To answer this, we might examine arguments for theism—like first-cause and design arguments—and arguments for atheism—like arguments from evil. These arguments offer evidence for and against God’s existence. Pascal’s wager, originally proposed by Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), takes a more pragmatic approach.
The strength of Pascal’s argument relied on the fact that an infinitely large gain rendered the issue of probability irrelevant. However, if the payoff is finite, it is conceivable that the probability of God’s existence could be so minuscule that betting against God becomes a rational choice. As a result, Pascal’s argument ultimately fails.
“Pascal’s Wager” is the name given to an argument due to Blaise Pascal for believing, or for at least taking steps to believe, in God. The name is somewhat misleading, for in a single section of his Pensées, Pascal apparently presents four such arguments, each of which might be called a ‘wager’—it is only the third of these that is traditionally referred to as “Pascal’s Wager”.
Traditional, epistemic arguments hold that God exists; examples include arguments from cosmology, design, ontology, and experience. Modern, pragmatic arguments hold that, regardless of whether God exists, believing in God is good for us, or is the right thing to do; examples include William James’s will to believe and Blaise Pascal’s wager.
Blaise Pascal evangelized unbelievers by challenging them to make a reasoned wager on God’s existence. If God does not exist, the believer suffers only finite loss (certain earthly pleasures and luxuries). But if God does exist, the believer wins an infinite gain (eternal heaven) and avoids an infinite loss (eternal hellfire).
In fact, the argument that is now known as Pascal’s Wager cleverly combines elements of philosophy, theology, and mathematics to try and show why people should believe in God. The use of the term “Wager” in “Pascal’s Wager” comes from the fact that this approach is a bit of a gamble since one can never truly know if God does or does ...
Pascal's argument is rooted in decision theory and probability theory, emphasizing the practical consequences of belief or disbelief in God. Pascal believed that, from a rational standpoint, it is more reasonable to choose belief in God because the potential reward of eternal happiness is so significant that it justifies the decision ...
Pascal’s claim is that it is in our rational self-interest to believe that god exists. Pascal’s argument is often referred to as Pascal’s Wager. [2] Consider a commonly held Christian (and Muslim) view, according to which there is a heaven, where believers will go and experience infinite bliss after they die, and a hell, where non ...
“Pascal’s Wager” is the name given to an argument due to Blaise Pascal for believing, or for at least taking steps to believe, in God. The name is somewhat misleading, for in a single section of his Pensées, Pascal apparently presents four such arguments, each of which might be called a ‘wager’—it is only the third of these that is traditionally referred to as “Pascal’s Wager”.
Integrating Pascal’s anthropological argument into his overall apologetic approach will lead us to Pascal’s emphasis on Christ the redeemer as the ultimate solution to the human predicament. THE WAGER: GAMBLING ON GOD? Pascal’s wager is probably his most well-known philosophical argument and also one of his most controversial.
Conceptualized by the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) in his Pensées (French for “thoughts”), Pascal’s wager is a pragmatic argument that supports belief in God by arguing that theistic belief is the only proper attitude to adopt when faced with the question of God’s existence.Theism here is considered to be the proposition that God, thought to be ...
Pascal’s Wager is one of the great classic arguments for belief in God, and one of the most famous arguments in all of philosophy. Other theological arguments — ontological, cosmological, and teleological — aim to establish that God’s existence is necessary or probable. Pascal’s Wager is instead a prudential or “pragmatic ...
“Pascal’s Wager” is the name given to an argument due to Blaise Pascal for believing, or for at least taking steps to believe, in God. The name is somewhat misleading, for in a single section of his Pensées, Pascal apparently presents at least three such arguments, each of which might be called a ‘wager’—it is only the final of these that is traditionally referred to as “Pascal ...
Keep in mind that Pascal is not offering an argument for God’s existence. Instead, he is offering an argument in favor of the prudential value that lies in the belief that God exists . This is important, because many people mistakenly think of the wager as a proof or argument for God’s existence.
The argument might run, for example, that there are infinitely many possible Gods to consider (see our discussion of the many Gods objection), and for some infinite subset of them that includes Pascal's God, rationality does not favor any one over the rest. Treating them even-handedly then requires assigning infinitesimal probability to each.
2. Preliminary Argument. As noted, Pascal’s argument presumes that God’s existence and essence are unknowable through human reason. He makes an analogy with mathematics, where knowledge of the infinite is necessarily indirect. We know that it is false that there are finitely many numbers, so there must be an infinity in number.
Pascal's Wager is an argument for: A. The existence of God B. The rationality of believing in God C. The irrationality of atheism D. The importance of religious experience 2. Pascal's Wager assumes that: A. We can prove God's existence. B. We cannot know whether God exists. C. God rewards believers and punishes non-believers. D. Both B and C. 3.
