PHILOSOPHY - Blaise Pascal

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  • čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
  • The French 17th century philosopher Blaise Pascal is one of the world’s great pessimists- with an unusual power to cheer us up.
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Komentáře • 1K

  • @abbygaby9210
    @abbygaby9210 Před 4 lety +389

    "All of man's unhappines comes from his inability of staying in his room alone"
    2020: you don't SAY

    • @omegabash
      @omegabash Před 4 lety +8

      yes technology is the best thing we have done

    • @tritonus1415
      @tritonus1415 Před 4 lety +4

      I feel personally attacked by his statement

    • @deletedusername6527
      @deletedusername6527 Před 3 lety +1

      very funny

    • @hanskung3278
      @hanskung3278 Před 3 lety

      It's true.

    • @Potatotenkopf
      @Potatotenkopf Před 3 lety +3

      Well i mean given all the increased rates of mental illness due to the quarantine I'd say he's somewhat right

  • @bolivar1789
    @bolivar1789 Před 8 lety +370

    This quote by Pascal really gets to me every time I read it.
    "Even those who hang themselves indeed seek happiness"
    So, no matter what, indeed we are not even "able" to lose hope. Even a person who attempts to kill himself, is indeed "hoping" for something better. How sad is that...
    These words by Eduardo Galeano may give us some consolation though:
    “Utopia is on the horizon. I move two steps closer; it moves two steps further away. I walk another ten steps and the horizon runs ten steps further away. As much as I may walk, I'll never reach it. So what's the point of utopia? The point is this: to keep walking.”
    It is also very true and very beautiful what Emily Dickinson says:
    " Hope inspires the good to reveal itself"
    Well, I feel very bad writing a hopeful comment under the most dark and consoling Pascal video:-)
    But I mean no disrespect. I admire the man deeply for using his head properly and taking the time to write down every horrible truth about our misery, instead of spending his life in denial, like most of us do most of the time.
    Thank you very much. Whenever I need help, this will be the first lesson I will re-watch for sure.

    • @brandonleskil4523
      @brandonleskil4523 Před 4 lety +12

      Cliff Hanley:Suicidal people seek to be indulged once more and forever in the bliss of being unconscious, as they like us all were in childhood. Growing up means becoming conscious, of your mortality, of life’s inescapable and sometimes unbearable sufferings. To become aware, and because you are aware, to feel naked, exposed, out from hiding, and now seeking. Jung wisely and to his genius talks in depth about this in many of his works, not least among them, is described the collective unconscious. The state of dreams and children, and the growing absence of it in teens, as well as it’s completely felt absence in adults.

    • @dannymckenzie8329
      @dannymckenzie8329 Před 4 lety +3

      "When I consider the brief span of my life, swallowed up in the eternity before and behind it, the small space that i fill, or even see, engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces which I know not and which know not me,
      I am afraid, and wonder to see myself here rather than there; for there is no reason why I should be here rather than there, now, rather than then."
      Thoughts of Pascal,
      The resonance I feel with this definitive thought in existentialism is a tad bit overwhelming. Or underwhelming, depending on the root variable active at the core of my sentience happens to be at that moment.

    • @Hotdogdoperwtje2
      @Hotdogdoperwtje2 Před 4 lety +6

      The 20th-century Blaise Pascal, Emil Cioran (1911-1995): "“Only optimists commit suicide, optimists who no longer succeed at being optimists. The others, having no reason to live, why would they have any to die?”

    • @Hotdogdoperwtje2
      @Hotdogdoperwtje2 Před 4 lety +4

      @Cliff Hanley They still hope, they still believe in something better than the current situation, even if that situation is oblivion or nothingness. To hope is to be optimistic, to believe in progress, even if that utopia is nothing at all (this is quite interesting since the literal meaning of utopia in Ancient Greek is "nowhere")

    • @Hotdogdoperwtje2
      @Hotdogdoperwtje2 Před 4 lety +1

      @Cliff Hanley They are one and the same

  • @morpheus6749
    @morpheus6749 Před 5 lety +580

    Pascal's philosophy in a nutshell: *Ever since I gave up hope I feel much better.*

    • @JH-qy8no
      @JH-qy8no Před 4 lety +15

      Hope in THIS life. He had hope in the afterlife.

    • @JH-qy8no
      @JH-qy8no Před 4 lety +2

      @Cliff Hanley There is only one version of God. I think catholic tradition just happened to be his upbringing. Denominations are in danger of emphasizing tradition over God's commandment. But I think he understood that.

    • @denooned5103
      @denooned5103 Před 4 lety

      @@JH-qy8no saysmmmmmmlmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyhhyyyh.c chyvvvvyvvvvviyv
      PP

    • @JH-qy8no
      @JH-qy8no Před 4 lety +1

      @Namu14 This life without a relationship with the one true God. The skys and the heavens above proclaim the one true God. No excuse for not knowing and honoring the one true God.

    • @SenhorAlien
      @SenhorAlien Před 3 lety +4

      @@JH-qy8no there are multiple versions of the Abrahamic God... look at Judaism, Christianism and Islamism. Same God for all three, but Judaism doesn't accept Christ as the son of god and Christianism doesn't accept Muhammed.

  • @zarathustra8789
    @zarathustra8789 Před 8 lety +154

    The choice of paintings for this video was absolutely top notch! Caravaggio, de la Tour, Rembrandt, Bosch, Goya... A feast for the ears and eyes as well, great job.

  • @chrisorochi6144
    @chrisorochi6144 Před 4 lety +68

    When you pronounce a word in german you do it perfectly, when you pronounce a word in french you do it perfectly, and your english is perfect, that's besides the fact that you have a wonderful voice , just brilliant! i couldn't help but praise your talent.

    • @emo_girlbymgk8181
      @emo_girlbymgk8181 Před 4 lety +2

      chris orochi He’s Swiss so what do you expect.

