Pascal's Anguish and Joy

By: Charles S. MacKenzie

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Synopsis: This volume seeks first to outline and to interpret his life, his feelings and his thought, showing something of the influences which shaped both his faith and his doubt. It attaches special significance to the interaction between Blaise and his sister Jacqueline. It describes his quest for an abiding faith. He had faith in reason, but then he doubted reason. He had faith in science, but then he discovered science had its limitations. He had faith in the Roman Catholic Church, but then he questioned the Church. His pilgrimage into certitude and unshakable faith is the subject of chapters one through ten. Secondly, chapters eleven through seventeen describe something of what he said to sceptics and what he says to us moderns as we, in an age of violence, journey from doubt and anguish toward faith and certitude. Throughout this study of Pascal, references to his "Pensees" will be followed by two numbers in parentheses. The first is the number assigned by Lafuma. The second is that assigned by Brunschvicg. The author favors the ordering of Lafuma since it is closer to that intended by Pascal himself. In addition, whenever a reference is made to the "Oeuvres," it refers to Leon Brunschvicg's monumental work listed in the Appendix. This volume has been written in the hope that it will be of assistance to others in their journey from the anguish of doubt to the joy of faith.