Pascal s Wager And The Existence Of God - 1649 Words

This paper will analyze Pascal’s wager, which demonstrates that even without empirical evidence of a God, wagering for the existence of God will maximize our happiness. Through his wager, one can use simple reasoning to understand that believing in a God which you cannot see may still be the most logical option to live your life. Pascal states that because there is no evidence that a God exists, nor is there any evidence that no God exists, it is entirely possible that a God exists. Wagering for the existence of an almighty God will either bring you eternal life and happiness, or it simply will not affect you. However, if one were to wager against the existence of a God, they would never be able to experience eternal happiness regardless if they were right or wrong. Some may argue that Pascal’s wager does not take into account the fact that different religions believe in different Gods. The God that a follower believes may not be the â€Å"true† God who grants e ternal life and happiness. Therefore, the time spent practicing the religion of their God would have been wasted. These followers could have been maximizing their happiness by devoting their time to other activities instead. However, I argue that Pascal’s argument is still persuasive as there is still a chance that a God exists, albeit the chances of reaching eternal happiness would be drastically lower considering this new variable. Those who do not believe in the existence of a God will be punished for their lack ofShow MoreRelatedThe Existence Of God By Pascal s Wager Essay1597 Words   |  7 Pagesthe most well known theories about the existence of God is Pascal’s Wager. Upon first look, this theory seems fairly sound, even if not overly convincing. Under more thorough inspection, however, it quickly becomes clear the theory is rather counter productive. Not only does the wager fail to prove the existence of God or anything about the true nature of God, it also fails to prove what it was created to prove. Aside from simply being ineffective, Pascal’s Wager also leads to serious doubts about theRead MoreSummary Of Blaise Pascal s The Wager 1286 Words   |  6 PagesBlaise Pascal’s famous work, â€Å"the Wager,† utilizes about the concept of pragmatic justification in the terms of deciding whether or not to believe in God. In response to this, William Clifford publishes â€Å"The Ethics of Belief† countering Pascal’s view. Neither Pascal or Clifford’s views are perfect, but they are both worth examining. Clifford s universal rejection of pragmatic justification is ultimately too harsh on Pascal’s Wager. Pascal utilizes reason to come to the conclusion whether or notRead MorePascal, The Founder Of The Pascal s Wager899 Words   |  4 PagesBlaise Pascal was the founder of the Pascal’s Wager. Pascal was a French philosopher, an inventor, a mathematician, a scientist and a theologian. Pascal extended a reason to believe in God, even though other people had beliefs that God is not real and his existence is not inconceivable. The Pascal’s Wager was a second-person communication. It showed that Pascal conceptualizes an individual forced to decide between the belief in God and not to believe in him. An example of what Pascal would demonstrateRead MoreWilliam James s Will For Believe1171 Words   |  5 Pages  Be sure to answer all in complete sentences. 1. Explain William James’s Will to Believe. There are three elements to observe when dealing with a hypothesis. Jame s noted we must ask is our hypothesis dead or living, forced or avoidable, momentous. What the Will to Believe is advocating is one can morally or rationally believe in God or something, even if there is not sufficient intellectual evidence for such a belief. We answer the questions which are outlined on page 292 over the three pointsRead MoreThe Roman Catholic Church Responded Treatment1645 Words   |  7 Pagesdeduction rather than empirical induction, stressed national speculation and reflection. Descartes believed that he could rationally prove the existence of God. His ideas impacted the way the modern world would come to look at knowledge and truth, this created a kind of dualism. Blaise Pascal, 1623-1662, he was French mathematician and philosopher. Pascal was the first to use probability theory, developed the fundamentals of calculus, challenged whether human reason could really address life’s greatestRead MoreQuestions On Pascal s Wager1833 Words   |  8 PagesPascal’s Wager is often considered one of philosophies weakest religious arguments to date. Pascal invents a wager to persuade the one who questions God into attending church, following the Ten Commandments, and following any other traditions in the Catholi c Church. The wager is, if a person is a believer and after departing from this earth they find that they are correct, then their rewards are infinite. They will receive eternal life and a relationship with God in heaven. On the other hand if aRead MoreThe Ethics Of Belief By Clifford. Pascal1776 Words   |  8 Pagesarrive at beliefs. William James, however, disapproves Clifford. Pascal has a different view on belief formation where he argues that reasons for believing and failing to believe in God are indecisive. The three philosophers have varied views on how beliefs are formed. This essay discusses the reasons why Clifford made the above conclusion, the position taken by James in his opposition and how the argument relates to Pascal’s Wager. In Clifford’s first section of his essay, he narrates two storiesRead MoreThe Ideas Of Kierkegaard And Pascal2571 Words   |  11 Pagestruths by examining the ideas of Kierkegaard and Pascal. I will also give a detailed explanation of fideism, show examples of irresponsible fideism and responsible fideism and then argue in favor of responsible fideism; faith fills in the gaps that are left void by reason. A truly authentic faith is not one that is established upon the root of reason and scientific facts, but rather transcends those human accomplishments and challenges to understand God and the world as we know it, through an existentialistRead MoreGod Is No Proof That God Exists?953 Words   |  4 Pagesis no proof that God exists? I’ve met many people who believed in God but not in Hell. In the Bible, Hell is only mentioned a total of five times. Is it irrational to believe in God, Heaven, or Hell? Classical evidentialists would say yes if they believed existence or the design of the universe to be evidence in support of the existence of God. They would say no if they did not see these things as evidence. Reformed epistemologists would say that it is rational to believe in God without the supportRead MoreThe Identity Theory Of Mind With Dualism1259 Words   |  6 Pagesenvironment. The extended mind is the idea that mental states and processes extend outside the head in virtue of the environment playing an active role that is corresponding to internal brain processes. The extended mind thesis says that an agent s mind and associated cognitive processing are neither tied to the skull nor body, but extend into the person’s world. As Clark and Chalmers see it: Where does the mind stop and the rest of the world begin?...We propose to pursue... an active externalism