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Pascal's wager |
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Pascal's wagerPractical argument for belief in God formulated by Blaise Pascal. In his Pensées (1657–58), Pascal posed the following argument to show that belief in the Christian religion is rational: If the Christian God does not exist, the agnostic loses little by believing in him and gains correspondingly little by not believing. If the Christian God does exist, the agnostic gains eternal life by believing in him and loses an infinite good by not believing. William James objected to the argument that it supported belief in any religion that promised an eternal afterlife. Others have objected that though the argument does give one a reason for believing in the Christian God, it does not make that belief “rational” in the proper sense. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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| In a piquant way, the grim ultimate cosmology re-casts Pascal's Wager in an unexpected way by giving the wavering soul even more reason to bet on God rather than on the ultimately hopeless alternative. It would be inconsistent to accept Pascal's Wager and yet reject A. For those with serious disabilities or illness, especially those who know their days are numbered and can only take comfort in Pascal's wager that, considering the alternative, there must be an afterlife. |
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