When two nations face a crisis of belief (i.e., a dispute over whose narrative is true), war acts as a "referential" mechanism. The destruction of bodies (pain) is used to confirm the reality of a particular outcome. For example, if Nation A claims a border, and Nation B denies it, the act of killing turns a verbal disagreement into a physical certainty. The side that inflicts more pain "wins" not because it is right, but because its reality is enforced through bodily destruction.
Why search for "the body in pain elaine scarry pdf" in 2025? Because its relevance has only grown:
The Silence of Suffering: Language and Political Power in Elaine Scarry’s The Body in Pain In her landmark study The Body in Pain