Pascals wager is an argument in philosophy presented by the seventeenth century french. As we knew of the plan that pascal had for writing about religion, we took very. Medieval philosophy was dead, and medieval theology was being ignored or sneered at by the new intellectuals of the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century. To understand pascals wager you have to understand the background of the argument. As terence penelhum has noted, many philosophers feel it is somehow a professional obligation not to accept it. Browse 40 sets of pascal wager flashcards advanced. Rota considers pascal s wager and the roles of uncertainty, evidence and faith in making a commitment to god.
Pdf on jan 12, 1991, graham oppy and others published on rescher. Eastwood 1936 and the french writers cited therein, brown 1984, armour 1993, morris. One version is a favorite of philosophers, and so it might be called the canonical version of pascal s wager. Next i will explain how pascal tries to convince nontheists why they should believe in god. There are at least four versions of the wager within pascals posthumously published work, pensees, each of which is a pragmatic argument. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Pascals wager routledge encyclopedia of philosophy. But, a 17thcentury french thinker named blaise pascal 16231662 thought up a very unusual strategy. The wager takes on added weight when you consider that pascal himself made a bet and took up an ascetic lifestyle near the end of his life. In philosophy he was an early pioneer in existentialism.
Bu ti ask them this, wht if you are wrong and islam is right. This leads us to the conclusion that we should pick the. He was able to use his brilliant mind and his strong faith to compose a reasonable argument for the existence of god. In mathematics, he was an early pioneer in the fields of game theory and probability theory. He is writing for the man who will not countenance.
It was this time that the wager was formulated and it was not published in his. Pascal, a christian believer and apologist, argued that while gods existence cannot be known with rational certainty, it is nevertheless prudent to believe in god. Pascal s wager is the name given to an argument due to blaise pascal for believing, or for at least taking steps to believe, in god. However, if you do not believe in god, your penalty is very high eternal punishment in hell. Pascals wager, discussed in his pensees, has provoked discussion and strong views. Pascal argues that a rational person should live as though god exists and seek to believe in god. One of pascal s most famous works was the pensees thoughts, which was published posthumously in 1670.
Here is a brief summary of john allen paulos critique of pascals wager in his book irreligion. Pdf pascals wager and the many gods objection paul saka. I will then explain two criticisms in response to pascals argument. It reasons thereupon,and calls it nature, necessity, and can believe nothing else. It is in this work that we find what is known as pascals wager. So we may well know that there is a god without knowing what he is. Pascal s wager is the product of the gain from a certain belief and the probability that it is the correct one in pascal s reasoning 5050, but as mentioned above the probability is much less. Sep 28, 2015 i propose to reformulate pascals wager as urging those who doubt gods existence to embrace a doubt of desire rather than a doubt of indifference. The name is somewhat misleading, for in a single section of his pensees, pascal apparently presents at least three such arguments, each of which might be called a wagerit is only the final of these that is traditionally referred to as pascal. Today we conclude our unit on philosophy of religion and hank gets a little help from indiana jones to explain religious pragmatism and pascals wager, fideism, and kierkegaards leap to faith. An argument often used by religious people is that they have nothing to lose by believing in god and that atheists are risking eternity in hell for no gain.
Rota considers pascals wager and the roles of uncertainty, evidence and faith in making a commitment to god. Jul 28, 2014 pascals wager, jordan argued, may be viewed as a kind of last ditch argument for apologists and theism 24. Pascals wager, practical argument for belief in god formulated by blaise pascal. The man who played dice with god hardcover october 17, 2006. Introduction pascals wager cambridge university press. Pascal s wager does not define which god to believe in since in many religions believing in a different god brings a punishing judgment. One of pascals most famous works was the pensees thoughts, which was published posthumously in 1670.