    • @clementab9953
      @clementab9953 Před 11 měsíci

      I'm a native French speaker and I was about to comment that too, I was already surprised his pronunciation of simple words like "pensées" or "Auvergne" would be flawless (I assume the latter would usually be butchered by non-native French speakers) but when he read that entire aphorism I was just amazed!

    • @clementab9953
      @clementab9953 Před 11 měsíci

      Also being Swiss certainly helps but as far as I can tell not everyone in Switzerland can speak or even merely pronounce a perfect German and French. Either way I think it's quite impressive.

  • @sergeantslaughter5695
    @sergeantslaughter5695 Před 8 lety +60

    I love how whenever I get to know a philosopher and their writing, they're always so much more elegant and charming or passionate and full of conviction rather than the all too familiar and utterly shallow mainstream impression that we have of these figures.

  • @CosmicFaust
    @CosmicFaust Před 8 lety +169

    God, I love existentialism so much! It is such an amazing philosophical school of thought. Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Camus, Sartre, Kierkegaard etc are so brilliant to read. Funnily enough, many people think existentialism = atheism. This isn't true and in fact it was many Christians who started this type of thinking which goes all the way back to Augustine. Other ones are Paul Tillich, Lev Shestov, Karl Barth and even Thomas Aquinas.
    Thanks for making these videos School of Life and please continue because there are amazing.

    • @RediscoveryChannel2021
      @RediscoveryChannel2021 Před 8 lety +2

      Nietzsche was a nihilist

    • @jeremychristian5409
      @jeremychristian5409 Před 8 lety +8

      +Stilgar well the nihilist perspective is in essence the preliminary condition for some of these guys' philosophy, how they proceed with that is what distinguishes them as existentialists.

    • @otherpill7008
      @otherpill7008 Před 8 lety +4

      Whoever thinks existentialism is equivalent to atheism?? That's dumb.

    • @timramone8009
      @timramone8009 Před 8 lety +4

      Camus was absurdist

    • @giopa110888
      @giopa110888 Před 8 lety +1

      existentialism is not quite a philosophy.

  • @juliogarcia4757
    @juliogarcia4757 Před 8 lety +297

    Finally, my favorite. Surprised Pascal's wager wasn't mentioned.

    • @lycralily
      @lycralily Před 8 lety +23

      yeah thats what i was surprised about.. Maybe the intention was to discuss his lesser known ideas

    • @madvolleyball95
      @madvolleyball95 Před 8 lety +6

      If you could briefly explain, what is Pascal's wager??

    • @juliogarcia4757
      @juliogarcia4757 Před 8 lety +57

      +Madison Healey Basically, Pascal there are two scenarios that we are living in, either God exists, or he doesn't. Now let's assume God doesn't exist. If you behave in a way God would approve of if he did exist, in the end it doesn't matter because you're dead but at least you were a good person. Now assuming again he doesn't exist, but you behave anyway you want to, then you had some fun but again it doesn't matter because you're dead and subject to an eternity of nothingness. Let's now assume the other scenario, God DOES exist. Well if you behaved in a way he would want you to then you have a home in heaven after you die. Finally, if God exists and you behaved any way you wanted to, you literally have hell to pay. His conclusion, one that I agree with very much so, is that isn't the obvious choice to believe in God the best option? If God doesn't exist then nothing matters anyway, but if he does then you have all to gain and everything to lose?

    • @kamielheeres8687
      @kamielheeres8687 Před 8 lety +64

      To be honest I never found pascal's wager to be very convincing. How could you possibly know what god aproves of? Maybe he doesn't want you to believe in him and sends you to hell otherwise. Maybe he sends you to hell for an offence you never thoght about. Pascal's wager is basically a false dichotomy because the possiblities are endless.

    • @juliogarcia4757
      @juliogarcia4757 Před 8 lety +13

      +Kamiel Heeres I disagree with you. I believe in Jesus Christ, and I know what he wants, he says so in the bible. Now I could never be perfect like him, no one can. But I believe and repent, that's why he died on the cross. I know you don't believe, and that's fine, but when it comes to Christ, we know what he wants

  • @ThePeaceableKingdom
    @ThePeaceableKingdom Před 8 lety +475

    Life is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering...
    but it's all over much too soon.

    • @ThePeaceableKingdom
      @ThePeaceableKingdom Před 8 lety +7

      Deadman
      Lol! That's the plaintive song of a whole lot of current 26 year olds contemplating their student debt... :)

    • @ikhideojeikere8775
      @ikhideojeikere8775 Před 8 lety +6

      Annie Hall?

    • @bernardblack3124
      @bernardblack3124 Před 8 lety +59

      "Oh boy, the food in this place is horrible."
      "And in such small portions."

    • @ThePeaceableKingdom
      @ThePeaceableKingdom Před 8 lety +3

      Ikhide Ojeikere
      "Annie Hall?"
      It may be. When I added it to my quote file I didn't include what I saw / heard / read it in, but it is by Woody Allen.

    • @paulohyp
      @paulohyp Před 5 lety

      How To overcome boredom? 😪

  • @SuperGreatSphinx
    @SuperGreatSphinx Před 8 lety +197

    "Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. Love still stands when all else has fallen."
    ― Blaise Pascal

    • @pgehred1
      @pgehred1 Před 5 lety +19

      Thanks for sharing this. This quote gets at the problem with this video: it misses many of the most interesting parts of Pascal's thinking in a way that is too reductionist. I think Pascal is best understood as a sort of precursor Christian Existentialist, and many of his insights are profound. As but one example:
      "Hearts have reasons, that reason knows not of." - Blaise Pascal

    • @abellizandro3550
      @abellizandro3550 Před 5 lety +9

      Stella Maris 😊 and God is love

    • @Yugaldalgo
      @Yugaldalgo Před 5 lety +4

      “Walter”
      - Walter

    • @mj2495
      @mj2495 Před 5 lety +3

      Ah yes, a shot of sunny optimism once in a while...

