Pascal, Blaise
Published: August 18, 2006, 6:29 pm
Updated: August 18, 2006, 6:29 pm
This article has been reviewed by the following Topic Editor:
Peter Saundry
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), a French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher, is most famous for what is now known as Pascal’s wager. The wager is a pragmatic argument for justifying a belief in God: "If you believe in God and turn out to be incorrect, you have lost nothing—but if you don't believe in God and turn out to be incorrect, you will go to hell. Therefore it is foolish to be an atheist." Scholars have keenly debated the intellectual and spiritual validity of Pascal’s wager for centuries. Pascal's contributions to the natural sciences include the construction of mechanical calculators, considerations on probability theory, studies of fluids, and clarification of concepts such as pressure and vacuum. The Pascal, the SI unit of pressure and vacuum, is named for him.
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Citation
Cutler J. Cleveland (Lead Author);Peter Saundry (Topic Editor) "Pascal, Blaise". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth August 18, 2006; Last revised Date August 18, 2006; Retrieved May 24, 2013 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Pascal,_Blaise>
The Author
Cutler J. Cleveland is Professor of Earth and Environment at Boston University, where he also is on the faculty of the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies. Professor Cleveland is Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Energy (Elsevier, 2004), winner of an American Library Association award, the Dictionary of Energy (Elsevier, 2005), Handbook of Energy (Elsevier, forthcoming), and is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Earth. He is the recipient of the Adelma ... (Full Bio)
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), a French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher, is most famous for what is now known as Pascal’s wager. The wager is a pragmatic argument for justifying a belief in God: "If you believe in God and turn out to be incorrect, you have lost nothing—but if you don't believe in God and turn out to be incorrect, you will go to hell. Therefore it is foolish to be an atheist." Scholars have keenly debated the intellectual and spiritual validity of Pascal’s wager for centuries. Pascal's contributions to the natural sciences include the construction of mechanical calculators, considerations on probability theory, studies of fluids, and clarification of concepts such as pressure and vacuum. The Pascal, the SI unit of pressure and vacuum, is named for him.
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