Pensées

Blurb

The Pensées is a collection of fragments on theology and philosophy written by 17th-century philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal. Pascal's religious conversion led him into a life of asceticism and the Pensées was in many ways his life's work. The Pensées represented Pascal's defense of the Christian religion. The concept of "Pascal's Wager" stems from a portion of this work.
The Pensées is the name given posthumously to fragments that Pascal had been preparing for an apology for Christianity which was never completed. That envisioned work is often referred to as the Apology for the Christian Religion, although Pascal never used that title.
Although the Pensées appears to consist of ideas and jottings, some of which are incomplete, it is believed that Pascal had, prior to his death in 1662, already planned out the order of the book and had begun the task of cutting and pasting his draft notes into a coherent form. His task incomplete, subsequent editors have disagreed on the order, if any, in which his writings should be read.