    • @jlupus8804
      @jlupus8804 Před 4 lety +6

      Smh he’s ripping off 1st Corinthians 13 like a generic Romcom.

  • @yonabon
    @yonabon Před 2 lety +8

    People nowadays are not comfortable with boredom and being with your own thoughts. I love that quote " All of man's unhapiness comes from his inability to stay peacefully alone in his room". I find that true. When I was a kid I spent hours thinking about the smallest things and life. I feel that created a strong root of presence in life. Now any free time I get I make sure to consume loads of media in the idea of "learning" because sitting with my thoughts is very uncomfortable but I never sit with my own thoughts and make realizations in my own life and I've strayed from the curious child that I used to be. It's painful being a human knowing the solution but still not fixing it.

  • @Leon-pn6rb
    @Leon-pn6rb Před 8 lety +46

    5:53
    damn....too accurate , Pascal . Hitting all the right spots ,man.
    I wish all philosophy was taught like this.

    • @darksteiner631
      @darksteiner631 Před 4 lety

      Philosophy cannot be taught for it is something that one is to explore. You should make your own thoughts and ideas of what you base for your philosophy, do not turn and exactly copy those before us. But make one of yourself for you are able to gain the exhilaration and the feel of a better life.

    • @TheRaveJunkie
      @TheRaveJunkie Před 3 lety +1

      @@darksteiner631 "Philosophy cannot be taught for it is something that one is to explore."
      - Such a load of horseshit, it has been taught for centuries.
      "You should make your own thoughts and ideas of what you base for your philosophy, do not turn and exactly copy those before us."
      - That is simply impossible, nothing you think up as an idea is independent of others that came before it. Nothing you do is, in the narrow sense, original and you don't even need idealistic/platonic nonsense to explain this.
      "But make one of yourself for you are able to gain the exhilaration and the feel of a better life."
      - Philosophy, which you obviously know very little of, is not self-help literature.

  • @jackcarraway4707
    @jackcarraway4707 Před 3 lety +123

    Ironically, Pascal's thinking was already in the Bible: Ecclesiastes.
    A criminally overlooked book in the Bible, Ecclesiastes is one of the most powerful works in philosophy. Here, presumably King Solomon asks an age old question: what is the meaning of life?
    Step back and think about that. Solomon was one of if not THE richest, wisest and most powerful people in the world at the point. He had everything a man can only dream having a fraction of, but even he questioned the meaning to life.
    He tried everything to solve this riddle: works, wisdom, pleasure, etc. yet he came to the same conclusion for all of them: they were all ultimately meaningless.
    "Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity." In Hebrew, the word for vanity translates roughly to "smoke" or "vapor"; it's seemingly there, yet whwn you try to grab it ijust disappears.
    A dreary outlook on life, yet Solomon, who at this point spent years of apostasy from God, found the solution to this seemingly impossible to answer question at the end of the book: "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."

    • @jwichmann1306
      @jwichmann1306 Před 2 lety +2

      It's in Tolstoy too

    • @Frankoaks277
      @Frankoaks277 Před 2 lety +3

      Excellent perception jack, the book of Ecclesiastes and the other books of Solomon (proverbs, songs of Solomon, Ecclesiastes) are great reads for any philosophers👏

    • @Myrdden71
      @Myrdden71 Před 11 měsíci

      They are taught together in many classical education classrooms (private schools). :)

    • @julian_ossuna
      @julian_ossuna Před 3 měsíci

      I was here thinking exactly that. The more inquisitive, contemplative one is (characters such as Solomon, Pascal and philosophers in general), the more one is aware of and tortured by the apparent emptiness of existence.
      But I believe, as they concluded too, that there is an ultimate meaning, which lies with the Creator of man.
      Think of this: God's creation of man implies that there's something worthwhile, meaningful about the project - a reason to do it, value in doing it.
      The only thing capable of stopping the ever receding chain of "why's" regarding the meaning of existence is LOVE. The purpose of man is not an instrumental one. He is not the means to an end. God created man because he loves him, and he would find his purpose in loving God back (in Solomon's words, 'to fear God'). That's the very reason why we were endowed with freedom, so that our love would not be false, robotic, but spontaneous, genuine.
      Love - that's the answer to the ultimate "why".

  • @sliceofbread29yrago52
    @sliceofbread29yrago52 Před 8 lety +145

    One of Pascal's Greatest Quote-
    -
    "God either IS or he IS NOT, let us wager the gains and loss. if he IS, we gain all, if he IS NOT we loss nothing, let us Wager then without hesitation that HE IS."

    • @xenophon5354
      @xenophon5354 Před 8 lety +13

      This presumes that god is petty and punishes nonbelievers: if he IS and we do not believe, we miss on gaining all. Which is as far from god, at least the Christian god, as one can get.

    • @sliceofbread29yrago52
      @sliceofbread29yrago52 Před 8 lety +6

      Tom Rundell Who said he Punishes Non-believers?

    • @lizicadumitru9683
      @lizicadumitru9683 Před 8 lety +5

      +Plato Christ condemns nonbelievers - John 3:16.

    • @sliceofbread29yrago52
      @sliceofbread29yrago52 Před 8 lety +18

      Lizica Dumitru Nope It says "There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does NOT believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son"
      Meaning if one departs themselves from the light you have now adopted the dark, and so condemn yourself by your own doing.

    • @lizicadumitru9683
      @lizicadumitru9683 Před 8 lety +4

      +Plato Well played sir :o)

  • @cakeisavegatable
    @cakeisavegatable Před 2 lety +6

    It is SO impressive that this man drew these conclusions 400 years ago. The concept of being alone with oneself and that "belief is a wise wager" is the essence of modern therapy (with the understanding that religion is subjective depending on the client/patient). Really brilliant, especially considering that he had fallen ill when he wrote this and was most likely reflecting on his own existence.

