Pascal's Wager

The Ontological Argument and Pascal’s Wager The “Ontological Argument” was created by Saint Anselm; this argument is in support of God’s existence. His argument is one based on observation and reason not on empirical evidence and is spit in to three parts. The parts include why god exists, why god cannot be thought to not exist, and lastly why atheists are able to think that God does not exist. In the first section he begins with a definition of God that he believes everyone would be accepting of and that cannot be disputed. His definition is “something-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought” (Pg.15) or in simpler terms the greatest conceivable being. Anselm uses reductio ad absurdum to prove that the contrary to his belief would be absurd.…

Theory or Manipulation: Did Pascal Truly Have a Wager? Few things in society can be as convincing as the promise of reward and the draw of self-preservation. Pascal’s Wager is a theory that draws on those exact human emotions, rather than on logic itself, and because of that, I myself deem it as a weak, and possibly invalid, argument. In this paper I will talk about how Pascal promises little or no loss from believing, the fault that Pascal does not address the possibility of more than just a…

In this essay I first outline Pascal’s wager to the existence of God and then evaluate his argument. Pascal argues that one ought to wager “that God is” because “[i]f you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing,” and that given this, one can bring oneself to believe in God. I argue that one cannot truly bring themselves to believe in God. Pascal’s argument is set up in three parts. The first part accepts that God is infinitely incomprehensible. To conclude to this, one has to…

Introduction The Wager, by French scientist and mathematician, Blaise Pascal, presents an argument for believing in God based on an individual getting the best afterlife. He argues that we all must make a wager either for or against the existence of God. This wager which will result in either heaven, hell, or no consequence. Based on Pascal’s premises, I believe his argument is unsound. This paper will be divided into three sections in which I will discuss my evaluation of Pascal’s Wager. In…

In this paper I will explain and critique an argument known as Pascal’s Wager. I will explain the wager Blaise Pascal proposed to incline atheist and agnostics to believe in God. The Wager, “is not a proof of Gods existence” (Furman). I will give Pascal’s reasoning for explaining why choosing to believe in God is the best decision one could make. Pascal’s Wager is an argument given to atheist and agnostics to show them why believing in God’s existence is the right choice. This argument isn't…

Pascal's Wager is an argument dealing with the belief in God; the belief that it is in one's best interest to either believe or behave as if they believe in God to avoid the possibility of being punished in hell for eternity. "Rather than arguing for the truth of the belief in the existence in God, Pascal's Wager attempts to demonstrate the utility of belief in God." There are four possible outcomes that basically state... 1. Metaphysical ignorance: if there is a God, we are incapable of knowing…

This essay will address whether if I agree or disagree to Pascal’s claim about man. In his famous essay on the Wager, Pascal claims that ‘Man is dignified, despite his vulnerabilities’. The concept of dignity means the quality or state of being worthy of respect and honor whereas vulnerability deals with being easily hurt, in other words, being weak. Pascal thought ‘Man is dignified, despite his vulnerabilities’ because he thought that people should live by believing that god exists and if a man…

Pascal’s Wager argues that it is in the best interest to believe that God does in fact exist. Pascal’s Wager holds that if you believe in God’s existence, and follow God’s wishes, then you will inevitably go to heaven. However, if you do not believe in God’s existence you will go to hell. Pascal proposes that it is well worth it to go to church on Sunday mornings instead of sleeping in, if by simply going to church you are spared from going to hell. If you live your life believing in God, and…

Blaise Pascal’s basic belief was that all people have to just take a 50/50 wager for the existence of God. His claim comes from his belief that there is no reasonable way to support either side of the argument about the existence of God. Although Blaise Pascal was a brilliant French philosopher, mathematician and physicist, his claim that there is no creditable evidence to support a reasonable belief about God is not completely correct. It is just an easy way to completely avoid an intelligent…

Looking into Pascal’s Wager is quite informative and interesting. Pascal’s Wager is typically known in the Theist culture as a wager for god. Pascal’s Wager states, “Believing in God is the better choice.” The arguments of Pascal are proven faulty in a number of ways. Pascal’s book has still become a major Theist book. Pascal’s wager is, in the Theist 1 culture, a wager for God. Instead, this wager has been used as the opposite. The wager is actually one of three from a French man named Pascal,…