Originally Posted by Leader

"Pulling away is not an automatic reaction, as we have the capacity to not pull away"

Not necessarily. When you touch something very hot or otherwise painful, your nervous system will pull your hand away without you choosing to to do it. In fact, your brain doesn't even receive the message until after your hand is pulled away. It might be possible to keep your hand on something that is burning you but it would be rather difficult. It would be impossible for most people to unexpectedly touch something very hot and not pull away. I don't think this changes the underlying argument however. Reactions like that are like other bodily functions.