Blaise Pascal: Thoughts, Letters, and Minor Works [Hardcover]

Blaise Pascal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2007

Contains the following: Thoughts on Mind and Style; The Misery of Man Without God; Of the Necessity of the Wager; Of the Means of Belief; Justice and the Reason of Effects; The Philosophers; Morality and Doctrine; Fundamentals of the Christian Religion; Perpetuity; Typology; Prophecies; Proofs of Jesus Christ; The Miracles. Various Letters. Minor Works: Epitaph of M. Pascal; Prayer; Comparison Between Christians of Early Times and Those of Today; Discourses on the Condition of the Great; On the Conversion of the Sinner; Conversation on Epictetus and Montaigne; Art of Persuasion; Discourse on the Passion of Love; Of the Geometrical Sprit; Preface to the Treatise on Vacuum; New Fragment of the Treatise on Vacuum.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

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From the Back Cover

After making important early contributors to the fields of physical sciences and of mathematics--including the invention of the discipline of probability--French polymath BLAISE PASCAL (1623-1662), a former child prodigy, turned his extraordinary talents to theology and philosophy. This, his most profound work, was unfinished at the time of his premature death, but it is still considered one of the finest works in the French language. In Thoughts, Pascal mounts a sophisticated defense of his Catholic faith, discussing, among other subjects:

* the misery of man without God
* justice and morality
* the fundamentals of Christianity
* proofs of Jesus Christ
* his now-famous wager, proving the necessity of belief in God.

This omnibus edition also features a selection of Pascal's letters--to friends, to family, and to the Swedish queen Christina--as well as his minor works, including "Prayer, to Ask of God the Proper Use of Sickness," "Discourses on the Condition of the Great," "The Art of Persuasion," and more.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 140 pages
• Publisher: Cosimo Classics (June 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602064911
• ISBN-13: 978-1602064911
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,172,684 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brief comment, November 12, 2007

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magellan (Santa Clara, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Blaise Pascal: Thoughts, Letters, and Minor Works (Paperback)

Please be advised that this review is only on Pascal's Thoughts.

I got this book as part of the Great Books of the Western World set, and of the 330 odd works and 54 volumes in that august set, this book was my favorite. Not because I was religious per se, but because I enjoyed reading the thoughts of a brilliant mathematician, philosopher, and thinker who could write so clearly and concisely and discuss so many topics in brilliant fashion. Although ostensibly about Pascal's religious convictions, he also discusses many other subjects as well. In fact, the first page of the book has a comment on women's intuition--which Pascal believed in. Pascal is also the founder of the science of probability, which he computed based on the then current popular game of 31, not 21. And let's not forget the famous "Pascal's Wager." Les Pensees was probably the most profound and intimate statement of his philosophy, and three centuries later it's still worth reading today.