 & 
|
Re: 'Pascal's wager'.Posted by Lexi on March 11, 2005 In Reply to: Re: 'Pascal's wager'. posted by Smokey Stover on March 11, 2005 : : 17th Century Philosopher Blaise Pascal formulated an argument that is used anytime the downside consequences of an action or a belief are so extraordinary that the risk cannot (should not) be taken. : : Quotations: : : Pascal's wager works in lots of little ways as well, when you don't take an action because the consequences, although not likely to occur, are too dreadful to contemplate. : Philosopher he was, although he is probably best known as a mathematician and scientist. He invented the syringe, the hydraulic press and "Pascal's law," among much else, and has been honored by having a computer language named after him. He wrote extensively, and contentiously, on religious topics. I have always regarded his "wager," about which he seems to have been in dead earnest, as a perfect example of hypocrisy, although it may not seem so to others. SS Smokey......your suggestion of the wager as a 'perfect example' of hypocrisy is curious. If Pascal believed this formulation, how, then, could it be a representation of hypocrisy?
|