“Provincial Letters” By Blaise Pascal

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes. –Proverbs 26:4,5 Blaise Pascal, a Catholic theologian, scientist and brilliant thinker, wrote these letters to defend his Jansenist friends against charges of heresy by the Jesuits. I tend to think that Pascal and Kierkegaard are kindred spirits. First, they both […]

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A Discourse with Descartes

N: Cartesius, ever since I read your treatise “Meditations on First Philosophy: In which the existence of God and the immortality of the soul are demonstrated”, I’ve wished to meet you in person and discuss the subjects in detail. C: Is that why you imagined this conversation with me? N: Unfortunately, I have no power of imagination, with which you are abundantly gifted. C: Nemo, you’re gifted with the faculty […]

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“Pensées” by Blaise Pascal

What is Man in Nature? Let man then contemplate the whole of nature in her full and grand majesty, and turn his vision from the low objects which surround him. Let him gaze on that brilliant light, set like an eternal lamp to illumine the universe; let the earth appear to him a point in comparison with the vast circle described by the sun; and let him wonder at the […]

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