Blaise Pascal
Pensées religious philosopher
Blaise Pascal was a seventeenth-century French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher whose contributions span multiple fields.
He invented an early mechanical calculator, established foundational work in probability theory, and studied fluid mechanics—Pascal's law and the pascal unit of pressure bear his name.
Later in life he turned to religious philosophy, producing the influential *Pensées*, which contains his famous wager arguing for belief in God as a rational bet.
Universal aspects of existence
- reasonBasis or justification
- faithTrust without proof
- apologeticsSystematic doctrine defense
- wretchednessExtreme unhappiness or distress
greatness · diversion · heart · skepticism · Descartes · mortality · self-knowledge · imagination
Science of spatial relationships
- calculusMathematical analysis system
- probability theoryMathematics of likelihood analysis
- cycloidCurve from rolling wheel
- conic sectionsCurves from plane-cone intersections
number theory · proof · theorem · infinitesimals · combinatorics · analysis · algorithm · equation
Effortless beauty of motion
- predestinationDivinely predetermined fate
- JesuitsIgnatian Catholic religious order
- original sinInherited spiritual corruption
- salvationDeliverance from harm
conversion · miracle · Christianity · piety · sacraments · faith · redemption · providence
Trust held as true
- GodSupreme spiritual authority
- faithTrust without proof
- reasonBasis or justification
- infinityUnlimited extent or quantity
stakes · gamble · eternity · salvation · damnation · prudence · decision theory · rationality
Instrument gauging atmospheric pressure
- vacuumAbsence of matter
- pressureForce upon contact
- atmosphereGaseous layer around planets
- hydraulicsStudy of pressurized liquids
syringe · fluids · equilibrium · pneumatics · density · force · scientific method · experimentation
Electronic computation device
- mechanicalOperated by machinery
- gearsToothed rotating machine parts
- prototypeFirst functional specimen
- engineeringDesigning functional systems scientifically
automation · computation · device · innovation · craftsmanship · design · mechanism
human condition
Universal aspects of existence
- reasonBasis or justification
- faithTrust without proof
- apologeticsSystematic doctrine defense
wretchedness · greatness · diversion · heart · skepticism · Descartes · mortality · self-knowledge · imagination · custom
geometry
Science of spatial relationships
- calculusMathematical analysis system
- probability theoryMathematics of likelihood analysis
- cycloidCurve from rolling wheel
conic sections · number theory · proof · theorem · infinitesimals · combinatorics · analysis · algorithm · equation
grace
Effortless beauty of motion
- predestinationDivinely predetermined fate
- JesuitsIgnatian Catholic religious order
- original sinInherited spiritual corruption
salvation · conversion · miracle · Christianity · piety · sacraments · faith · redemption · providence · memorial
belief
Trust held as true
infinity · stakes · gamble · eternity · salvation · damnation · prudence · decision theory · rationality · uncertainty
barometer
Instrument gauging atmospheric pressure
- vacuumAbsence of matter
- pressureForce upon contact
- atmosphereGaseous layer around planets
hydraulics · syringe · fluids · equilibrium · pneumatics · density · force · scientific method · experimentation
calculator
Electronic computation device
- mechanicalOperated by machinery
- gearsToothed rotating machine parts
- prototypeFirst functional specimen
engineering · automation · computation · device · innovation · craftsmanship · design · mechanism
- Christian ApologistsC.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Athanasius
- french inventorsLouis Pasteur, Louis Braille, Louis Daguerre
- Jansenism
- Jansenists
- child prodigiesMozart, Einstein, Picasso, Pablo Picasso, Bobby Fischer
- 17th Century FiguresOliver Cromwell, Louis XIV, Isaac Newton, Rene Descartes, Rembrandt
Blaise PascalVoltaire
French Enlightenment satirist
David Hume · Bertrand Russell · Friedrich Nietzsche · atheist · materialist