Pascal’s Pensées -Book Review

Update on me –It’s been a while! I wanted to write more on what I’ve been reading and am mustering the discipline to do so (slowly and in a delayed manner)! With the Coronavirus outbreak I hope we can all stay safe, limit unnecessary (physical) interaction with people, and use this as an opportunity for introspection. I read Pascal Pensées last year and it was book #50 on my recommendations (out of #58 books I read in 2019). Although the lower rated books can be difficult to get through, they often have these gems of knowledge that make them timeless –and that’s worth sharing, no matter the rating. Lots of thoughts on Pascal Pensées gems of knowledge, so be prepared for an insightful read below.

OVERVIEW

A “Junior” year book per St John’s College Great Books Curriculum reading list[1]; Pascal Pensées was published posthumously and is mostly a collection of Pascal’s Pensées or French for “thoughts”. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) is a frequently cited Christian apologist and mathematician. You may have heard of “Pascal’s Wager”, or participated in the math contests after his namesake. This book is Pascal’s magnum opus and the main body of his philosophical thought[2]. It has been praised by T.S. Eliot (who wrote the introduction, a major pro for the book). Pascal’s religious thought was also instrumental in the conversion of William Wilberforce to Christianity[3]. This post and analysis below get a little theological or philosophical, as is consistent with the nature of this book, so if that isn’t your thing, feel free to see the main short-form highlights in the above and call it a day.

A BIT ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Blaise Pascal contributed much to the field of Mathematics and physical sciences. He had a powerful conversion experience (a fiery vision), and after he devoted much of his time to defending his faith; specifically, his Jansenist faith. The Jansenists were considered a heresy and attacked by the Jesuits. Interestingly, from an Evangelical Protestant perspective, much of the Jansenist theology is similar to the Calvinist theology[4].

BRIEF BOOK OUTLINE

The book is a collection of Pascal’s thoughts, albeit a little disorganized; it can be divided into three main sections. (1) The despair and absurdity of life (2) On thoughts of philosophy, the means of belief, God as the cure for the despair (3) Proofs of the Christian God.

AMAZING THINGS/WHAT I LEARNED

The forerunner of existentialism –It’s often argued that Pascal is the forerunner to existentialism. Before the likes of Søren Kierkegaard[5] and his Christian existentialist thought, there was, Blaise Pascal[6]. The existentialist sections are by far the most quotable in the book. They will instill in the reader a sense of existential dread and simultaneously a wonder of the world. It will also push the reader to want to discover how Pascal resolved this dread –the dread that is so common and universal to the human existence.
“When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in the eternity before and after, the little space which I fill, and even can see, engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces of which I am ignorant, and which know me not, I am frightened, and am astonished at being here rather than there; for there is no reason why here rather than there, why now rather than then.” (Pensées, Sec III. 205)

Another quote from Pensées, Pascal is so genuine with his doubts it is almost Nihilistic.

Pascal’s philosophy: Including the true nature of the famed Wager –There’s no better way to understand Pascal’s Wager but to read Pascal! The wager has often been misconstrued by some to be an argument for God’s existence. It’s even often better understood by its critics. For example, in the bestselling non-fiction by Mathematician Jordan Ellenberg, “How Not to Be Wrong” (2014):
“Pascal is not trying to convince you God exists; he is trying to convince you that it would be to your benefit to believe so, and thus that your best course of action is to hang out with Christians and obey the forms of piety, until, just by force of propinquity, you start to truly believe.”

The nature of obedience and belief is also discussed similarly in many other Christian writings (Bonhoeffer[7], A.W. Tozer[8]). Bonhoeffer writes in his work, “The Cost of Discipleship”, that to believe we must first obey. This is such a fundamental concept but such a difficult concept to live out. The point here is that although Pascal is attempting to defend his worldview in Pensées, his work is deeply personal. He is imploring the reader to obey first, then “in the end you will realize that you have wagered on something certain”[9]. In a way, this is true even in other areas, for example, in our professional lives. We often want more challenging work but that doesn’t come until we’ve demonstrated a discipline and willingness to perform the mundane. In the same way Pascal/Bonhoeffer/Tozer say that until we demonstrate a willingness to obey, faith and belief will not come.

The sincere plead to believe –There is this heartfelt section of Pascal pleading with the reader. You can visualize him writing this treatise by candlelight pouring out his life’s work and soul into it. Let’s recall that Pascal gave up his career as an accomplished mathematician to defend his faith; what he thought he had saw in Christianity must have been worth it to him. I think there is a part in all of us, in our darkest days where we just want someone to sit by us and talk. Someone to listen to our thoughts, to plead with us, and implore us to go a certain way.
"Ah! This discourse transports me, charms me," etc. If this discourse pleases you and seems impressive, know that it is made by a man who has knelt, both before and after it, in prayer to that Being, infinite and without parts, before whom he lays all he has, for you also to lay before Him all you have for your own good and for His glory, that so strength may be given to lowliness.” (Pensées, Sec III. 233)

Paul Washer, a pastor known for his fiery preaching told about a time when he was preaching in Alaska. An audience member described to be of a “giant of a man” had been diagnosed with cancer, went up and told the preacher of his condition. Paul cancelled his plane ticket and spent the remaining three weeks with the dying man in Alaska. For the three weeks, Paul would read the Bible to him, morning and evening, until he understood. And at last, with great emotion, the man believed[10]. I think regardless of what our religious inclinations are, we all want that sort of deep relationship with others. We want someone wiser than us to sit by us and talk to us, until we understand. Pascal here tries to be that someone, and I have a great respect for that.

Introduction by T.S. Eliot –there’s something to be said about reading elegant prose and the introduction is just that, both elegant and informative and by one of the greatest poets of our time.

