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Of the Geometrical Spirit
Pascal's major contribution to the philosophy of mathematics came with his De l'Esprit geometrique ("Of the Geometrical Spirit"), originally written as a preface to a geometry textbook for one of the famous "Petites-Ecoles de Port-Royal" ("Little Schools of Port-Royal"). The work was unpublished until over a century after his death. Here, Pascal looked into the issue of discovering truths, arguing that the ideal of such a method would be to found all propositions on already established truths. At the same time, however, he claimed this was impossible because such established truths would require other truths to back them up-first principles, therefore, cannot be reached. Based on this, Pascal argued that the procedure used in geometry was as perfect as possible, with certain principles assumed and other propositions developed from them. Nevertheless, there was no way to know the assumed principles to be true. Pascal also used De l'Esprit geometrique to develop a theory of definition. He distinguished between definitions which are conventional labels defined by the writer and definitions which are within the language and understood by everyone because they naturally designate their referent. The second type would be characteristic of the philosophy of essentialism. Pascal claimed that only definitions of the first type were important to science and mathematics, arguing that those fields should adopt the philosophy of formalism as formulated by Descartes."
- GenresSciencePhilosophyFrance
26 pages, Paperback
Published June 17, 2015
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About the author
Blaise Pascal
1,490 books834 followersEarly work of Blaise Pascal of France included the invention of the adding machine and syringe and the co-development with Pierre de Fermat of the mathematical theory of probability; later, he, a Jansenist, wrote on philosophy and theology, notably as collected in the posthumous
Pensées
(1670).
This contemporary of René Descartes attained ten years of age in 1633, when people forced Galileo Galilei to recant his belief that Earth circled the Sun. He lived in Paris at the same time, when Thomas Hobbes in 1640 published his famous Leviathan (1651). Together, Pascal created the calculus.
A near-fatal carriage accident in November 1654 persuaded him to turn his intellect finally toward religion. The story goes that on the proverbial dark and stormy night, while Pascal rode in a carriage across a bridge in a suburb of Paris, a fright caused the horses to bolt, sending them over the edge. The carriage, bearing Pascal, survived. Pascal took the incident as a sign and devoted. At this time, he began a series, called the Provincial Letters , against the Jesuits in 1657.
Pascal perhaps most famously wagered not as clearly in his language as this summary: "If Jesus does not exist, the non Christian loses little by believing in him and gains little by not believing. If Jesus does exist, the non Christian gains eternal life by believing and loses an infinite good by not believing.”
Sick throughout life, Pascal died in Paris from a combination of tuberculosis and stomach cancer at 39 years of age. At the last, he confessed Catholicism.
This contemporary of René Descartes attained ten years of age in 1633, when people forced Galileo Galilei to recant his belief that Earth circled the Sun. He lived in Paris at the same time, when Thomas Hobbes in 1640 published his famous Leviathan (1651). Together, Pascal created the calculus.
A near-fatal carriage accident in November 1654 persuaded him to turn his intellect finally toward religion. The story goes that on the proverbial dark and stormy night, while Pascal rode in a carriage across a bridge in a suburb of Paris, a fright caused the horses to bolt, sending them over the edge. The carriage, bearing Pascal, survived. Pascal took the incident as a sign and devoted. At this time, he began a series, called the Provincial Letters , against the Jesuits in 1657.
Pascal perhaps most famously wagered not as clearly in his language as this summary: "If Jesus does not exist, the non Christian loses little by believing in him and gains little by not believing. If Jesus does exist, the non Christian gains eternal life by believing and loses an infinite good by not believing.”
Sick throughout life, Pascal died in Paris from a combination of tuberculosis and stomach cancer at 39 years of age. At the last, he confessed Catholicism.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 6, 2025
j’en garde pas un souvenir impérissable mais why not c’est sympa
June 27, 2020
Uma leitura gostosa, que reflete a mente de um cientista, físico, matemático, filósofo, enfim, um estudioso questionando (racionalizando) algumas questões humanas.
Nos faz pensar muito sobre o que é certo ou errado, duvidoso e indiscutível.
"Queres que se pense bem de ti ? Não fales bem de ti"
Blaise Pascal, simplesmente um gênio.
Nos faz pensar muito sobre o que é certo ou errado, duvidoso e indiscutível.
"Queres que se pense bem de ti ? Não fales bem de ti"
Blaise Pascal, simplesmente um gênio.
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December 20, 2025ok l'illuminé
March 1, 2022
Esse livro reúne textos curtos de Pascal e outros escritos por ouvintes de alguns de seus discursos, e ainda textos atribuídos à Pascal mas muito mexidos por editores. Também há uma seleção curta extraída dos fragmentos que foram publicados após sua morte, o bem conhecido “Pensamentos”. Julgo ser um livro de interesse muito específico, medianamente interessante. 3/5.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews