♣ Three of Clubs
the moral, experiential and pragmatic family
Pascal's Wager
Blaise Pascal
Pensées
ConjecturalConcludes what we are warranted in believing or doing.
- Argument form
- Decision-theoretic argument (expected value: finite stake against a non-nil chance of infinite gain)
- Concludes to
- Belief obligatory (prudence requires wagering for God)
- Premise ground
- Normative (where a finite stake is set against a non-nil chance of infinite gain, prudence requires the stake)
- Modal strength
- None (warrant for belief)
- What it licenses
- Period
- Seventeenth Century (1670, posthumous)
- Tradition
- Augustinian (Jansenist)
Further reading
- Source text, public domain
PenséesFR-0631136102_-_Pensées_de_M._Pascal_édition_originale_1670_-_Ep_0051.pdf - A scholarly account
Read an exposition of the argument - A principal objection
Read the objection in full - Further reading
Pensées fr. 233 (Lafuma 418 / Sellier 680) is a concordance reference only. The card is verified against ch. VII of the 1670 Port-Royal edition.
This formulation is ours, composed from the primary source and compressed to fit the card; the argument admits of other statements. Objections have been made to every argument in the deck; where one is linked above, it is chosen by us, not written by us.
ergocards.com/wager
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