Philosophy 1020 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Blaise Pascal, Christian Eschatology, Jansenism
13 Nov 2013
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An argument for the rationality of religious belief: some biographical details about blaise pascal. The eternal silence of these infinite spaces terrifies me . Man is but a reed, the weakest thing in nature; but he is a thinking reed. however insignificant we are, we have the power of thought. Pascal thought the arguments for the existence for god were not compelling. And also that the arguments against the existence for god were not compelling. 7. No conclusive evidence for or against the existence. He thought we were caught in inescapable ignorance. Or rather: is it more rational to believe in god (and behave accordingly ) or not to believe in god (and behave accordingly) What"s the best bet??: constructing the wager, the rational calculation: Where g stands for the proposition that god exists, along with the traditional (christian) eschatological story. Cross dividing these pair of combinations will get four possible combinations: Big win and big loss are immeasurably bigger.
