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res_curans's review against another edition
5.0
Lots of potent quotables — should have been going through with a highlighter. Interesting how the “wager” is what gets all the press, when what sets the stage for it is at least as important: observations and arguments why reason alone is insufficient to justify faith in God. Part of this has to do with the hiddenness of God, and part with the limitations and weaknesses of reason itself. I’ve heard Pascal called both a Calvinist and an existentialist before— for the first, while he is sympathetic to a lot of Calvinist theology, he still holds some allegiance to the Catholic church despite its problems, and openly critiques Calvin at one point. For the second, it seems true to me insofar as he insists on the importance of experience and that philosophy must be practical. A little difficult to navigate due to its fragmented structure, but still an excellent read; will revisit in the future.
joshknape's review against another edition
2.0
I tried to read Pensees circa 2018, and never finished. I lacked the patience. My notes suggest that I got at least as far as pensee #100. I should consider trying again at some point, because it wasn't a waste of time--not exactly. Especially if the journal was good enough to impress T.S. Eliot. But if nothing else, I learned (to my amusement) enough about how Blaise Pascal's mind apparently worked. I used to be into the Rationalists, early in my college career. I wouldn't recommend them now.
If I recall from reading about Pensees, these thoughts (pensees) were personal journal musings; and I have the impression that they might be "wastebasket stuff" that Pascal never intended to keep, much less publish. That would make sense, because this journal (as far as i progressed in it) is unfocused, scattershot. A small few honestly did strike me as a waste of time: I took some notes, writing at least brief comments on many pensees; and there were more than one for which I wondered whether they were babbling, and one for which I wrote "irrelevant and nearly incomprehensible."
The other thing one can remark on is how naive some of them are, how lacking in awareness of what society over time had already figured out. In other words, Pascal seems to assume by default that whatever he noticed is a unique discovery that the wisdom of the ages knows nothing of. There is at least one pensee about which I wrote "interesting but obvious," and another where I reacted more crudely: "Duh." Why? Because according to my notes, that particular pensee actually bothered to remark on how rearranging words creates different meaning. Pascal appears to have been an archetype of the prodigy who is too self-absorbed to know or care what other people think, and consequently doesn't know that some of his "revelations" aren't revelatory to anyone else. (That's probably why I said Pascal's pensees amuse me. A deep thinker who doesn't suppose that his deep thoughts have occurred to someone before.)
Also, the Pensees seem as good an example as any Rationalist work of what I called "vulgar [common, not dirty] rationalism." I did not bother to write down the text that struck me as such, but my notes say it was pensee 56.
If the famous Pascal's Wager is even in this book (I generally supposed so), I don't think I got that far. Or, if it was earlier than pensee 100, I didn't notice it.
Finally, you don't need to buy a copy or even go to the library to read this. Like many public-domain works, it's available on Project Gutenberg.
If I recall from reading about Pensees, these thoughts (pensees) were personal journal musings; and I have the impression that they might be "wastebasket stuff" that Pascal never intended to keep, much less publish. That would make sense, because this journal (as far as i progressed in it) is unfocused, scattershot. A small few honestly did strike me as a waste of time: I took some notes, writing at least brief comments on many pensees; and there were more than one for which I wondered whether they were babbling, and one for which I wrote "irrelevant and nearly incomprehensible."
The other thing one can remark on is how naive some of them are, how lacking in awareness of what society over time had already figured out. In other words, Pascal seems to assume by default that whatever he noticed is a unique discovery that the wisdom of the ages knows nothing of. There is at least one pensee about which I wrote "interesting but obvious," and another where I reacted more crudely: "Duh." Why? Because according to my notes, that particular pensee actually bothered to remark on how rearranging words creates different meaning. Pascal appears to have been an archetype of the prodigy who is too self-absorbed to know or care what other people think, and consequently doesn't know that some of his "revelations" aren't revelatory to anyone else. (That's probably why I said Pascal's pensees amuse me. A deep thinker who doesn't suppose that his deep thoughts have occurred to someone before.)
Also, the Pensees seem as good an example as any Rationalist work of what I called "vulgar [common, not dirty] rationalism." I did not bother to write down the text that struck me as such, but my notes say it was pensee 56.
If the famous Pascal's Wager is even in this book (I generally supposed so), I don't think I got that far. Or, if it was earlier than pensee 100, I didn't notice it.
Finally, you don't need to buy a copy or even go to the library to read this. Like many public-domain works, it's available on Project Gutenberg.
carise's review against another edition
1.0
Look, even in my most ardent and devout days as a Christian, I disagreed with most of what Pascal espoused. This collection of thoughts is a disturbing expression of Christian/white supremacy veiled in pseudo-rationalistic language. I’m not surprised that this work has become popular; it gives dogmatic and insular religious factions a false sense of intellectual legitimacy. But I’m genuinely surprised that anyone can consider this ‘philosophy’ in the loosest sense of the term.
sreymey's review against another edition
5.0
I think one core theme of the book is the idea that our minds are limited in our understanding and knowledge of the world and that we can never truly know and understand everything. Another theme is Pascal's belief in God, his views on faith and doubt, as well as his arguments in support of Christianity as the true religion. Pascal's consensus is that God is the only ultimate truth. He also tackles the problem of evil in the world and explains that evil and suffering are a result of human sin and free will.
