In the 1980s a philosopher named Stanly Cavell was asking whether surgeons could intentionally operate on people without pain-suppressing anethesia, provided th

In the 1980s a philosopher named Stanly Cavell was asking whether surgeons could intentionally operate on people without pain-suppressing anethesia, provided the patient would remember nothing of it. Chapter-length discussions IIRC. My simple reaction was always this: Yes it would affect the humanity of the surgeons themselves to do so. I wouldn't be surprised if there is also a below-conscious-memory level of trauma memory as well, so superficial amnesia might not be enough for the patient to be "unaffected".