoxication to a mild buzz, and that difference is the difference between pleasant relief versus dangerous anesthetization.

    Eikadistes you are considerably younger than I am. Are the implications of "feeling no pain" changing among younger people? Would very young people today jump to the same association that "feeling no pain" still means "stoned" or "under the influence of some drug"?

    Quote from Cassius

    The question is: To what extent does hearing someone say that they are "feeling no pain" automatically invoke an association that what they mean is that they are "stoned?"

    To me, it would be a great extent considering the times I lived in as a young man when I would hear the phrase now and again.

    While I'm largely clueless about its connotations today among post baby boomers, a quick AI search tells me it's gained a wider scope. More escape from stresses in general rather than being "stoned". It's a reason that Stoicism has gained such wide interest among the post boomers.

    Although stoned works! 🥴

    Edited once, last by kochiekoch (October 25, 2024 at 9:33 PM).

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