Philosophical Argument made by Blaise Pascal on the Existence of God. Made by Alan Kurian Sabu

1. PASCAL’S WAGER
ALAN KURIAN SABU

2. P E R S O N A L I T Y
DETERMINANTS
RELIGION
PHILOSOPHY
PASCAL’S WAGER

4. PASCAL’S
WAGER
PHILOSOPHY OF
RELIGION

5. Blaise Pascal
Pensées (1670)

6. Pascal’s God
• Eternal
• Omniscient
• Omnipotent
• Created everything
 Believes in Heaven and Hell

7. PASCAL’S WAGER
• Pragmatic Argument
• Appeal to Self-interest
• Considering various possible consequences of belief
and disbelief.

8. (1) It is possible that the God exists and it is
possible that the God does not exist.
PASCAL’S WAGER

9. (3) If one does not believe in the God then if He exists
then one receives an infinitely great punishment and
if he does not exist then one gains little or nothing.
(2) If one believes in the God then if He exists then
one receives an infinitely great reward and if he does
not exist then one loses little or nothing.

10. (4) It is better to either receive an infinitely great
reward or lose little or nothing than it is to either
receive an infinitely great punishment or gain little
or nothing.
Therefore:
(5) It is better to believe in the God than it is not to
believe in the God.

11. (6) If one course of action is better than another
then it is rational to follow that course of action and
irrational to follow the other.
Therefore:
(7) It is rational to believe in the God and irrational not
to believe in the God.

12. God exists God does not exist
Believe in God infinite
reward
Lose little or
nothing
Do not
Believe in God
infinite
punishment
Gain little or
nothing

13. LifeafterDeath
EternalLifeinHeaven
EternalPunishmentinHell

14. OBJECTIONS & RESPONSES ON PASCAL’S WAGER
• Entrance Criteria for Heaven
• Wagering on Atheism
• Intelligent Design
• Sense of Value and Purpose
• Doxastic Voluntarism
• Atheist’s Wager

15. Reference
• http://www.philosophyofreligion.info
• Rowe. W.L (2007). ‘Philosophy of Religion An Introduction’. 4th Edition. Wadsworth
Cengage Learning. USA
• Wainwright. W.J ‘The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Religion’.
• Davies. B.(1993).’An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion’2nd edition. Oxford
University Press. Oxford
• Yandell. K..E.(2002).’Philosophy of Religion: A Contemporary Introduction’. Routledge.
London
• Jordan. J. ’Pascal’s Wager: Pragmatic Argument and Belief in God’. Clarendon Press.
Oxford.
• Schultz.D.P, Schultz.S.E, (2013). ‘Theories of Personality’. 10th Edition. New Delhi. Cengage
Learning.