CONS/DRAWBACKS OF BOOK

The book is dated –The language is dated it can be difficult to read. Further, Pascal’s analysis, apologetics, and science are all fairly dated. There are plenty of new advancements in the way Christians think about miracles and other arguments for the existence of God. If you’re looking for a book with good arguments on God’s existence, this is not the book to read. The introduction further notes that this is not the book to go to for apologetics, but is a spiritual autobiography -“As he was a great literary artist, his book would have been also his own spiritual autobiography; his style, free from all diminishing idiosyncrasies, was yet very personal.” (T.S. Eliot, per the Introduction)
Lots of Latin (from Vulgate) and other sources –be prepared to continually Google, translate and search from the Latin Vulgate and other writings.

FINAL VERDICT/RECOMMENDATION

I hate rating the books I read, as I mentioned in the start of the article (and in my 2019 reading list post), but I feel like an article should have a conclusion. In short, I would recommend reading the introduction and certain sections of the book. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend it in its entirety. It is one of those reads that have these gems of information, prose, and style –but one has to dig to find them. If you’re a student of philosophy or a Pascal fan (though I’ve never met one), definitely a must read.

[1] Refer to (https://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/undergraduate/great-books-reading-list ). I first heard about this list from James Quiambao’s post (https://www.jquiambao.com/the-great-books-curriculum ). James runs a daily blog on interesting things, things he’s up to, and things he’s learning. Overall his posts are fascinating to read. I heard about his project from his sister interestingly. I was surprised to have actually read any books on the St. John’s College Great Books Curriculum, the books listed are dense and their prose is archaic (yet their thoughts are timeless) – Pensées is no exception.

[2] Great in depth summary of Pensées and Pascal’s philosophy is found https://www.iep.utm.edu/pascal-b/. Refer to Section 8a for Texts and translations of works by Pascal. |

[3] William Wilberforce (1759-1833) was a British Politician who was instrumental in abolishing the slave trade across the British Empire. Per Eric Metaxas, “Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery” (2007), Wilberforce’s diary noted, “Heard the Bible read two hours –Pascal one hour and a quarter”. Unsure if Wilberforce had read Pensées specifically but he did quote from Pascal’s “Thoughts on Religion”. As I cannot find “Thoughts of Religion” anywhere, there is the underlying assumption that this is Pensées. Refer to Wilberforce’s “A practical view of the prevailing religious system of professed Christians, in the higher and middle classes” (1797). Wilberforce’s book can be read for free along with Pascal’s Pensées at Project Gutenburg (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/25709/25709-h/25709-h.htm ).

[4] Refer to (https://www.gotquestions.org/Jansenism.html) for further info. The article notes that “Jansenism was basically an attempt to reform Catholicism by bringing in some Calvinistic doctrines such as the depravity of man, predestination, irresistible grace, and limited atonement. Jansenists also rejected the infallibility of the Catholic Church and spoke against the authority of the pope.” The Jansenists were deemed heretical by a papal decrees from 1653 to 1713. The parallels between Jansenism is and Calvinism is not in the scope of this article. It is however, interesting to see how some people had tried to reform the Catholic Church internally (e.g. Erasmus) and others wanted to break away (e.g. Luther, Calvin etc.).

[5] Kierkegaard is the most well-known Christian existentialist philosopher (1813-1855). Kierkegaard “counsels us to sink into despair so that we can make the leap of faith to God” (T.Z. Lavine, From Socrates to Sartre 1984). This is often contrasted with a Nihilistic perspective from Nietzsche’s philosophy, where the death of God would result in an utter meaninglessness of the world. This is a fairly gross simplification of Nietzsche’s philosophy and perhaps not very justified as Nietzsche does develop a way on how to transcend such Nihilism. Nihilism nevertheless is still associated with Nietzsche (https://www.iep.utm.edu/nihilism/ )

[6] Not many people think of Pascal as a Philosopher (he’s much better known as a mathematician). However, he is definitely acknowledged by those in academics. Refer to “From Socrates to Sartre” by T.Z. Lavine (1984), who notes, “Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician and philosopher of Descartes’ time, who was also an early forerunner of existentialism”. Yes, the heading of my paragraph had used Lavine’s description of Pascal –it’s a very fitting description.

[7] Refer to “The Cost of Discipleship”, Bonhoeffer (1937) “The road to faith passes through obedience to the call of Jesus. Unless a definite step is demanded, the call vanishes into thin air, and if men imagine that they can follow Jesus without taking this step, they are deluding themselves like fanatics.” The notion that obedience precedes faith is littered throughout this book.

[8] Refer to A.W.Tozer’s “Man The Dwelling Place of God” (1966), “He gives faith to the obedient heart only. Where real repentance is, there is obedience; for repentance is not only sorrow for past failures and sins, it is a determination to begin now to do the will of God.” Tower writes, similarly to Pascal, the circularity of faith and obedience. How obedience is both a demonstration that one has faith and how one begets faith.

[9] The whole section should be read. Quoting more of it down here –Pascal first writes that those of the faith demonstrated obedience by, “behave/behaving just as if they did believe, taking holy water, having masses, said, and so on. That will make you believe quite naturally, and will make you more docile.” Then Pascal notes that, “you will realize that you have wagered on something certain and infinite for which you have paid nothing”. It’s interesting that the mathematician and philosopher directs the skeptic “not on convincing yourself by multiplying proofs of God’s existence but by diminishing your passions” but to obey. At the end of the day faith and belief is a very personal activity and not just an intellectual pursuit.

[10] Listen to “Regeneration Testimony of a man in Alaska –Paul Washer” here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW1YTbRwjCo&t=219s ). It’s a great video –so great that I remember it years after I’ve listened to it –and you won’t regret watching it.

All images are taken from public domain, stock photos are from Unsplash.com, which offers great free stock images.