IndexAre we free?Blaise Pascal on the problem of free willBibliographyAre we free?We feel free. We think and act according to our will, but are we? We believe that our actions and beliefs come from our choice and understanding of our environment. However, our actions can be determined by past events. As in Einstein's law of inertia, for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. This is the question that Blaise Pascal seeks to answer in his literary work on religion, human reasoning in life, and human conditioning. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayBlaise Pascal on the problem of free willWhen Pascal talks about religion, he tells the reader about all the problems that humanity has such as disease, poverty, and war all to convey the idea of conversion. Then he made a bet and the best solution would be to believe in God. He came to this conclusion by asking the question: "What if you are wrong?", because if you are a true believer the reward is heaven. However, if it turns out that God does not exist, you lose nothing. Therefore, if one meets God and is not a believer, then one is destined for damnation or if God does not exist, the believer loses nothing. Own choice is that people would choose the path with the greatest benefit for themselves. What Pascal implies in this bet is that people are pragmatic when given the event that leads to choosing. This is the question that Blaise Pascal is trying to answer in his literary work on religion that human behavior and actions are entirely determined by external factors. Therefore, human beings have no genuine free will or ethical responsibility. Pascal would say that human “choices” simply dominate the desires of the individual. As Pascal said “I have discovered that all the unhappiness of men comes from a single fact, the fact that they cannot be quiet in their own room”, which means that we as people prefer distractions in our lives rather than dealing with our problems head held high. That people are tortured by their passions in life. That the idea of completing a challenge and overcoming it is empty because once overcome the idea of boredom takes over. With this Pascal tells us that happiness is an illusion because he states "A nonsense consoles us, because a nonsense distresses us". This means that simple distraction is what we live for since boredom is misery. Those who know boredom will do everything to fight it. This is the question that Blaise Pascal is trying to answer, that human behavior and actions are entirely determined by external factors. Therefore, human beings have no genuine free will or ethical responsibility. Pascal considers what he calls "miserable" and "greatness" to be human because of the human nature of being fragile and letting common unknown and constant powers hinder one's way of life. being happy is in itself both a nobility and a curse. Pascal sees human beings as doomed, often doomed to be led astray by powers such as narcissism, self-control, and other influences. On the other hand he believes in the purity in the aspect of humans being able to recognize their own damnation that we as a species are able to notice that ultimately we are living a broken life, but this is the bitter sweetness that Pascal is referring to such as one's own way of inner nobility or human failures and defects. Pascal addresses human psychology and incorporates some outstanding verdicts on the human condition, political authority, and norms. Pascal is progressive enough to recognize how things are , 2013
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