Blaise Pascal's Religious Views

French Physicist, Mathematician and Philosopher

May 30, 2008 Tel Asiado

Biography of Blaise Pascal with focus on his religious philosophies as opposed to his scientific discoveries. He is famous for his "Pensées" and "Pascal's Wager.

Pascal's religious philosophies are highlighted in this article rather than his scientific discoveries. Blaise Pascal (June 19, 1623-August 19, 1662) was a French philosopher, mathematician and physicist. He is famous for "Pascal's Wager" formulation.

Pascal's Scientific Contributions

In his short life of 39 years, he made significant contributions to science, philosophy and theology. A child prodigy, Pascal wrote a book on conics when he was 16, and later, with Pierre de Fermat, laid the foundations of the probability theory. He introduced the first bus carrosse, invented the first operational calculating machine, and contributed to calculus and hydrodynamics, among others.

Religious Affinities: Augustinian

When it pertained to theology, different rules came into play with Pascal. The skeptic French philosopher Michel de Montaigne was one of his influences. According to Pascal, authority is the "only" measure of truth in theological matters, that when one wants to know about a realm beyond the reach of reason, then one has to rely on the authority of sacred texts. This might seem strange from someone committed to reason and evidence in the pursuit of scientific knowledge.

Pascal showed the influence of Augustine in his theological beliefs and was committed to the Augustinian idea on two counts:

• That the fall of man had left human beings spiritually corrupt, and it is only by the grace of God that people – and by no means all people – can be redeemed such that those people he had blessed will always choose to follow his path.
• A belief in the idea of predestination, that salvation is preordained. Therefore, there is nothing specifically that the individual can do to attain salvation, either God will make his presence be felt in an individual, or he won't.

Last Years: Pensées

Pascal retired from science in 1655 and devoted to writing on his religious philosophies. He spent the final years of his life putting together the beginnings of an apologia for Christianity, known as Pensées in which he included his famous "Pascal's Wager." The arguments are as follows: either God exists or he does not. If God does not exist, then we lose very little by believing that he does. If he does exist, then we stand to gain a lot by believing that he does, and to lose an awful lot by thinking that he does not. Therefore, it is sensible to wager that he does exist, and to behave appropriately. As Pascal put it, "I should be much more afraid of being mistaken and then finding out that Christianity is true, than being mistaken in believing it to be true."

Pascal's Wager

The wager then is not an argument for the existence of God, but rather an argument for the rationality of belief in God. It is aimed not so much at people who are convinced that God did not exist, but at those who waver. It does, however, conflict with his Augustinian view of predestination. It a person's future is predestined, why try to persuade that person to believe in God?

Pascal responded that God might choose to do his work through other people. So it was his (Pascal's) duty to attempt to bring people to faith. While this might explain his motives, it's not clear that Pascal's wager can function as a motive to action. Despite the conflict or difficulty in assimilating it, the wager has remained an influential argument seen as an early example of decision-theory.

Books by Pascal:

Experiments on a Vacuum, 1647, details Pascal's experiments with liquids and air pressure in his ideas about scientific methodology.

Provincial Letters, 1657, a series of 18 letters attack on the view of the Jesuits. They are accused of expediency in their theological and moral outlook.

Thoughts or Pensées, 1670, An apologia for Christianity. This work comprises a series of short essays and aphorism. It's best known for featuring Pascal's famous wager (Pascal's Wager), an argument for the rationality of a belief in God. Unfinished at Pascal's death.

Sources:

Biographical Dictionary, edited by Una McGovern, Chambers (2002)

Dictionary of Modern Thinkers, edited by A. Bullock & R.B. Woodings, Fontana (1983)

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Blaise Pascal