Mild pain relievers are used by hundreds of millions of people annually for relief of pain, fever, and inflammation. The most commonly used ones are Aspirin, Ibuprofen, and Acetaminophen (aka Paracetamol).
Acetaminophen was originally discovered by accident from a distillate of coal tar. Antipyretic (fever-reducing) effects were noticed in patients being treated for parasites with the antithelmintic naphthalene. Researchers realised that the dispensary had accidentally given them the identical-looking acetanilide instead, and so this new family of drugs was entirely found by chance.
Over a century later, we still don't really understand how it works!
Some intriguing research now suggests that acetaminophen usage can reduce empathy for the pleasurable experiences of other people.
Mudita, a virtue within Jain, Buddhist, and Hindu canon, describes experiencing joy through the happiness of others. Naches in Yiddish culture describes something similar. It's essentially the inverse of Schadenfreude.
Pleasure in the joy of others is a very important part of a life well-lived. Damage to that function might result in persistent anhedonia.
We live in a time of profound disconnection, from others, and from the inner self. There is greater isolation, social discohesion, mistrust, and (sometimes wilful) misunderstanding. Opiate abuse has skyrocketed as a means to dampen a massive pandemic of chronic social pain. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have a role in this – they appear to influence endogamous opioid receptors in the brain, and it's known that they can temporarily reduce the perception of loss from heartbreak or rejection. However, there is evidence that rather than blunting pain, Acetaminophen seems to cause one to simply not to care about it.
But a broken leg cannot be healed with only a crutch. Our society is experiencing deep narcissistic injuries. By retreating from each other into a comfortable cocoon, we are not engaging with the fullness of life. In numbing ourselves to the painful influences of others, we numb ourselves also to the brilliance of others, to the awe of beholding nature's genius, to the joys of sharing wisdom, and watching younger generations grow in capacity.
All great works of civilisation were built by people who invested extra energy into systems and infrastructure – more than was strictly needed at that moment – in order to lay down a lasting foundation for the future.
By doing so, they made life a little more safe and stable for future generations. Compounded over time, civilisation, as we know it today, has emerged.
Without reinvesting surplus, we cannot protect civilisation from the constant wearing-away of entropy. Without the empathy required for the imagined vicarious joys and sorrows of others as yet unborn, it may be difficult to build a sustainable future. I find this particularly important in a time of such intense polarisation and tribal bad faith.
Acetaminophen is used extremely widely, as one of the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. We don't know how these things work, and though it is familiar to us, we have no idea of the longer-term effects such medicines may have upon the individual, and society at large.
Further research on its potential side effects seems wise.