Pensées
by Blaise Pascal, Philippe Sellier, William Finlayson Trotter, T. S. Eliot, Blaise Perier, Margival Henri, H. F. Stewart · first published 1670
25% recommend75% neutral
"Blaise Pascal, the precociously brilliant contemporary of Descartes, was a gifted mathematician and physicist, but it is his unfinished apologia for the Christian religion upon which his reputation now rests. The Pensees is a collection of philosophical fragments, notes and essays in which he explores the contradictions of human nature in psychological, social, metaphysical and, above all, theological terms. Mankind emerges from Pascal's analysis as a wretched and desolate creature within an impersonal universe, but also as a being whose existence can be transformed through faith in God's gra
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Ones I read as a teenager that have a lasting, if not nostalgic, effect: - Blaise Pascal's "Pensées" (Thoughts) - René Descartes' "Discours de la méthode" (Discourse on the method) - Henri Poincaré's "L'avenir des mathématiques" (The future of mathematics) The way they wielded words pleased me. Their hopes and doubts moved me. Their intellect shattered my brain.
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite essays?” ↗Pascal's Pensees
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite classic books?” ↗If you want to restrict Graham's argument to non-fiction, I'll happily grant you that. But let me give you a bit more context: As a Frenchman, when I think "Essay", my mind almost automatically reaches for two authors: Montaigne and Pascal (e.g. in his Pensées). "Simple" is probably the last qualifier I would use to describe their works. They're not simple. They're complex, rich, beautiful, cop
on “Write Simply” ↗Pascal in "Pensees" used this perplexing notion to argue for the reality of the soul. Interesting to see people grappling with these ideas through the centuries: "And what completes our incapability of knowing things,…
on “Study reveals substantial evidence of holographic universe” ↗…Pascal rejected the concern that he might be insane (if you ask yourself "how do I know I'm not crazy?" you're basically already assuming you're not crazy). But, I haven't actually read all of Pascal's Pensees. What extracts I have read of it suggests to me that he's heavily straw-manned both by later philosophers and people writing about it today, so for all I know the "wager" was more like this, too.
on “To tell someone they're wrong, first tell them how they're right” ↗…would not have bought, scarce know our nature. The hare in itself would not screen us from the sight of death and calamities; but the chase which turns away our attention from these, does screen us.” (Pensees, Blaise Pascal)
on “Dopamine, Smartphones and You: A battle for your time” ↗Pascal was bothered by it. In the Pensees he said “The eternal silence of these infinite spaces fills me with dread.” Maybe you’d enjoy this blog post about it: https://www.steelsnowflake.org/post/pascals-terror
on “Ask HN: Why isn't anyone else bothered by the fact that life is only on Earth?” ↗I've recently been reading the Pensees, so it feels timely that this article was posted. I'll add here a couple more practical pieces of advice that Pascal offers for dealing with what he considers the wretchedness of human experience: "One…
on “Why Pale Blue Dot generates feelings of cosmic insignificance” ↗