  • @MegaBdboy
    @MegaBdboy Před 8 lety +943

    Please talk louder i can't hear you when i'm eating my cereals.

  • @buddhabillybob
    @buddhabillybob Před 8 lety +10

    This was the first book of philosophy that I ever read. To this day, I am grateful.

  • @prof.leomilani4742
    @prof.leomilani4742 Před 2 lety +5

    You guys make such an incredible work. I'm a Philosophy teacher and have been using so much your videos for educational purpose!! Thank you so much!!

  • @gtabigfan34
    @gtabigfan34 Před 8 lety +109

    What do you think about Marcus Aurelius? Yeah, He is a statesman but He wrote a great philosophy book.

  • @m.b.crawford5464
    @m.b.crawford5464 Před 2 lety +1

    The video correctly notes that the second, theological part of the Pensees isn't as influential as the first. However, this doesn't mean you should abandon the entire formula of the work and read it through a humanist lens like Alain de Botton does here. The whole drift of the book is that people are too wretched to fix themselves. It is only through seeking something outside yourself (Christ in this case) that any sort of salvation or improvement can be attained. This thought still holds today if you consider that the age of reason didn't lead to the utopia it promised, quite the opposite (only hinted at in the video). A major idea of the Pensees not mentioned is that reason is subservient to the heart in more ways than we realize. Pascal unraveled the disputes about the head and the heart in strikingly original ways, and his analysis still can serve as an antidote to scientism today. Also not mentioned were his interesting views on habit, way ahead of his time, and the brilliant essay he wrote on love.

  • @NKLsalad
    @NKLsalad Před 8 lety +90

    are you kidding me, I love being alone with my thoughts.

    • @kaunisrumilus
      @kaunisrumilus Před 4 lety +6

      You are doing good then👏👏 Don't let outside forces rip that away from you.. Lieing that you need to waste yout life pursuing shit that will never make you happier than literally that... Being happy and content with just yourself.

    • @alisterclemons7394
      @alisterclemons7394 Před 4 lety +1

      "We buy things we don't need, to impress people we don't like."
      -Tyler Durden-

    • @virghoe6179
      @virghoe6179 Před 4 lety +2

      Same. Hi fellow introvert!

    • @brandeeno2846
      @brandeeno2846 Před 3 lety

      It’s good that you do, yet if you are for too long, you start to go crazy.

    • @SEVENFLORES
      @SEVENFLORES Před 2 lety

      I don’t think you get it.

  • @navyforeveryoungjean-phili5940

    I have to pause and say that this speaker has one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard from An orator and his French is so beautiful give him a prize give him a raise give him a bonus

  • @ItachiUchiha-qx7xo
    @ItachiUchiha-qx7xo Před 4 lety +25

    Gosh the Christian tradition sure has a lot of brilliant minds apart of their history

    • @kapital6501
      @kapital6501 Před 3 lety +5

      Christian is the religion of the west, and you're watching a series about western philosophy so...

    • @kylevicory2688
      @kylevicory2688 Před 3 lety +3

      @@kapital6501 Pascal was a theological anchor in the enlightenment when the church was going through a very liberal transformation. Just because the title of this video suggests he was nothing more than a philosopher, doesn't reveal the fact he was a grounded biblical christian.

    • @sickboy703
      @sickboy703 Před 3 lety +2

      Be careful, you're going to cut yourself with all that edge!

  • @musicraper345
    @musicraper345 Před 8 lety +6

    Fantastic! An amazing thinker and a huge comfort! So much wisdom

  • @quintustheophilus9550
    @quintustheophilus9550 Před 8 lety +31

    Gottfried Leibniz! He has topics likes Leibniz's Law, his proof for the existance of God, monads, best of all possible worlds , principle of sufficient reason , etc

  • @niksteens07
    @niksteens07 Před 4 lety +1

    in short pascal's philosophy is so depressing it makes the side i saw last week a miracle bringing me immense joy

  • @SonaliMankaSingh
    @SonaliMankaSingh Před 8 lety +54

    I thought this was PhilosophyTube. Good to hear your voice, though. It calms when I'm feeling overly anxious :D

    • @salmachi9836
      @salmachi9836 Před 8 lety +2

      I like that expression " PhilosophyTube "

    • @SonaliMankaSingh
      @SonaliMankaSingh Před 8 lety +6

      Salma Chikhaoui It's another YT channel. Great name.

    • @terribletallrus6520
      @terribletallrus6520 Před 8 lety +1

      Yellow background, cutout of the personality on it. Pretty School-of-Lifey, if you ask me. ;) I follow Philosophy Tube too. Another great channel. Practical.

    • @andrewlemay2491
      @andrewlemay2491 Před 8 lety +2

      for real that voice

  • @robertoquezada3045
    @robertoquezada3045 Před 8 lety +12

    Pascal is so amazing

  • @naoh50
    @naoh50 Před 8 lety +96

    Please please please do Avicenna and Averroes. I really like your channel.

    • @persianhillbilly9642
      @persianhillbilly9642 Před 8 lety +4

      Agree

    • @metalfungirl
      @metalfungirl Před 7 lety +13

      Islam is the same. it's (unfortunately) muslims who lost the true essence of the religion while meandering on futilities. Please be more considerate of other's feelings when saying you hate their belief.

  • @andimatrus
    @andimatrus Před 9 měsíci +1

    I like pessimistics, given I am one of them, why live your life throught hope, when we all know the end? The best thing you can do is live your life knowing everything can be worse but you are still fortunated to be alive and have conciousness of it.

