The underlying theme of this book is the question of the extent to which humans can come to understand the nature of the universe. In order to address this question John King considers whether a raindrop can be in pain. He considers this question from a number of different perspectives and explores the issue of exactly what it means to be "in pain". King considers whether one can perceive the pain of other humans, the issue of where one"s own pain is located, and whether states of feeling could pervade the universe. He suggests that a raindrop cannot be "in pain" but that it can contain states of feeling analogous to those in a human when that human asserts that they are "in pain".