Additionally, he wrote about the virtues and vices of Christians and how Christians should strive to live virtuous lives by following the teachings of Jesus Christ. However, Pascal admits that faith is a mystery that cannot be explained or understood. He also acknowledges that Christianity is not a perfect religion and that it has its own flaws and limitations. But even with these shortcomings, Pascal believes that Christianity is still the only way to truly find salvation and reach eternal life. Despite his strong faith and belief in Christianity, Pascal also recognized the limitations of human knowledge and understanding. He wrote that humans have only superficial knowledge and understanding of the world and that the human brain is not capable of fully understanding the universe.
He maintained that there are some things that are beyond our ability to comprehend. This notion is expressed in the famous phrase, "The heart has its reasons which reason cannot know." Although Pascal was a devoted Christian, he was also a rational and logical thinker who was aware of the limitations of mankind's wisdom. Thus, his views are a good demonstration of the balance and tension between faith and reason, two fundamental aspects of human nature.
On the one hand, he maintained a strong belief in God as the truth, yet he noticed the human mind and sought to understand the world through reason and logic. He was aware of the complexity of human nature, with its mixture of faith and reason. These two things are both vital elements in guiding and shaping our lives. While faith provides us with a deeper sense of purpose and meaning, reason allows us to explore and analyze the world around us, solve problems, and achieve advancements in anything. We cannot use one aspect and abandon another; otherwise, we only make ourselves blind to seeing the whole picture of things that are happening in the world. Hence, our experience is one of juxtaposition between logic and emotions. All of these are necessary and are needed to create a complete and balanced outlook.
Additionally, he wrote about the virtues and vices of Christians and how Christians should strive to live virtuous lives by following the teachings of Jesus Christ. However, Pascal admits that faith is a mystery that cannot be explained or understood. He also acknowledges that Christianity is not a perfect religion and that it has its own flaws and limitations. But even with these shortcomings, Pascal believes that Christianity is still the only way to truly find salvation and reach eternal life. Despite his strong faith and belief in Christianity, Pascal also recognized the limitations of human knowledge and understanding. He wrote that humans have only superficial knowledge and understanding of the world and that the human brain is not capable of fully understanding the universe.
He maintained that there are some things that are beyond our ability to comprehend. This notion is expressed in the famous phrase, "The heart has its reasons which reason cannot know." Although Pascal was a devoted Christian, he was also a rational and logical thinker who was aware of the limitations of mankind's wisdom. Thus, his views are a good demonstration of the balance and tension between faith and reason, two fundamental aspects of human nature.
On the one hand, he maintained a strong belief in God as the truth, yet he noticed the human mind and sought to understand the world through reason and logic. He was aware of the complexity of human nature, with its mixture of faith and reason. These two things are both vital elements in guiding and shaping our lives. While faith provides us with a deeper sense of purpose and meaning, reason allows us to explore and analyze the world around us, solve problems, and achieve advancements in anything. We cannot use one aspect and abandon another; otherwise, we only make ourselves blind to seeing the whole picture of things that are happening in the world. Hence, our experience is one of juxtaposition between logic and emotions. All of these are necessary and are needed to create a complete and balanced outlook.
josiahrichardson's review against another edition
4.0
If Pascal had a Twitter account, these would be collections of his tweets. Which means they are short, pithy, and wrong half the time. But that doesn't make them any less interesting.
condorhanson's review against another edition
5.0
Pascal’s insight into the human condition is uncannily clear and lucid. Seriously amazing stuff. Much of it could describe modern technology addiction or the like.
His emphasis on God transforming our passion, concupiscence, and will was a common theme and fantastic; a necessary component of transformation into Christ-likeness. When I read Nietzsche saying that Christianity makes us give up our passions (maybe true for some in Nietzsche’s own day and some malnourished Christian understandings in ours) I now think: ‘did he read Pascal???’ Seriously great stuff; I’ll definitely return to some of this. Ancient psychology and theological clarity coming in clutch.
Also the nuance in his famous ‘Wager’ is not often talked about. But reading the full section on it really opened it up to see how it is not simply a purely pragmatist argument for the existence of God.
His emphasis on God transforming our passion, concupiscence, and will was a common theme and fantastic; a necessary component of transformation into Christ-likeness. When I read Nietzsche saying that Christianity makes us give up our passions (maybe true for some in Nietzsche’s own day and some malnourished Christian understandings in ours) I now think: ‘did he read Pascal???’ Seriously great stuff; I’ll definitely return to some of this. Ancient psychology and theological clarity coming in clutch.
Also the nuance in his famous ‘Wager’ is not often talked about. But reading the full section on it really opened it up to see how it is not simply a purely pragmatist argument for the existence of God.
abby27's review against another edition
4.0
This book kind of made me stop believing in romantic love at a young age, but other than that, it was great! Nice collection of thoughts on the significance of humans' individuality and unique beliefs
josephsteane's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5