  • @processrauwill7922
    @processrauwill7922 Před 2 lety +5

    I'm still deciding how to feel about Pascal, but when I was reading Pensees, his quote, "Man greatness comes from knowing he is wretched" was very profound. Also his ruminations on the paradox of existence are awesome. I also like that he's Christian, but I worry his cynicism may blind him. He insists on the meaninglessness of the universe which according to his own tradition is incarnated with the logos.
    Edit: also that part at the 6 minute mark was incredibly based

    • @pitertauer3168
      @pitertauer3168 Před 5 měsíci

      If you read Ecclesiastes (or Qohelet) you fan find this very point addressed, even if you don’t believe hope you can enjoy it

  • @FarisHejazin
    @FarisHejazin Před 6 lety +1

    When are we all going to gather for an uprising to help us all? A revolution of compassion.

  • @Master2594212
    @Master2594212 Před 5 lety +21

    Thank you for that reference to the hydraulic press, which works by Pascal's principle, at 7:15
    -A physics teacher

  • @BDBL9
    @BDBL9 Před 5 lety +1

    What a wonderful visual display of detailed part of pictures which fits into the meaning of the speech

  • @luisuicabcanche2833
    @luisuicabcanche2833 Před 6 lety +4

    Gracias por tomarse la libertad de subtitularlo, me es de gran ayuda.

  • @BrianMcInnis87
    @BrianMcInnis87 Před 8 lety +5

    'inability to stay peacefully alone in his room'? That comes as news to me and millions upon millions of others.

    • @sambeard5208
      @sambeard5208 Před 4 lety

      for how long are you happy to stay alone in your room? a day? a week? a month? a year?

  • @jaimeogas
    @jaimeogas Před 8 lety +27

    The way Alain described Pascal's Pensees reminds me of the Book of Ecclesiastes.

    • @JH-qy8no
      @JH-qy8no Před 5 lety +1

      Absolutely!

    • @gforcedod
      @gforcedod Před 5 lety +1

      Well big part of Christianity it’s plagiarism of Judaism. And Big part Judaism is plagiarism of Egyptian priest proverbs. The Ecclesiastes book was written between 450-200 Bc which means it has great deal of Greek philosophy there also. They were such great books that made people believe for thousands of years in Mystical beens.

    • @abelphilosophy4835
      @abelphilosophy4835 Před 5 lety

      Gazmend Doda do you truly believe such a thing?

    • @phillip2454
      @phillip2454 Před 4 lety +2

      @@abelphilosophy4835 of course, anything to smear Christianity

    • @jlupus8804
      @jlupus8804 Před 4 lety +5

      Plagiarism? Christianity is a continuation. It’s all intellectual property for the public.
      Citation needed on those Egyptian Proverbs.

  • @glennward5898
    @glennward5898 Před 5 lety +2

    Blaise Pascal 1623-1662
    Mathematician, Physicist, Philosopher, Inventor.
    Pioneer of Probability Theory
    "There are two kinds of people one can call reasonable:
    Those who serve God with all their heart because they know him
    And those who seek him with all their heart because they do not know him."

  • @turtleexpress4882
    @turtleexpress4882 Před 7 lety +3

    I really really love your videos about philosophy and thinkers. I cannot wait to read your book. Thanks for all your great work.

  • @mditt7
    @mditt7 Před 10 měsíci

    Pascal was a genius. He knew The Power of The Cross and that it is indeed our only real albeit paradoxical source of authentic joy. By means of dark pessimism, he highlighted the reality of and hope in The Divine Light.

  • @leylitarab3
    @leylitarab3 Před 5 lety +4

    People don't like loneliness. Loneliness is not loved because of the sore wounds, the problems make us think.

  • @frankupton5821
    @frankupton5821 Před 7 lety

    A pessimist is a person who only ever receives PLEASANT surprises.

  • @MarkosAllen
    @MarkosAllen Před 8 lety +17

    You didn't discuss Pascal's Wager??? That's the most important philosophical argument ever made.

    • @logictruth1
      @logictruth1 Před 8 lety +8

      Also not that impresive. You literally hear that from every religious person ever who has never heard of him before...

    • @logictruth1
      @logictruth1 Před 8 lety

      Jacob Hall
      logical? yes, no doubt about it. Biase seems more like the problem you have.
      If you are reducing a scenario to it's core elements - say religion vs no religion instead of hundreds of specific religious views you will still apply logic to what you have which is very much sound. It might not give you the correct result if applyed to the real world like say basic physics principles (ex: throwing a ball in a specific direction accounting for the external force applied to get the ball moving as well as gravity but without air currents to calculate where it will land) but it is nevertheless a logical conclusion on paper.

    • @logictruth1
      @logictruth1 Před 8 lety +1

      Jacob Hall
      On a sidenote. What makes you think humanity CAN discover and solve everything?

    • @trevorbyrne4668
      @trevorbyrne4668 Před 8 lety

      +Johan Sigg Maybe the Wager is so open to caricature because it is itself a kind of caricature of human belief and its workings? Taken on its own, it seems to me flimsy, silly, even arrogant. When we add in Pascal's own beliefs, arguments and assumptions, it seems no more worthy: just longer. He makes huge assumptions about the nature of reality, and the nature of humanity, to get to the point where he can posit his snappy Wager. I recognise little in him or this thought (his wild, fearful thought) which I can relate to, and the same goes for many people (increasingly many people). The Wager has no power to me because I don't share Pascal's fears, and I believe his fears unfounded (and a contributor to his awful death before 40). His premises are screwy (to me). So many assumptions, so much magical thinking. He presents the Wager in such a way that it'd be silly not to accept it: in its very construction it's arrogant, and takes pride in its own presumptions.

    • @logictruth1
      @logictruth1 Před 8 lety +1

      Jacob Hall
      So you have faith in things you cannot prove?

  • @paulsanar8260
    @paulsanar8260 Před rokem +2

    Maybe missing the greatest quote:
    “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made know through Jesus Christ.”

