Français Four arguments against Pascal's wager: objections, rebuttal and reversal |
The historical dimensionIn the way we look at the past, we must keep a sufficient critical distance.
My criticism does not focus on Pascal as a historical figure, but on the belief that his wager would still be relevant today. Reducing the scope of the Pascal's wagerThe Wager is reserved for people who admit a priori the following hypotheses:
For those who do not fully subscribe to it, there is nothing to save, nothing to gain, so the Pascal's wager is irrelevant. First objectionWhat kind of bets should be put on the table? [HTML and PDF] Second objectionOn the likelihood that a given religion is true [HTML and PDF] RebuttalRebuttal of Pascal's wager [HTML and PDF] Appendix : Mathematical aspects of Pascal's wager [HTML and PDF] ReversalWhat minimises loss, Christianity or atheism? [HTML and PDF] Given that everyone, often by religious clan, sets its own dogmas, none of which are universal, the believers who incite me to participate in their arbitrary "game" are not credible. ConclusionThe possibilities that cannot be excluded by evidence are so numerous and varied that a bet can only be placed on those that are solidly supported. The others must be deliberately ignored. The probability of the existence of a personal God is too low for there to be any interest in getting involved in religion, and even lower still for a God who would have dictated guidelines to us. In Pascal's wager, the game is not worth the candle. One can, without damage, give up betting and move away from the gambling table of beliefs, because it is more useful and constructive to invest one's time and energy in the secular field. Wisdom consists in detaching oneself from utopias, i.e. practising religious indifference. Exploitation of the wagerThe indoctrinators use the method of slippage a lot: believing in God implies - or at least we are led to believe - adhering to Catholicism, the only true faith. And, against all logic, the amalgam works: because they believe in God, many people feel morally obliged to be Christians. The state can then be committed to imprinting these "truths" in the minds of all schoolchildren. Epilogue
What if, instead of betting on God, we wager on man: humanism inherited from the Age of Enlightenment, human rights, democracy and the quest for the common good? Pascal's wager folder |
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