Pascal's Wager as Risk Estimation

Welcome to our deep dive into the philosophy of Blaise Pascal, the 17th-century scientist, mathematician, and renowned Christian apologist. His enduring work, the Pensées, which remains essential reading for scholars across generations, was conceived as a rigorous defense of Christianity, a "true Apology and a kind of Grammar of Assent".

Central to this work is Pascal’s Wager, which is often misunderstood but stands as a masterful logical argument addressing atheism from a perspective of probability. Pascal, who is essentially the father of the discipline of probability, argued that it is rational to choose belief in God even without definitive evidence, because the potential gain (infinite happiness) vastly outweighs the finite loss (little or nothing in this life).

Crucially, the Wager is not merely a threat or an argument from lack of evidence, but an invitation to serious introspection and seeking.

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