FAITH AND REASON IN BLAISE PASCAL

It was in the first half of the 17th century that the important French mathematician and Christian philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) emerged. Although he was a man of science, he was not ashamed to position himself as a Christian before the society of his time. Europe at that time was dominated by rationalist and empiricist thoughts inaugurated by René Descartes (1596-1650) and Francis Bacon (1561-1626), respectively.

Descartes (1596 - 1650), considered by many as the founder of Modern Philosophy, revolutionized philosophical thinking with his work The Discourse of Method. In it, this philosopher states that he set out to seek "the true method to come to the knowledge of all things. His method, which consisted of four precepts that he called "chains of reasons", was based solely on reason (DESCARTES, 2017, p.20).

Bacon (1561 - 1626), together with Galileo Galilei, assured the full autonomy of Science in relation to Theology and Philosophy, until then subordinated to them. It was he who suggested the use of "induction" in the scientific method, which resulted in the attainment of many discoveries. He also established as the object of science "the cause of natural things" and established as the end of science "serving the progress of civilization" (MONDIN, 2011, p.63,66). Thus a new way of seeing the world, based on reason and science, was delineated.

In these new epistemological models, a knowledge could only be considered true and valid if it was based on reason and proven by experience. This led to questions about the validity of the knowledge that comes by Revelation. How to explain, for example, by reason and experiment, God, the incarnation of the Son, the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Then an emphasis on reason and experience begins to be established at the expense of faith, in the way of understanding existence.

The scholar, contemporary of Descartes and Bacon, who came to counter these new ideas was Pascal. He carried out research in the fields of Physics and his studies in Mathematics opened the branches of Projective Geometry and the Theory of Probabilities. Profitable in scientific production, he invented a calculus machine, La Pascaline. Respected in the scientific community, Blaise Pascal retired for four years to dedicate himself to Theology and Philosophy, when he produced texts that still inspire and influence people today.

In his work "Thoughts", we can see that he understands that faith in Christ does not exclude rational thought, yet he affirms that "the heart has reasons that reason itself does not know". What he meant was that "it is the heart that feels God and not reason. This is what faith is: God who is sensitive to the heart and not to reason".Without, however, dismissing reason as the brilliant scientist it was, Pascal highlighted a relevant philosophical aspect: the limits of reason.  He stated: "the last step of reason is to recognize that there is an infinity of things that overcomes it. If you don't get to know that, it is weak. If natural things overcome it, what will you say about supernatural things?" [3].

In this way, it becomes evident that Blaise Pascal rejects the merely mechanistic and rationalist world view. He recognizes a spiritual realm in existence. Thus he aligns himself with the biblical authors, who affirm that it is in the heart, that is, in the depth of his being, that man feels God. This can be seen, for example, in the prophet Jeremiah, when God speaks to the Jews, who were disoriented, in the Babylonian captivity: "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (29.13). The Apostle Paul also recognizes this aspect. To the Ephesians he said: "I also pray that the eyes of your hearts may be enlightened, that you may know the hope to which he has called you" (1.18). Pascal, as brilliant as Descartes and Bacon, opposed them and kept God as an aspect to consider in the effort to understand the mystery of the world.

Antônio Maia – Ph B - M Div

Copyrights reserved to author

DESCARTES, René. O Discurso do Método. São Paulo: Martin Claret, 2017.

MONDIN, Battista. Curso de Filosofia – Volume 2. São Paulo: 2011.

[1] PASCAL, Blaise. Pensamentos. São Paulo, Abba Press, 2002, p.50

[2] Idem, p.50

[3] Ibidem, p.51