Pensées

Pensées is a collection of reflections on human nature, religion, and philosophy by the French mathematician and religious thinker Blaise Pascal. Consisting of nearly 1000 notes and manuscript fragments intended for a treatise defending Christianity, the work remained unfinished at Pascal’s premature death in 1662. The fragments were collected together and published posthumously under the title Pensées (Thoughts). Scholars have disagreed as to the exact order and form that Pascal’s fragments should take, and thus a number of versions of the work exist.

The work is arranged into four large sections and a number of subsections dealing with diverse topics such as “Vanity,” “Wretchedness,” “Greatness,” and “Christian morality.” Despite the diversity of Pascal’s subject matter and the fragmentary nature of the writing, a number of persistent themes emerge. Human beings are both wretched—subjected to sin, uncertainty, and death—and capable of greatness because of their capacity for thought. By accepting God’s grace through faith in Christianity, human beings can be assured of rising above misery and achieving peace and happiness. Thus, while rational thought is important, knowing God through the heart is the key to a happy life.

This guide uses the 1995 Penguin Classics edition of the Pensées, translated by A.J. Krailsheimer. When citing the text, page numbers, subsection numbers (preceded by a Roman numeral), and fragment numbers are variously used.

Content Warning: The source text contains some traditionally anti-Semitic ideas, such as asserting that the Jews were responsible for Jesus’s crucifixion.

Summary

Section 1 consists of manuscript writings with subsection headings given by Pascal himself. The headings deal with a variety of subjects relating to human nature and the human condition, as well as to religion and theology. Pascal establishes his central idea that mankind exists in an intermediate state between “wretchedness” and “greatness,” and that reason and faith exercised with humility can help raise man out of his condition. The section ends with a series of subsections dealing with Biblical theology, including the role of the Jewish people in the scheme of Christian belief and the importance of Old Testament prophecies in establishing Jesus Christ’s identity as the Messiah.

Section 2 contains papers not classified by Pascal and therefore given headings by A.J. Krailsheimer, the translator of the edition used here. Here Pascal introduces his concept of a wager in which human beings must decide either for or against God and faith. In addition to continuing his analysis of Biblical texts as a means of establishing the validity of Christianity, Pascal also poses another of his best-known concepts: the idea that there exist two contrasting types of human mind, the mathematical and the intuitive.

Section 3 delves into theological matters that caused much discussion among Pascal, the Jesuits, and the Jansenists involving the importance of miracles in the Christian religion. Pascal concludes that miracles are essential to the Christian faith but there must be strict criteria for deciding whether an event is a genuine miracle or not.

Section 4 consists of various fragments found in different manuscript copies from those used in the first three sections. This section contains some of Pascal’s most personal and intense writings, including his reflection on a mystical experience (the “Night of Fire”) that marked a turning point in his life and another meditation on the Passion of Jesus. The edition concludes with miscellaneous sayings of Pascal and some additional Pensées, which sum up many of Pascal’s preoccupations with the ironies of human nature, reason, and religious faith.