  • @UncombedHair
    @UncombedHair Před 8 lety +6

    FINALLY BLAISE PASCAL!!!

  • @CharlieJAitch
    @CharlieJAitch Před 8 lety +1

    Pascal is very clearly this channel's favourite philosopher

  • @lobstertelephone8907
    @lobstertelephone8907 Před 6 lety +7

    "Being famous" *shows pascal with bass guitar*

  • @ssonghaii
    @ssonghaii Před 5 lety +2

    Pascal's opinions are not depressing & dismal. It's refreshing to hear someone objectively critique humanity and expose it for what it truly is. Sick of wholesome-normal yuppies who've never experienced u.s./nato terrorism (bombing, occupations, sanctions etc) crowing their narcissistic glass-half-full rubbish on social media & tv

    • @Yugaldalgo
      @Yugaldalgo Před 5 lety +2

      When the puzzle says 2-4 years but you complete it in 5 months

  • @hexa3389
    @hexa3389 Před 4 lety +4

    Every philosopher: we should study philosophy to live better
    Pascal: let's die

    • @Rod1712
      @Rod1712 Před 3 lety

      he was a fool 🤷‍♂️

  • @JamesRichardWiley
    @JamesRichardWiley Před 5 lety +2

    Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic theologian.
    "Pascal argues that a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not actually exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas he stands to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (eternity in Hell)." Wikipedia.
    In other words Pascal did not believe the Hebrew god Yahweh existed but was afraid of eternal torture in hell if he was wrong.

  • @bernardblack3124
    @bernardblack3124 Před 8 lety +3

    07:01 That was probably the funniest bit of animation I've seen in a long time.

  • @williamgunderson7365
    @williamgunderson7365 Před 6 lety

    One of the greatest channels in CZcams history.

  • @fr0zty86
    @fr0zty86 Před 7 lety +4

    Mind blown! came here thinking he only made the first calculator, but WOW!

  • @evilcam
    @evilcam Před 8 lety +1

    I think Pascal was kind of an intermediary Stoic. Like the stoics, he seemed to think that just preparing yourself for the worst will make it so that when the worst comes, you're not surprised, so you don't really react negatively to it. You just try to dig your way out of it, accepting it all immediately. You certainly painted it in that sort of light with this, though obviously his core moral philosophy differed from the actual Stoics.
    Pascal is a boss, and I'm surprised you like him this much, Alain. Glad to hear it, and I really enjoyed this video.

  • @jesseishere9959
    @jesseishere9959 Před 5 lety +32

    I like how Pascal is a extremely religious philosopher who believes in GOD and would like people to see the world for what it is and then turn to GOD.

    • @Rod1712
      @Rod1712 Před 3 lety +1

      he was a fool 🤮

    • @MagnusSigurd8165
      @MagnusSigurd8165 Před 2 lety

      @@Rod1712 Average internet atheist get out of your mom's basement and read a book for once...
      You are nothing...

    • @MagnusSigurd8165
      @MagnusSigurd8165 Před 2 lety +1

      @@Rod1712 your thinking skills reaches subzero levels...

    • @MagnusSigurd8165
      @MagnusSigurd8165 Před 2 lety

      @@Rod1712 i do not think that you are smart enough to know how stupid you sound...

    • @Rod1712
      @Rod1712 Před 2 lety

      @@MagnusSigurd8165 you're another primate who believes everything you read or hear.

  • @invertedfreak
    @invertedfreak Před 6 lety +2

    "Some desire love! Others family! Only then did I realize the truth...the core of humanity...is conflict. They fight. Steal. Kill. This is humanity in its purest form!"
    - Adam, from Nier Automata

  • @georgeyau98
    @georgeyau98 Před 8 lety +4

    just a while ago i asked for pascal,
    then forgot about it,
    AND NOW WE HAVE PASCAL :D :D :D

  • @Atari11000
    @Atari11000 Před 4 lety

    This is helping me with my philosophy class in community college. I understand things my book of Korman didn’t explain since my course focuses on philosophical argumentation instead of ethics and the philosophers behind those ethics. Thank you.

  • @nsshero
    @nsshero Před 5 lety +7

    You should do a video on French Philosopher and Theologian Jacques Ellul!

  • @dianaraabarca5576
    @dianaraabarca5576 Před 6 lety +1

    It's wonderful that the man who invented probability was such a staunch believer when the main atheistic argument hinges on probability. Reminds me of Corinthians 1:19 " I will destroy the wisdom of the wise & the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."

  • @mitchellradspinner4491
    @mitchellradspinner4491 Před 5 lety +5

    I feel like this whole argument that his cynicism can cheer us from the depths of despair is assumed because this hasn’t been my experience.

  • @danvee3928
    @danvee3928 Před 2 lety

    The graphics on this channel are nothing shorter than incredible.

  • @iGnominee
    @iGnominee Před 7 lety +3

    Dropping truth and wisdom, you are an awesome youtuber. Subscribed!

  • @aidaszavackas5613
    @aidaszavackas5613 Před 3 lety +1

    I'm flabbergasted by how much Pascal's thought of pessimism and suffering that derrives from the human innate imperfection (original sin one might say) correlates with the ideas of J. B. Peterson. I can't stop thinking that Peterson's work is the perfect continuation of Pascal's pessimistic view. Wonder if he's aware of Pascal's work. Am I the only one?

    • @junesilvermanb2979
      @junesilvermanb2979 Před 3 lety +1

      Jordan Bernt Peterson (born 12 June 1962) is a Canadian professor of psychology at the University of Toronto,
      a clinical psychologist, and CZcams personality.
      He began to receive widespread attention in the late 2010s for his conservative views on cultural and political issues.

  • @BrainySharkBestmobileplayer

    My name is Blaise

  • @pascalswager9100
    @pascalswager9100 Před 3 lety +2

    Love is the meaning to life!

