Pascal's Wager
A
famous apologetic advanced by Blaise Pascal in his Pensees. Pascal prepares for
the ostensibly unreasonable step of faith by pushing reason to its own limits.
He argues first that we can know the existence and nature of finite space
because we are limited and extended in space, even though we do not know the
quality of un-boundedness. However, because we do not possess God's attributes
of infinity and nonextension and thus cannot know his existence or nature,
rational proof of his being is impossible. Moving from rational knowledge to
reasonable surmise, Pascal affirms: "Either God exists, or he does
not," and proposes that we wager on the matter. To bet that he is means a
modest surrender of reason, but to opt for divine nonexistence is to risk the
loss of eternal life and happiness. The stake (one's reason) is slight compared
to the prize that may be won. If the gambler for God is right, he will win
everything, but he loses nothing should this turn out to be wrong. Since the
reasonableness of betting has been demonstrated, one can now move from the
realm of the probable to the practical action of placing one's faith in
God.