Full text of pascal s wager see other formats stop early journal content on jstor, free to anyone in the world this article is one of nearly 500,000 scholarly works digitized and made freely available to everyone in the world by jstor. Hence it comes that, if there are as many risks on one side as on the other. He later left the catholic faith to become a philosopher of. A live hypothesis is a proposition whose adoption would not. Its argument is rooted in what has subsequently become known as game theory. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false. This does not excuse a person from at least trying to discover if there is a god or not and who he might be. Does pascals wager contain any logical flaws or fallacies. What i first plan to do in this paper is explain the argument of pascals wager. But pascals wager suggests that atheists like me should leave their sinful ways and start believing in god because it is the most logical and beneficial choice. Our soul has been cast into the body, where it finds number, time and dimension. Pascals wager is an argument in philosophy presented by the seventeenthcentury french.
Pascals wager, jordan argued, may be viewed as a kind of last ditch argument for apologists and theism 24. May 23, 2016 today we conclude our unit on philosophy of religion and hank gets a little help from indiana jones to explain religious pragmatism and pascals wager, fideism, and kierkegaards leap to faith. Pascals wager was a decisive turning point in prob. I believe there are very sound responses to each of his points mentioned below and i plan on discussing them in the next post. The pascals wager is a very popular argument among theists and deists as well. Since there is much to gain for ourselves as well as for others and relatively little to lose, the wise decision is to seek a relationship with god and live a christian life. Pascal s other wager this is a card miracle you can perform anytime, anywhere, without a deck of cards. This is an effect that simply relies on nothing more than an ordinary cellphone calculator and an oscarwinning performance. Pascal is here expressing a kind of skepticism about the ability of human reason to tell us whether there is a god. Blaise pascal 16231662 blaise pascal was a french philosopher, mathematician, scientist, inventor, and theologian.
It was created by pascal, a french mathematician in the 1600, who was a devout christian. Pragmatic arguments for theism are designed to motivate and support belief even in the absence of strong evidence. Pascals wager is a type of theistic argument developed by blaise pascal, a french mathematician of the seventeenth century. Pascals wager or pascals gambit is the name for an idea that blaise pascal had. In his pensees 165758, pascal posed the following argument to show that belief in the christian religion is rational. Two main objections are often raised to pascals wager. Pascals wager is the name given to an argument due to blaise pascal for believing, or for at least taking steps to believe, in god.
I propose to reformulate pascals wager as urging those who doubt gods existence to embrace a doubt of desire rather than a doubt of indifference. Pascals wager is named after 17thcentury french philosopher and mathematician blaise pascal. Pascals other wager this is a card miracle you can perform anytime, anywhere, without a deck of cards. Pascals wager is an argument that asserts that one should believe in god, even if gods existence cannot be proved or disproved through reason blaise pascals original wager was as a fairly short paragraph in pensees amongst several other notes that could be considered wagers. But if there were three lives to gain, you would have to play since you are under the necessity of playing, and you would be imprudent, when you are forced to play, not to chance your life to. Pascal s wager is named after 17thcentury french philosopher and mathematician blaise pascal. If god does exist and you choose to believe in god, then your reward is very high eternal life in heaven. To understand pascal s wager you have to understand the background of the argument. Pascals wager pascals wager is a hypothesis testing. We write the probabilities above each of the two columns. The medieval universe was fading away, and the old divine certainties were losing ground. I cant imagine that there is an omnipotent god who watches over all of us. Explain whether you consider pascals wager a proof of gods exis tence or not.
As terence penelhum has noted, many philosophers feel it is. The superdominance form of the argument conveys the basic pascalian idea, the expectations argument refines it, and the dominating expectations. I see a lot of christians using pascals wager here. However, its possible any theory of god could include the condition god loves unbelievers therefore, anyone who believed in god as a result of the wager would go to hell, whereas all the atheists. Pascals wager is the most famous part of his collection of notes known as the pensees. If god existed, and the person believed in god, he would be rewarded with happiness forever. Pascals wager is an argument in philosophy presented by the seventeenthcentury french philosopher, mathematician and physicist, blaise pascal 16231662. Voltaire another prominent french writer of the enlightenment, a generation after. Pascals wager debunked pascal states there are two options. This means, first, that they should hope and therefore desire that they might find a higher meaning and value to their existence by making contact with a beneficent power beyond the. Pascals wager is the product of the gain from a certain belief and the probability that it is the correct one in pascals reasoning 5050, but as mentioned above the probability is much less.
