Pensées

Written by Blaise Pascal

Narrated by William Sutherland

Pensées (Thoughts) is a collection of Pascal’s notes and ideas for a book in defense of faith in a rational world. These fragments give evidence of a profoundly original thinker who has resolved his conflict between a scientific mind demanding proof and a spiritual position maintained by faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio
• Release date: Jan 1, 2006
• ISBN: 9780786196982

Blaise Pascal

Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) was one of history’s most famous mathematicians. A prodigy who was said to have discovered the basic precepts of geometry while doodling in his playroom, Pascal published his first work at the age of sixteen. In 1646, he converted to the Catholic sect of Jansenism. He is best remembered for his Pensées (1669), a defense of Christianity.

Reviews for Pensées

[jvioland_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An interesting take on a defense of Christianity by a renowned mathematician. Caution: This is not really a book, but a compilation of material that Pascal had intended to put into a book. He died before completing any part, so it appears disjointed, but his thoughts are lucid.

[hadriantheblind · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Alternating between brilliant melancholy and theology and other nonsense.

[jpsnow · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As far as I'm concerned, Pascal's "shorts" are far more clever, succinct, surprising, and woven together than those of Rouchefoucauld and others. There are many threaded thoughts woven amongst more than 900 maxims and mini-essays each of which stand on their own. The profundity and diversity of topics makes the Pensees something to read slowly and ponder -- it takes much more time than reading the same amount of text in typical prose. Here Pascal masterfully forces us to contemplate just about every philosophical aspect of nature, religion, culture, and government, and the human condition in general. Starting with a discussion of the mathematical versus the intuitive mind (there are advantages in both but true genius lies in the mathematically trained also being able to see the big picture and beyond the concrete), he then portrays theology in nature, argues against atheism, supports Catholic doctrine, and finds the source of all unhappiness.

[lassiter_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A deep thinker and contemplative reading is a must for this book. Pascal delves into some deep spiritual truths. It is also easy to see the personality of Pascal in the writing

[selfnoise · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Unusual for a philosophical text, as it represents the private thoughts of the author organized via a method of his own design (he wrote them on strips of paper). Agonized thoughts on spirituality ("the endless silence of these infinite spaces fills me with dread") along with a justification of theology (commonly known as The Wager) which doesn't quite work. It's nice to read thoughts intimately and without the pretenses of a "published" text.

[ben_a_11 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An immortal book. Electrifying. Started re-reading 11/25/07 and following.