Blaise Pascal was a precocious genius: he invented a mechanical calculator and contributed to probability theory and physics. After an intense religious experience, he devoted himself to defending Christianity. His Pensées, published after his death, show human greatness and wretchedness and the limits of reason.
Core ideas
The heart knows truths that reason alone cannot reach
Betting on the existence of God is the wisest choice in the face of uncertainty
The human being is as frail as a reed, but a reed that thinks
The tradition: Fideist
A fideist holds that faith, not reason, is the main path to religious truths. Pascal maintains that reason has limits and only faith reaches God.
