Blog Archives from May 2010

"The unexamined life is not worth living," the philosopher Socrates said many centuries ago. And as we reflect upon it, we would have to say that it is arguably one of the least followed sayings in the world. As philosopher and writer Os Guinness is often fond of saying, our modern world is closer to the paraphrased statement of philosopher Bertrand Russell: "Most people would rather die than think -- in fact, they do." 

Our challenge then, is to lead an examined life in an unexamining age. And there is hardly a better guide to help us in this pursuit than the writer Blaise Pascal, a seventeenth century (1623-1662) figure who was celebrated in his own lifetime as an inventor and mathematical genius. Indeed, in his own lifetime Pascal's fame originated from his remarkable scientific innovations (famous for his work on conic sections and probability theory). He is also celebrated as the father of the modern day computer because he invented a calculating machine that actually worked. Likewise, Pascal was known for his fast driving (albeit in carriages, no less!) through the streets of Paris, and took great pride in developing Paris' first omnibus and public transport…

Before we considered the beginnings of some entries dedicated to the seventeenth century philosopher and thinker Blaise Pascal. His Pensees, or "meditations," explore the human condition, with all of our desires for happiness, truth, and joy, and the reasons for our disappointments as well. And as Socrates uttered many centuries ago, whose thought echoes down the corridors of time, "The unexamined life is not worth living." And nothing has really changed much over the centuries, has it?  Not to speak of the fact that few humans seem to ever seriously reflect on life. Again, as Bertrand Russell uttered, "Most people would rather die than think -- in fact, they do."

But Pascal took his great mathematical and scientific mind to explore the dilemma of the human condition, irrespective of religious persuasion, or lack thereof. And in his quest to explore the inner recesses of the human heart, despite his great mental faculties, he looked at his Christian faith as more than an academic enterprise. While his "first conversion" occurred at the ripe old age of twenty-three, a conversion perhaps more of the mind and seeing things differently, from a new perspective…