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Pascal’s Wager
By Vinnie MacIsaac
French philosopher, mathematician, and physicist Blaise Pascal presented to the world philosophical simplistic mathematical bases for acting on the belief of God. His reason goes like this:
1. “God is, or He is not”
2. A Game is being played… where heads or tails will turn up.
3. According to reason, you can defend neither of the propositions.
4. You must wager. (It’s not optional.)
5. Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing.
6. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (…) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.
The cross tracks of faith is reason.
The Christian faith is not an unthinking faith, or a faith-based solely on emotion or superstition as some would wrongfully charge. Blaise Pascal, who was one of the most brilliant minds not only of his time but all time, reminds us we do not have to divorce reason and belief. This is a man who was a groundbreaking French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, philosopher and serious defender of the scientific method. We are talking about a man who literally invented the concept of the mechanical calculator; and so it has been rightly reasoned that we may see him as the great, great, great, grandfather to the microprocessor. Simply put, the man was no dummy, nor a slave to childish fantasies about some grand deity in the sky. He was a brilliant academic and logistician who contributed more to scientific advancement than most can and will ever be able to claim.
And what did all that brilliance do for him? It made it clear, that the most logical and safe assumption is the assumption of the existence of God and the soundness of embracing the Christian faith. Pascal is a little to clinical for me at times but what he does is take away all the nonsensical arguments that faith and reason must be at odds. Pascal’s Wager may not be where you want your faith to ultimately work from but it is a radically logical jumping on the place.
Criticism of Pascal’s Wager
Often Pascal is criticized not just by skeptics but also by theists, and logisticians. It would be fair to acknowledge that Pascal was a 16th-century historical figure from Europe. Therefore his worldview is Christian by default. We don’t need to see the outcomes of his thinking as being “Heaven” or “Hell” but rather more philosophically about the outcome of the odds that God exists or not. Often agnostics and atheists will disregard him by saying which God should we pick? “What if we pick a Hindu God rather than the Christian God does the logic still hold? However, philosophically it doesn’t break the logic. Pascal’s argument to some degree still holds because believing in any God increases the chances of having the right go versus no God at all. That said, escaping Hell is not the point of his wager. He is not saying gamble on God and hope for the best. He is suggesting that the odds of there being a God outweigh the risk of there being no God at all. Even if there is no Hell in this equation the odds still favor God. It would be better to side with a chance of God than to ensure you end up with nothing.
I further add the criticism that while logically his position holds that there is more to faith than logic or reason. What I mean by that is that God doesn’t want you in Heave because you played the odds well. He wants your heart and your mind! Logic may aid us in the belief in God but it is a stepping stole we use while reaching for higher motivations like faith, love, and hope.
His unfinished work Pensées (“Thoughts”) Apologie de la religion Chrétienne (“Defense of the Christian Religion”) remains to this day to baffle his most contentious critics of sound thinking of his faith. And it is out of this unfinished innovation he comes to the conclusion of Pascal’s Wager. Perhaps, it is those of faith, who do not shut their brains off and do not deny their faith who are actually completing Pascal’s Pensée.
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7 Comments
Love it when a man with a brilliant mind such as Pascal puts his faith and trust in God. Well researched and presented article!
Yes, indeed Pascal was brilliant. This article barely scratches the surface of just how brilliant he was. For me the lesson is clear, God wants your heart and you mind. (Hebrew 8)
Very well said!
Hey Vinnie, nice post! Here was my thoughts on Pascal’s wager a few years ago. I think it develops some of yours a little more. https://manifestpropensity.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/pascals-wager-was-not-a-game-of-reason-it-was-merely-saying-we-need-to-play-by-the-rules/
Yeppers, well thought out, well written and much more depth than mine! Thanks for sharing, I’ll be following your blogs!
Thanks Vinnie! But I haven’t been writing many posts in the past few years as you will see.
Meeting a fellow blogger is like meeting a fellow traveler. I was enjoying your Thanos Avengers blog. Also on point. Write more.