I decided to do my final report on Blaise Pascal. I was interested in learning more about him, because he was not only a philosopher but also a mathematician and physicist. In fact, I had learned about Blaise pascal before this class, as I am sure many of us did, however it was because of his contributions to math. With this report I wanted to learn more about his scientific as well as philosophical endeavors.
Blaise Pascal was born in Clemont-Ferrand, France in 1623. His mother died when he was still at an early age, and so it was at this time that his father took charge of Pascal’s education. Pascal and his sister were both considered to be geniuses and his father wanted to encourage their growth in knowledge. Pascal’s father was a tax collector so it can be assumed that math was an important subject in his education, and perhaps this is where his love for math started. Pascal grew up to be many things and one of these things was an inventor. In fact, he is credited with the invention of a calculator, which he called the Pascaline, which he invented to help his father with his work. Pascal also worked in hydraulics which led to his invention of the hydraulics press and the syringe. Pascal worked in science for much of his life, however towards the end, he began to focus on philosophy. Pascal enjoyed studying the math of probability which probably led to his idea of Pascal’s Wager. Pascal’s wager is best summarized by this quote, “Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that he exists.” Pascal believed that once you were convinced of this reasoning, you should look for evidence that God exists. Pascal believed that the evidence was there, you just had to allow yourself to believe. Some of the reasons he believed in Christianity can be found in Pascal’s most famous work Pensees. Pensees is the French word for thoughts. Pensees is a Christian apologetic, or in other words, a book written in defense of Christianity. It is unfinished, as Pascal died before he could finish. It is out of order as well, because no one knows what order Pascal intended it to be in. Despite these disadvantages, Pensees is known for its beautifully written paragraphs.
Before Pascal could finish Pensees, he died at the age of 39. For most of his life, his sisters or a nurse took care of him because he was always very sickly and never achieved any kind of great health. While he may not have lived a very long life, Pascal achieved much. Many of his inventions and concepts are still used today and have stood the test of time.
Quiz questions:
1) Where was Blaise Pascal from?
2) What was one of his inventions?
3) What was his most famous work?
4) How old was he when he died?
DQS:
· Does Pascal’s Wager present a compelling argument?
· Pascal was known to be a pessimist. How is this reconcilable with his belief in Christianity?
Sources:
https://www.famousscientists.org/blaise-pascal/
A Little History of Philosophy by Nigel Warburton
Final report comments:
Midterm report:
https://cophilosophy.blogspot.com/2018/10/aristotle-and-happiness.html
I'd have to say Pascal's wager is not very compelling, for the reasons indicated in Warburton's chapter... and because it seems more motivated by fear (of eternal damnation) than love (of life, and truth). Still, I enjoy reading his "Thoughts"... he has a point, especially in our time, about the problem with people being unable to sit quietly alone in a room. The eternal silent immensity of the cosmos is another matter, though. He found it terrifying, many of us find it exhilarating.
ReplyDeleteI was excited to learn about not only pascal's wager which I did not think was the best plan, the supreme being (God) would know if you were genuine in your belief. But all of his inventions in science and math especially the syringe.
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