    • @junesilvermanb2979
      @junesilvermanb2979 Před 3 lety +2

      Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope;
      it can outlast anything.
      Love still stands when all else has fallen.

  • @awaddellx
    @awaddellx Před 3 lety +4

    Personally, I’d rather sit in my bed by myself til noon to reflect and ponder 😏

  • @Wagtail333
    @Wagtail333 Před rokem +1

    Absolutely wonderful presentation. Apart from the fact that both your English and French are beautiful, you also made me laugh out loud. I am not sure why, however I simply had to laugh. Good stuff. I am now a subscriber, after crossing your path by sheer boredom. God Bless.

  • @DetectivePoofPoof
    @DetectivePoofPoof Před 8 lety +6

    So - We are inherently broken, confused creatures aimlessly wondering around a life that mostly consists of misery, therefore the only logical conclusion is to worship the thing which is believed to be responsible for all of this?
    No wonder that last part wasn't as popular as his other ideas.

    • @charlesf9050
      @charlesf9050 Před 3 lety +1

      People don't believe in God because it isn't as easy as believing in God. That is the chief reason people today are atheists. If you actually seriously believe in God you have to make some effort to change your behavior, which is too hard for many people in developed countries

  • @blakejohnson1016
    @blakejohnson1016 Před 5 lety +2

    My name Błażej is a polish equivalent of Blaise. It's really interesting to sometimes ask your parents why they named you

  • @folumb
    @folumb Před 8 lety +6

    Please do Gottfried Leibniz!! Similar time period?

  • @lowpasslife
    @lowpasslife Před 3 lety +1

    That illustration with pascal's law at 7:20 was brilliant.

  • @ItAllGoodInThaHood
    @ItAllGoodInThaHood Před 8 lety +13

    'What's so right about God'..'Father Ted' is listed...Brilliant :L

  • @marlonhengtgen3004
    @marlonhengtgen3004 Před 4 lety +1

    This channel is the greatest thing I've discovered

  • @paolofumarola2319
    @paolofumarola2319 Před 5 lety +16

    Wow. I'm in awe. You smear religion even on a video regarding Pascal? I truly am baffled. His religious thought is all about putting forward the idea that one day we are going to die and that in the meantime we're living this wierd experience that life is, something that could arguably be considered as mostly suffering. Men are wretched beyond comprihension, as not even their descendants are going to live forever, once the last stars are going to extinguish, and if we had to choose between believing and not believing, the consequence of the two would be heaven- nothing and hell- nothing, but I guess that's what happens when people criticize something they know very little of.

  • @AmyAmy-er8bp
    @AmyAmy-er8bp Před 3 měsíci

    To get from Point A to Point B you need Dot theory. There is a dot AB . Guess what's in it. So we measure Energy... Es kez Distance es kez work and so on...

  • @AEOdiakosa1
    @AEOdiakosa1 Před 8 lety +32

    Do Wittgenstein please!

    • @isabellabornberg2153
      @isabellabornberg2153 Před 8 lety +4

      they already have

    • @Khanh1321
      @Khanh1321 Před 8 lety +4

      +K E N T G E N calm down! It was a simple mistake.

    • @JohnC-iv8jo
      @JohnC-iv8jo Před 8 lety +1

      +The School of Life thank you for the presentations your team have made thus far

    • @dimitrijekesic3206
      @dimitrijekesic3206 Před 8 lety +1

      Please do Zhuang Zi and the philosophy of Daosim!

    • @Anicca88
      @Anicca88 Před 8 lety +1

      Dumbass

  • @jackbogan7415
    @jackbogan7415 Před 5 lety

    “Justice is subject to dispute might is easily recognized and is not disputed so we cannot give might to justice because might has gain said justice”

  • @loveitorhateit127
    @loveitorhateit127 Před 8 lety +17

    Wait, you got through that whole video without mentioning his Wager? That's quite likely his most famous and most ridiculous assertion while it has plagued religious discourse since the day it was introduced.

    • @kuenka91
      @kuenka91 Před 8 lety +1

      ikr that is why i cant take him seriously when he put that wager he basically admitted "i dont really believe this but... its practical"

    • @lizicadumitru9683
      @lizicadumitru9683 Před 8 lety +2

      +kuenka91 He may have been pragmatic as well. Can't blame him for that.

    • @sc7597
      @sc7597 Před 8 lety +1

      Why ridiculous?

    • @kuenka91
      @kuenka91 Před 8 lety

      its bizarre he acknowledges the absurd of existence he recognizes it but indulges himself with this well drug that is the idea of god and not the idea of a creator but the very specific idea of christianism welp what can i say he is only human in the end at least he was man enough to acknowledge the hypocrisy of some of his statements to a degree and that is a lot for someone at his time

    • @sc7597
      @sc7597 Před 8 lety

      kuenka91 "idea of god and not the idea of a creator..." what makes you say that?

  • @wdavis6814
    @wdavis6814 Před 5 lety

    I liked that Pascal's Law example with the rainbow. Fine touch.

  • @smhdpt12
    @smhdpt12 Před 8 lety +6

    Read Buddhism. Sums up everything.

  • @Ericlau1126
    @Ericlau1126 Před 8 lety +1

    Thanks The School of Life, you lead me to the book of Pensees and Pascal :) I love Pascal now.

  • @equalitystateofmind5412
    @equalitystateofmind5412 Před 8 lety +14

    Hasn't religion's solution to this Earthly pessimism been to deny mortality all together?

    • @JumpNationFilms
      @JumpNationFilms Před 8 lety

      Ez fix

    • @equalitystateofmind5412
      @equalitystateofmind5412 Před 8 lety

      Yes, mortality with two Ts. And I don't think most mainstream Jewish folks believe in a literal, personal afterlife, so Mike C was right on that count.