Pascal s wager, practical argument for belief in god formulated by blaise pascal. If the christian god does not exist, the agnostic loses little by believing in him and gains. Two versions of pascal s wager will be earmarked for close examination. Now, throughout the history of philosophy, there have been many different arguments for theism. If you believe in god only as a bet, that is certainly not a deep, mature, or adequate faith. Pascals wager is an argument for the existence of god developed by 17th century mathematician and philosopher blaise pascal. For those of you who dont know, pascal s wager is an argument for the belief in god. It posits that humans bet with their lives that god either exists or does not. After all, suppose one were to come up with an argument which convinced you that the truth of theism is quite unlikely indeed. Pascals wager does not define which god to believe in since in many religions believing in a different god brings a punishing judgment. Choose from 40 different sets of pascal wager flashcards on quizlet. Two main objections are often raised to pascal s wager. A mathematician explains why the arguments for god just dons add up. Blaise pascal 16231662 internet encyclopedia of philosophy.
Examining two objections to pascals wager pascals wager has been the subject of protracted philosophical interest since its posthumous appearance over three centuries ago. As often happens, the outside promised a little more than it delivered. He said that it is not possible to prove or disprove that god exists. Only nontheists go to heaven 2003 by richard carrier. In that case, pascals wager provides a rational reason to continue to believe in god. What is pascals wager the essential argument in the area of religion, pascal is best known for his wager. The scientists and philosophers of france were busy casting about for something new to bet their souls on, a new ground of order, a new way to make the universe spin properly, and for most of them, that something was mathematics. This leads us to the conclusion that we should pick the religion with the worst hell and the greatest heaven. Such selfseeking individuals would not properly serve the deity. The story is based on something said by seventeenth century mathematician blaise pascal. Mar 24, 2017 in this wireless philosophy video, susanna rinard harvard university explains pascal s wager, blaise pascal s famous argument for belief in god. Letters, which are a masterpiece of wit and creative writing, although they were.
A successful rebuttal to any form of pascals wager, a rebuttal which requires theists to abandon several of their cherished beliefs about god andor heaven if they are to escape its logic, demonstrating in the process that unbelief may be the safest bet after all. Pascal s wager was originally put forth by blaise pascal, a 17 th century philosopher and mathematician. First of all, i love the cover, with its metallic sheen and grunge look, and the title pascals wager. This is a manual of lessons, prepared for students at port royale des champs, the. Pascal started off as a scientist that was a strong believer in the scientific theory. Pascal pointed out that the most important things in life cannot be known with certainty. But it is something, it is a start, it is enough to dam the tide of atheism. This is a plausible principle, and one which is employed in some versions of pascals wager. In this wireless philosophy video, susanna rinard harvard university explains pascals wager, blaise pascals famous argument for belief in god.
May 06, 2012 an argument often used by religious people is that they have nothing to lose by believing in god and that atheists are risking eternity in hell for no gain. As a writer on theology and religion he was a defender of christianity. Moreover, it is implicitly rejected by others who endorse the wager, e. Although it is a utterly fallacious argument, it is still used for selfsatisfaction. However, it s possible any theory of god could include the condition god loves unbelievers therefore, anyone who believed in god as a result of the wager would go to hell, whereas all the atheists. Taking pascals wager by michael rota overdrive rakuten. A successful rebuttal to any form of pascal s wager, a rebuttal which requires theists to abandon several of their cherished beliefs about god andor heaven if they are to escape its logic, demonstrating in the process that unbelief may be the safest bet after all. So far we have discussed a number of arguments for or against the. With the wager, pascal attempted to provide a compelling reason to believe in god based upon happiness and possible outcomes.
Drange the argument call it pw may be formulated as follows. The name is somewhat misleading, for in a single section of his pensees, pascal apparently presents at least three such arguments, each of which might be called a wagerit is only the final of these that is traditionally referred to as pascal s wager. Pascals wager is a hypothesis testing situation that helps to answer the question. On the face of it, it is quite convincing but it falls apart once you seriously examine it. If the christian god does not exist, the agnostic loses little by believing in him and gains correspondingly little by not believing. Blaise pascal 16231662 offers a pragmatic reason for believing in god.
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