Pascal's Wager
Pascal states in the first argument that we are incapable of knowing whether God exists or not, so we must believe one way or the other. He says that we are stuck between two infinities. These infinities are the beginning and the end of human life. Therefore we have no proof or true ideas of God because humans were not around the at the same time God was or will be in the end. That is why reason cannot decide which direction we should gravitate nor can reason defend your choice, but a consideration of the possible outcomes supposedly can. He mentions a coin toss with only two possibilities, heads or tails, or in his formula's case God exists or he does not exist. Pascal conceived a formula for assessing whether any belief in God or risk is worth accepting or not. He formulated the following: Measure the benefits of a risk and consider the chances of that benefit coming to be. Then measure the cost of the risk, and consider the chance of it coming to be. If the potential benefit outweighs the cost, the risk is worth taking. He put God into this formula and assigned the existence of God .5 probability and his none existence .5, and this was his conclusion. The reward for the belief in God is infinite, he sa
Pascal's solution states that even if you think the existence of God is very improbable, the expected utility (outcome) of believing is higher than the expected utility of not believing. The God Pascal is chasing after is an abstract being. In addition, Pascal is coming from a more pragmatic view of the situation, even though this wager was made in thought of the Catholic Church. I also believe God is what keeps people in line, or helps them to stay on track regardless if there is a reward or not. 256) Pascal says "the prize here is an infinite or infinitely happy life, one chance of winning against a finite number of chances of losing. The potential reward is infinite, while the sure loss is meager. You must choose and through rationality you must choose the existence of God because if you don't wager you automatically bet against God and have a . This passage suggests that even the nonbeliever can wager for God, by striving to become a believer. To believe is just saying that you can have a few points of happiness throughout your life, and with that will come eternal bliss, which outweighs eternal damnation. Nevertheless, the unbeliever might say it's better not to choose at all. Net Copyright c 1999-2002Before one is aloud to critique Pascal's Wager, one must first answer the question, "What is Pascal's Wager?" Though Reason alone cannot lead us to God, Pascal states an ingenious argument that is rational, on prudential grounds, to behave as god exists. This isn't a horrible result, though it should be represented as an inadequate use of time and thought. You have to decide whether or not to believe there is a God.
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Acceptance Essays
