"The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of."

French mathematician, physicist, and theologian, inventor of first digital calculator.

Pascal was born in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne (now Clermont-Ferrand). He studied privately, tutored mostly by his father, who was a scientist. In 1631 the family moved to Paris and then to Rouen in 1640.

Pascal showed from early age inclination toward mathematics and wrote at the age of 16 highly appreciated treatise ESSAY POUR LES CONIGUES. Together with Pierre de Fermat Pascal invented the calculus of probabilities and laid foundations for Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz's infinitesimal calculus. In 1647 Pascal invented calculating machine and later the barometer, the hydraulic press, and the syringe.

In 1646 Pascal converted to Jansenism, the Catholic sect rivalling with Jesuits, who had the support of the King, Louis XIV. Pascal's sister, Jaqueline, entered the Jansenist convent of Port-Royal in south-west Paris and became one of the most passionate advocates of the sect.

The Jansenists, who were never officially accepted by the Catholic Church, were named after Cornelius Jansenius (1587-1638), a Flemish theologian. The Jansenists argued that, since the Fall in the Garden of Eden, all humankind has been corrupted by sin. Their objection to the Jesuits stemmed from what they saw as the over-reliance of the Jesuits on human fee will, to the detriment of divine grace.

Pascal returned to Paris in 1647 on his father's second retirement. Until 1654 Pascals devoted himself to mathematics and scientific studies, but after a mystical experience on November 23-24, 1654, he had a second conversion, and defended Jansenism against the Jesuits in LETTRES PROVINCIALES (Provincial Letters). From 1655 he made occasional retreats to Jansenist community at Port-Royal des Champs. From 1660 to 1662 Pascal worked on a public transportation system for Paris. He died in Paris on August 19, 1662. Memorial, his document of faith, was found sewn in his clothing on his death.

In the Pascal examined the problems of human existence from psychological and theological points of view. For Jansenists his work came in right time: they needed an outsider to defend their cause. The Letters, written with freshness and spontaneity, was ideal for that purpose.

According to the famous "Pascal´s wager" sane and prudent persons must bet their lives on Roman Catholicism. If they do, and it turns out to be true, then they have won an eternity of bliss. And if it turns out to be false, and death is after all annihilation, what has been lost?

Experimenting with the vacuum Pascal published in 1663 his study TRAITÉ DE LA PESANTEUR DE LA MASSE DE L'AIR, where he argued that "experiments are the true teachers which one must follow in physics." This principle of empirism put Pascal into opposition to René Descartes, his contemporary, whose starting point was human reason.

Pascal´s studies have affected deeply on the development of modern essay writing. The idea of intuitionism presented in PENSÉES had impact on the philosophly of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), Edmund Husserl (1859-1938), and Henri Bergson (1859-1941). Also the popularity of Provincial Letters has remained undiminished. His was among the the first noteworthy philosophers who seriously questioned the existence of God. When he imagined himself arguing with somebody who was constitutionally unable to believe, Pascal could find no arguments to convince him. Pascal conceded that belief in God could only be matter of personal choise.  

For further reading: Pascal et Montaigne by Bernard Croquette (1974); Pascal's Provincial Letters by Walter E. Rex (1977); Pascal by A.J. Krailsheimer (1980); Blaise Pascal by Hugh M. Davidson (1983); Portraits of Thought by Buford Norman (1988); Pascal and Disbelief by David Wetsel (1994) Les Pensées de Pascal by Jean Mesnard (1993, orig. ed. 1976)

Selected works:

• LETTRES ÉCRITES PAR LOUIS DE MONTALTE À UN PROVINCIAL DE SES AMIS / LETTRES Á UN PROVINCIAL / LES PROVINCIALES, 1656-57 - Provincial Letters
• PENSÉES SUR LA RELIGION, 1669-70 - Thoughts
• OEUVRES COMPLÈTES, 1904-14 (14 vols.)
• OEUVRES COMPLÈTES, 1954
• OEUVRES COMPLÈTES, 1963
• OEUVRES COMPLÈTES, 1964-92 (in progress
• Great Shorter Works of Pascal, 1948
• Selections, 1989
• The Mind on Fire, 1989
• Selected Readings, 1991

Compiled by Kuusankoski Public Library, Finland (© 1997) and René Märtin (© 1998-2001).