Today, June 19, is the 386th birthday of mathematician, scientist, and philosopher Blaise Pascal. His most famous work is arguably his Pensees (i.e., 'thoughts' in French), although it is unfinished and consists of many fragments that leave the reader wondering what direction Pascal intended. Nonetheless, merely by skimming through some pages you cannot come away without his attentiveness to the human person, which I think comes, at least in part, from St. Augustine (he is quoted frequently).
The following is an example:
"Truth is so darkened nowadays, and lies so established, that unless we love the truth we will never know it" (Pensees, XXXVI, 617).
This quotation is related to Book XXXII, section 18 in this Augustine work.
If one does not love the truth, then one will never know what is true. Pascal is saying, I believe, that the person cannot use only his/her rational faculties and expect to have complete knowledge of reality; the whole person, not simply one's rationality, needs to establish a relationship with truth.
Friday, June 19, 2009
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