Pensees (Penguin Classics)
by Blaise Pascal
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Book Summary Information
Author: Blaise PascalTranslator: A. J. Krailsheimer
Introduction: A. J. Krailsheimer
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1995-12-01
ISBN: 0140446451
Number of pages: 333
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Book Reviews of Pensees (Penguin Classics)
Book Review: reasonable faith
Summary: 4 Stars
_One must know when it is right to doubt, to affirm, to submit. Anyone who does otherwise does not understand the force of reason. Some men run counter to these three principles, either affirming that everything can be proved, because they know nothing about proof, or doubting everything, because they do not know when to submit, or always submitting, because they do not know when judgment is called for_
Blaise Pascal found his faith to be the basis of reason. In this collection of his thoughts, the Pensees provide a glimpse of how he may have arrived at this concept. Further, he expresses the impact of this revelation on his own thinking in a way that transcends time and place. People throughout the centuries, some of whom have never known of Pascal's other contributions, have found encouragement in the Pensees.
The introduction by A. J. Krailsheimer provides an excellent background of the life of Pascal and his influences. The argument which Pascal uses to fortify his faith is given a thorough development that provides a course and direction to the otherwise often disconnected thoughts. Professor Krailsheimer points out that Pascal is in a paradoxical position of appealing to reason in order to communicate truths which, on his own showing, are outside its province. The paradox is that only reason can persuade reason of its own inadequacy.
Pascal's starting point is that the temporal world is inadequate to demonstrate eternal truths. Further, Pascal believes that a choice about the eternal is imperative. To leave the decision untested is to actively not decide and to fall into the category of skeptic. Pascal did not hold that ultimate skepticism was possible, maintaining that a _perfectly genuine skeptic has never existed. Nature backs up helpless reason and stops it going to so widely astray._
On the other hand, Pascal does not condone dogmatic acceptance of unsubstantiated presumption. _Is he, on the other hand, to say that he is the certain possessor of truth, when at the slightest pressure he fails to prove his claim and is compelled to loose his grasp?_ Neither certainty not uncertainty can be ultimately proved nor disproved in Pascal's world.
Our friend appears to have painted himself into a corner. Indeed, Pascal has and intentionally so. He appeals to a leap of faith to establish the legitimacy of a faith. Pascal's argument hinges on the concept of prevenient grace. _We shall never believe with an effective belief and faith unless GOD inclines our hearts and we shall believe as soon as he does_ (380).
Pascal's argument benefits from his own miraculous vision that occurred on 23 November 1654. In that experience, he saw the light that guided him the rest of his life; a vision of the Messiah that brought him certainty and joy. This is, at the same time, both the strength and weakness of Pascal's argument.
While I respect the experience of Pascal and others who have witnessed eternity break the temporal barrier, not all of us who faith in the spiritual have this to fortify our convictions. Since there is no way to manufacture such an experience in my own life (neither do I feel that I need to) the type of intensely personal apologetic that Pascal's work represents often strikes a hollow chord.
At the same time, I do find encouragement in Pascal's validation of a personal experience while upholding the certainty that dogma and skepticism will not be silenced. This is the decision to which I am drawn regularly on my spiritual journey as circumstance comes into conflict with my convictions. I agree with Pascal that the capacity to acknowledge a spiritual relationship has its source outside of the temporal realm.
This is the stuff of life. We choose a course without guarentee of the destination. Each step brings us closer if for no other reason than our experience has grown.
Whether or not one chooses to wager on the side of eternity, as Pascal purports as the only sensible bet, I find the Pensees to be important for it's unique position in the then nascent era of Science. Pascal's contemporary, Descartes, at whom Pascal points some of his arguments, took a completely different path to establish his faith. Neither of which provides eternal certainty, and thus, both of which are questions still pertinent for today.
PEACE
Catrina
Summary of Pensees (Penguin Classics)
Blaise Pascal, the precociously brilliant contemporary of Descartes, was a gifted mathematician and physicist, but it is his unfinished apologia for the Christian religion upon which his reputation now rests. "The Pensees" is a collection of philosohical fragments, notes and essays in which Pascal explores the contradictions of human nature in pscyhological, social, metaphysical and - above all - theological terms. Mankind emerges from Pascal's analysis as a wretched and desolate creature within an impersonal universe, but who can be transformed through faith in God's grace.Theology Books
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