philosophy essay #1
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Philosophy Essay #1
251311165
Pascal’s wager was proposed by French philosopher Blaise Pascal, who believed in the
pragmatic opposition for believing in God. The idea that evidence alone would not be able settle
the ongoing debate of God’s existence was one of his primary pillars of belief. Arguing that, if it
cannot be proven that God exists then we should avoid the potential risks by choosing to believe
rather than risking the consequences.
1
Pascal instead suggests that we as individuals should not
bet, or wager on God because of its high stake. Which references to his “if you gain, you gain
all”
2
, if one chooses to believe in God, they will then reap all its benefits in the afterlife. If there is
no God and we choose to live like there is no God, one will not have to abide by the Catholic
ethical system but if God truly does exist, you will bear the eternal consequences. Thus, Pascals
believed that it would be foolish not to believe in God.
An infinite gain will always outweigh even a finite loss or gain
3
. The “loses” of spending
time in a church or condemning to what the bible excepts from his followers is less of a loss than
the limitless loss of not reaching the afterlife. Insinuating that if you choose not to believe and
God really does exist you will then suffer infinite loss, but if he doesn’t exist you will nor gain or
lose. Let’s begin with discussing the gains and loses in your earthly life versus your afterlife. For
Pascal days of living in the 1600’s the Catholic church was far more prominent in society than
today. Their power has been built up over centuries and relied on intergenerational ignorance and
superstition to keep followers
4
. Furthermore, the benefits of believing in God during Pascals time
was much greater. To be associated with the church and abiding by their rules insured the
1
Nicholas Rescher, (1964).
American philosophical quarterly.
Dept. of Philosophy, University of
Pittsburgh.
2
Blaise Pascal,
Thoughts
, trans. Trotter, from Trotter et al. (eds.),
Pascal's Thoughts, Letters and
Minor Works
(Collier and Son, 1910).
3
Oppy, G. (1991). On Rescher on Pascal’s Wager.
International Journal for Philosophy of
Religion
,
30
(3), 159–168.
4
Jordan, J. (1991). Duff and the Wager.
Analysis
,
51
(3), 174–176.
dominion of your social relationships and economic relation. Which contributes to the gains in
your earthly life.
If you were an atheist or were to question the Catholic God yourself, you would be
shunned within your community. So, Pascals perspective of believing in God holds true in your
earthly life, but when we begin to discuss the afterlife issues rise. Within his argument there is an
underlying assumption that the only god is a Christian God, and that no other god exists. This
thinking is a problematic in his logic because of the possibility of another deity existing. It is
irrational to assume that there is one God, and solely believing in the one religion might prevent
gaining the infinite rewards of another religion. For instance, if one of the ancient Greek deities
like Zeus were to be our God and demanded everyone to follow him or be punished, you would
still not make it to the afterlife.
Moreover, it is also important to consider if the biblical scriptures that are being followed
still hold their original truth. The bible has been changed over 30,000 times with over 5,000
revisions in different Greek and Roman interpretations
5
, this leaves room for the original
messages to be misconstrued. We see significant examples of this in the past, an ancient Greek
scripture that was purposefully omitted from Modern Judeo-Christian writing that draws relation
to this concept. It refers to old Mesopotamian where the Garden of Eden was described as
somewhere where overlords had enslaved people to work. There was a serpent figure in the
Garden of Eden who freed their minds from the confines of their oppressors and let them to
believe that they could leave and succeed on their own
6
. This serpent figure has been found to
have contradicting meanings in the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Judean scriptures, whether the
serpent was either good or bad.
In this context we could relate this topic back to Pascals wager.
Even if the Christian god, was the one in which to believe, what if he required the original
scriptures to be followed exactly. If these scriptures have been misconstrued and modified from
5
Writing the History of the English Bible: A Review of Recent Scholarship. (2011).
Religion
Compass.
,
5
(7), 300–313.
6
Ogden. (2013).
Drakōn: dragon myth and serpent cult in the Greek and Roman worlds
(1st
ed.). Oxford University Press.
their original versions, we could be following rules that God does not ask of its followers. Thus,
not leading us to “gain” anything from the “loses” of time and commitment spent in the church at
all.
The opposing objection to this point creates the same fallacy because one could argue that
Pascal and other God followers are simply following as they have been told. They would have no
knowledge on past interpretations of the scriptures, making this argument less powerful. Pascals
argument still demonstrates major flaw in his logic, if another deity were to exist there would be a
non-zero chance of receiving infinite utility or “gain” if you wager for a different God, meaning
you would have everything to lose.
Bibliography:
Nicholas Rescher, (1964).
American philosophical quarterly.
Dept. of Philosophy, University of
Pittsburgh.
Oppy, G. (1991). On Rescher on Pascal’s Wager.
International Journal for Philosophy of
Religion
,
30
(3), 159–168.
Blaise Pascal,
Thoughts
, trans. Trotter, from Trotter et al. (eds.),
Pascal's Thoughts, Letters and
Minor Works
(Collier and Son, 1910).
Jordan, J. (1991). Duff and the Wager.
Analysis
,
51
(3), 174–176.
Writing the History of the English Bible: A Review of Recent Scholarship. (2011).
Religion
Compass.
,
5
(7), 300–313.
Ogden. (2013).
Drakōn: dragon myth and serpent cult in the Greek and Roman worlds
(1st ed.).
Oxford University Press.
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