On Pascal's Wager
You may or may not be familiar with Blaise Pascal, or his
famous wager, but if not it is well worth a quick look.Just a bit on Pascal himself, he was a French
mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic theologian.A child prodigy who developed one of the
first mechanical calculators, did extensive work in many other areas of mathematics
and science before dying at an early age of 39.
Here is Pascal’s Wager in no uncertain terms:
A rational person should live as though God
exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not actually exist, such a
person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas
they stand to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven)
and avoid infinite losses (eternity in Hell)
The logic behind it: 1.God is, or God is not. Reason cannot decide between the two alternatives. 2.A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up. 3.You must wager (it is not optional). 4.Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wage…
The logic behind it: 1.God is, or God is not. Reason cannot decide between the two alternatives. 2.A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up. 3.You must wager (it is not optional). 4.Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wage…