Best of Pascal: Selections from the Pensees

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) was a French mathematician, physicist and religious philosopher, who laid the foundation for the modern theory of probabilities. Starting in 1657, Pascal began to write notes that would be posthumously organized and published as the Pensées ("Thoughts"). In this, his most famous work, Pascal often writes with great philosophical profundity about his position on faith, the human condition, the meaning of life, the way to happiness, and other philosophical and theological questions. The most often cited portion of the collection is Pascal's famed "Wager," in which he states that it is more advantageous for religious skeptics to embrace a belief in God as they ultimately have more to lose if the existence of God, in particular the Christian God, is revealed after death. In this book are collected the most profound and thought-provoking passages from the Pensées, along with occasional explanation and commentary by Darrell Wright.