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Showing traces of Augustinian influence, Pascal explores the naute of religious truth and the nautre of man.
Pensees - Blaise Pascal Translated with a Revised Introduction by A. J. Krailsheimer
Concordance between the present edition and that of P. Sellier
Section One: Papers Classified by Pascal (Pascal's Titles)
V. Causes and effects
X. The Sovereign Good
XIII. Submission and use of reason
XIV. Excellence of this means of proving God
XV. Transition from knowledge of man to knowledge of God
XVb. Nature is corrupt
XVI. Falseness of other religions
XVII. Make religion attractive
XIX. Figurative law
Section Two: Papers Not Classified by Pascal (Translator's Titles)
II. The Wager
III. Against indifference
IV. Eternal judgment. Christ.
V. Two essential truths of Christianity
VI. Advantages of Jewish people
VII. Sincerity of Jewish people
VIII. True Jews and true Christians have same religion
IX. Particularity of Jewish people
X. Perpetuity of Jewish people
XI. Proofs of religion
XIII. Particular prophecies
XV. Isaiah and Jeremiah: Latin texts
XVIII. Prophecies: the Jews and Christ
XIX. Figurative meanings
XX. Belief. Classical quotations
XXI. Two types of mind
XXII. Mathematical and intuitive mind
XXV. Human nature. Style. Jesuits etc.
XXVI. Sources of error
XXVII. Diversion. Draft Prefaces
XXVIII. Superiority of Christianity. Human behaviour
XXIX. Relativity of human values. The Bible and its truth
XXX. Habit and conversion
XXXI. Figurative language in Bible. Human relations
Section Three: Miracles
XXXII. Opinion of Saint-Cyran
XXXIII. Rules for miracles
XXIV. Miracles for Port Royal against Jesuits
Section Four: Fragments Not Found in the First Copy
A. The Memorial
B. Fragments in the Recueil Original
The Mystery of Jesus
C. Fragments from other sources
Saying Attributed to Pascal
Posted May 24, 2002
If you are used to reading modern writers the Pensees will be difficult at first. Pascal uses almost no anecdotal stories to illustrate his points preferring to construct logical arguments that build one upon the other- If x, then y; therefore z. This can be hard to follow at first. However, due to the rough nature of the book (he never completed the book so it is still very much in outline form) he repeats his arguments in several different sections. The effect is not as clumsy as it may sound. His themes become apparent and there is no fluff to interfere with his main point, which is a clear and rational explanation of the Christian faith. Pascal covers several general themes throughout the book. 1. Nature is corrupt- The fall was universal. All nature has been corrupted through the fall; human nature especially. The effect of this is that we are unable to think clearly about ourselves, others or God and therefore unable to see God or be content. 2. Nature has been redeemed through Christ- Likewise, this redemption is universal. Through Christ, we can begin to think clearly about God, ourselves and others- life and the universe as well. Though I do not think he meant to sound so phenomenological (an ungainly word). It is not a change centered on us as if we were the reason for it; rather we see the truth that was always there though we did not understand. 3. These first two arguments follow Ro 5:12-20; Sin through Adam and righteousness through Christ. 4. God hides himself or rather is hidden from us due to number 1- The result of the fall was to drive us away from God physically, spiritually and psychologically. 5. But, not so much that those who earnestly seek him cannot find him due to number 2- However the true nature of mankind is still seeking God, even though we are utterly wretched. We grieve for what was lost in the fall because we ¿know¿ that we have lost something. 6. People spend their lives comforting themselves with diversions to sooth their grieving. 7. People deceive themselves with diversions, bad thinking and vice, then claim God does not exist though they never seek him 8. People ought to spend their entire lives seeking Him- Pascal believed this to be the chief duty of man. If I can contrast this with the chief duty of Man after conversion, which is to love God and enjoy Him forever, the chief duty of Man prior to conversion, according to Pascal, is to seek God. There is a thought provoking section describing the difference between Deism and Christianity- Pascal asserts that Deism is as far from Christianity as Atheism. The two fundamental truths of Christianity are numbers 1 and 2 above; the fall and redemption. Deism simply asserts that there is a God of some kind, somewhere, doing something. Pascal maintains that is as useless as maintaining that there is no God at all. The rough structure of the Pensees allows the reader to see Pascal's mind at work more clearly than if it were a polished and edited work. It is fascinating to see ideas develop through the different snippets of thought as he writes. One sees an idea begin as a sentence (perhaps a truncated paragraph), then a complete or revised paragraph later in the work. Sometimes he ends in mid sentence with an incomplete thought, then several chapters later the idea is revisited in a different form and is completed. It is seldom that a work of literature allows the reader to experience the thought process of the author. The famous wager is a very small 2 or 3 page section of the book. It does not really make sense taken alone; one must read the entire work to really understand where he is coming from.
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Posted February 24, 2009
Posted March 23, 2008
A book for all ages and times. It conveys timeless and classical wisdon from a unique genius. Required reading for anyone wishing to plumb the depth of one of the world's greatest thinkers
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Posted March 13, 2009
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Posted November 10, 2009
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