  • @josephdufresne6597
    @josephdufresne6597 Před rokem

    As Frenchman, you're accent when reading French is impeccable

  • @mazirabbasi
    @mazirabbasi Před 6 lety +4

    Basically he just rephrased what Buddha said.

  • @xanathem7
    @xanathem7 Před rokem

    Some are unhappy because they define it as the absence of happiness. We conflate nothingness with unhappiness.

  • @KnuxTube
    @KnuxTube Před 8 lety +27

    You guys should try making a video or two on an Islamic philosopher or go back to another Far Eastern philosopher.

    • @channelx7761
      @channelx7761 Před 8 lety +1

      Zhuangzi would be nice

    • @sarazahoor3110
      @sarazahoor3110 Před 8 lety +2

      Exactly that`s what I was thinking because Muslims rejuvenated Aristotelian philosophy and they had introduced so much in scientific method at that time.

    • @horationelson57
      @horationelson57 Před 5 lety +3

      What?! And thereby dumb-down the channel? There are already plenty of other, fruity, new-agey, 3rd-world-loving places to find content on the net!

  • @kingpethuel210
    @kingpethuel210 Před rokem

    This is one of the best videos I’ve watched on CZcams.

  • @trajan75
    @trajan75 Před 8 lety +32

    The modern secularist is a giddy optimist, but the atheist existentialists Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre etc. are the most depressing writers ever.

    • @bloodbrothera
      @bloodbrothera Před 8 lety +2

      How does Camus relate on the scale of pessimism with the other existentialist writers? I've only read two primary text for existential philosophy and both are Camus. ( The Stranger - Myth of Sisyphus)

    • @G_Rad_Ski
      @G_Rad_Ski Před 8 lety +9

      I disagree to a point. Nietzsche set out to elevate humankind and Sartre had his authenticity. Nietzsche was far more optimistic than say Schopenhauer.

    • @G_Rad_Ski
      @G_Rad_Ski Před 8 lety

      Aaron James Zarathustra's endeavor was for all of humanity vs the last man's. Reread your Nietzsche.

    • @trajan75
      @trajan75 Před 8 lety +2

      Nietzsche was a genius with severe mental problems. He was angry that he was not the Messiah and he hated St Paul. So he created the fake prophet Zarathustra. It was his worst book. Nevertheless, he was the most original thinker of his era

    • @NaZe2020
      @NaZe2020 Před 8 lety +1

      So what do you think of Arthur Schopenhauer?

  • @glowmilk7948
    @glowmilk7948 Před 8 lety +2

    Thanks so much for this video! Very educational, love this channel!

  • @Alverant
    @Alverant Před 8 lety +9

    At least the secular world is making progress towards paradise and has already improved the world. Religion seems to thrive off misery by making vague unconformable promises of an afterlife.
    If Pascal thought boredom was bad, then what did he think heaven would be like when all you do is stroke JHVH's ego for billions of years? I don't think he thought his philosophy through.

  • @jnelsonbrantley
    @jnelsonbrantley Před 2 lety

    You have presented such a lovely lis of philosophers. I cannot help but to wonder are there female philosophers that have made an impact in the field??

  • @fitprotunes
    @fitprotunes Před 8 lety +45

    Sounds like Stoicism

    • @williamleroux6865
      @williamleroux6865 Před 8 lety +5

      "I might well have taken this discourse in an order
      like this: to show the vanity of all conditions of men, to show
      the vanity of ordinary lives, and then the vanity of philosophic
      lives, sceptics, stoics..." Pensées, fragment 61, edition Brunschvicg.

    • @fitprotunes
      @fitprotunes Před 8 lety +8

      Still sounds like Stoicism

    • @williamleroux6865
      @williamleroux6865 Před 8 lety +2

      +fitprotunes whatever

    • @fitprotunes
      @fitprotunes Před 8 lety +42

      Very stoic response

    • @patrickalegria7620
      @patrickalegria7620 Před 5 lety +1

      Jimmy Kay. I agree, sounds like Marcus Aurelius himself.

  • @TerribleShmeltingAccident

    Perfect volume - makes you intentionally listen.

  • @yousefabutazil467
    @yousefabutazil467 Před 8 lety +83

    do some Slavoj Zizek

    • @ConfuzzledTomato
      @ConfuzzledTomato Před 8 lety +24

      May be they're waiting for him to die

    • @thewrathematician1911
      @thewrathematician1911 Před 8 lety +4

      +Revo Red IMO you could apply that term to him loosely. He wasn't a traditional philosopher, but he did explore many philosophical concepts about ethics and epistemology in his contrarian writings.

    • @kadedrury300
      @kadedrury300 Před 7 lety +6

      Christopher Hitchens is not a philosopher. Not even close. He was nothing but a journalist/ political commentator.

  • @johndonwood4305
    @johndonwood4305 Před 5 lety +1

    Love this video about my man Blaise Pascal.

  • @Gibson1961SG
    @Gibson1961SG Před 5 lety +3

    Pascal: We are inherently flawed dark creatures and will never through science, math, and logic achieve any of our utopian ideals. Therefore, it is better to play make believe and assume the utopia already exists and is waiting for us on the otherside of death.

  • @negarh.s.j2368
    @negarh.s.j2368 Před 4 lety +1

    Can u plz also introduce the beatiful represented paintings and works of art and their artists in this video ? Im always asking myself who could be tge artist of these beautiful masterpieces . Tnx for ur perfect videos

  • @Rabbitthat
    @Rabbitthat Před 8 lety +4

    "Father Ted" :D

    • @dsz4445
      @dsz4445 Před 8 lety +1

      Laughed so loud! xD

  • @michaeltheophilus5260
    @michaeltheophilus5260 Před 5 lety +1

    It is ironic tnat by focusing on our aspirations and hopes we forget what we DO have A philosopher like Pascal works to remind us by realizing that our lives are not as necessarily pessimistic as it exponds in the Pansee'