Essays on Blaise Pascal

Throughout history, there have been many great thinkers. They have sprawled among many disciplines, from philosophy to physics. Nevertheless, some of these have made important contributions to many fields at the same time. One of these cases is that of Blaise Pascal, who was deeply influential in mathematics, philosophy and theology. In a sense, one could say that these three disciplines were intertwined in his work. By studying the loftier aspects of the human experience, Pascal was able to bring together probability theory and his worries about the existence of God. As such, his notorious wager was a turning ...

Allen Hajek formulates his “Many Gods Objection” against Pascal's Wager. In his opinion, Pascal's Wager does not exhaust the relevant options regarding whether there is a Christian God or not. In this paper I shall defend Pascal's Wager against this objection. Hajek's objection to Pascal's wager can be reconstructed as follows. Hajek points out that (1)Pascal's either-or proposition is an oversimplification. (2) We could derive an infinite degree of expected utility from more than one religious option. (3) According to Pascal's Wager, we can either choose only one Christian God or not choose one Christian God (4) This ...

Clifford was a philosopher in the medieval ages of philosophy, that is, the seventeenth century. Clifford advocated that a person is rightfully justified in believing in an event or something if only they have sufficient evidence in believing in the occurrence of that event. Clifford was against beliefs people had in doing things without sufficient evidence before embarking on such events. In this accord, Clifford wrote a book to support his belief. However, many non-evidentialist philosophers saw his advocacy as an act of atheism and that he did not believe in God. Non-evidential philosophers believed in God and put ...

The name of the French philosopher Rene Descartes is associated with the doctrine of the independent existence of mind and body. This doctrine is called dualism (Almog 62). His teaching is based on the following assumption. He thought that there are two types of substances "thinking substances" (not bodily substance) and "bodily matter" (living, material substance). Considering the nature of the body, Descartes has appealed directly to the mechanical-hydraulic model. In his opinion, the excitement of man passed along the nerves - as a liquid through the pipes, and muscles with tendons are like the engine and springs. All ...

The heart has its reasons which reason does not know. This is a statement that appears to be simple, but is quite the opposite taking into consideration its deeper meaning. This is a statement by blaise Pascal while trying to describe the path to ethical truth. The question thus arises as to exactly what blaise Pascal is referring to when he says the heart and what is the motivation behind this particular choice of words. Emotionally the heart is associated with decisions that are inclined towards truth and right. The heart thus has a moral compass that is ever pointing at the ...

Blaise Pascal is one of the famous French mathematicians known all through the world. He is also recognized for his work in physics, inventions, writing and Christian philosophy. He was born Clermont-Ferrand in France on 19th June, 1623. His mother died when he was only three years old. He had two siblings Jacqueline and Gilberte who he was exceptionally close to them. He was a child prodigy and was educated by his father who was a tax collector and a local judge. His father was a talented mathematician. Etienne with his family moved to Paris in 1631. Pascal was taught by his ...

1. What is the strongest objection to Anselm's Proslogion 2 argument? The greatest objection to Anselm's Proslogion is the fact that Anselm contradicts his views. It is not clear what Anselm's perception of God is. According to him, God is a supreme being that exhibits traits of perfection. At the same time, Anselm describes God as being a simple being that goes about the activities of the universe calmly and in a silent manner. The next set of traits that Anselm describes brings out God as being an associated with eternity. Eternity in this context refers to life everlasting. This is a ...

1. In the teleological argument for the existence of God, it is said that a higher power must exist in order to create the specific and complex conditions for life in the universe. In essence, the existence of intelligent life itself is evidence that God exists; an intelligent creator is implied in the existence of these forms. The complexity of life, much like a pocketwatch, implies the existence of the watchmaker.

While this is a compelling argument for the existence of God, one of the main criticisms one can levy against it is the fact that this argument severely underestimates the ...