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  1. God is, or God is not. Reason cannot decide between the two alternatives.
  2. A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up.
  3. You must wager (it is not optional).
  4. Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.
  5. But some cannot believe. They should then 'at least learn your inability to believe...' and 'Endeavour then to convince' themselves.
  1. God is, or God is not. Reason cannot decide between the two alternatives.
  2. A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up.
  3. You must wager (it is not optional).
  4. Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.
  5. But some cannot believe. They should then 'at least learn your inability to believe...' and 'Endeavour then to convince' themselves.

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

  1. God is, or God is not. Reason cannot decide between the two alternatives.
  2. A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up.
  3. You must wager (it is not optional).
  4. Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.
  5. But some cannot believe. They should then 'at least learn your inability to believe...' and 'Endeavour then to convince' themselves.

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

  1. God is, or God is not. Reason cannot decide between the two alternatives.
  2. A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up.
  3. You must wager (it is not optional).
  4. Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.
  5. But some cannot believe. They should then 'at least learn your inability to believe...' and 'Endeavour then to convince' themselves.

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

  1. God is, or God is not. Reason cannot decide between the two alternatives. God is, or God is not. Reason cannot decide between the two alternatives.
  2. A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up. A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up.
  3. You must wager (it is not optional). You must wager (it is not optional).
  4. Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain. Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.
  5. But some cannot believe. They should then 'at least learn your inability to believe...' and 'Endeavour then to convince' themselves. But some cannot believe. They should then 'at least learn your inability to believe...' and 'Endeavour then to convince' themselves.

The second proposition is that it's a game of head or tails - the tossing of a coin rather than a dice, or one of those multifaceted dice used in D&D games. This repeats the quantification fallacy in the first proposition.

The third proposition states that you must wager. (Is this an argument from ignorance ("assuming that a claim is true because it has not been or cannot be proven false, or vice versa."), "assuming that a claim is true because it has not been or cannot be proven false, or vice versa."?)

The next proposition is weighing the infinite gain of the eternity of heaven against a finite loss of a life spent believing in something that may or may not exist. That one looks like an argument from silence, "where the conclusion is based on the absence of evidence, rather than the existence of evidence""where the conclusion is based on the absence of evidence, rather than the existence of evidence".

  1. God is, or God is not. Reason cannot decide between the two alternatives.
  2. A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up.
  3. You must wager (it is not optional).
  4. Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.
  5. But some cannot believe. They should then 'at least learn your inability to believe...' and 'Endeavour then to convince' themselves.

The second proposition is that it's a game of head or tails - the tossing of a coin rather than a dice, or one of those multifaceted dice used in D&D games. This repeats the quantification fallacy in the first proposition.

The third proposition states that you must wager. (Is this an argument from ignorance ("assuming that a claim is true because it has not been or cannot be proven false, or vice versa.")?

The next proposition is weighing the infinite gain of the eternity of heaven against a finite loss of a life spent believing in something that may or may not exist. That one looks like an argument from silence, "where the conclusion is based on the absence of evidence, rather than the existence of evidence".

  1. God is, or God is not. Reason cannot decide between the two alternatives.
  2. A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up.
  3. You must wager (it is not optional).
  4. Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.
  5. But some cannot believe. They should then 'at least learn your inability to believe...' and 'Endeavour then to convince' themselves.

The second proposition is that it's a game of head or tails the tossing of a coin rather than a dice, or one of those multifaceted dice used in D&D games. This repeats the quantification fallacy in the first proposition.

The third proposition states that you must wager. (Is this an argument from ignorance, "assuming that a claim is true because it has not been or cannot be proven false, or vice versa."?)

The next proposition is weighing the infinite gain of the eternity of heaven against a finite loss of a life spent believing in something that may or may not exist. That one looks like an argument from silence, "where the conclusion is based on the absence of evidence, rather than the existence of evidence".

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Pascal's Wager uses the following logic (excerpts from PenséesPensées, part III, §233):

God is, or God is not. Reason cannot decide between the two alternatives.
A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up.
You must wager (it is not optional).
Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing.
Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.
But some cannot believe. They should then 'at least learn your inability to believe...' and 'Endeavour then to convince' themselves.
  1. God is, or God is not. Reason cannot decide between the two alternatives.
  2. A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up.
  3. You must wager (it is not optional).
  4. Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.
  5. But some cannot believe. They should then 'at least learn your inability to believe...' and 'Endeavour then to convince' themselves.

I have always thought that there was something obnoxious about Pascal's Wager; perhaps it's the logical flaws, or perhaps it's the fact that any deity worth its salt would reject such cold calculations anyway. Or the fact that the posited deity cares about whether you believe in and worship it or not, rather than whether you try to live a good life.

Pascal's Wager uses the following logic (excerpts from Pensées, part III, §233):

God is, or God is not. Reason cannot decide between the two alternatives.
A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up.
You must wager (it is not optional).
Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing.
Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.
But some cannot believe. They should then 'at least learn your inability to believe...' and 'Endeavour then to convince' themselves.

I have always thought that there was something obnoxious about Pascal's Wager; perhaps it's the logical flaws, or perhaps it's the fact that any deity worth its salt would reject such cold calculations anyway.

Pascal's Wager uses the following logic (excerpts from Pensées, part III, §233):

  1. God is, or God is not. Reason cannot decide between the two alternatives.
  2. A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up.
  3. You must wager (it is not optional).
  4. Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.
  5. But some cannot believe. They should then 'at least learn your inability to believe...' and 'Endeavour then to convince' themselves.

I have always thought that there was something obnoxious about Pascal's Wager; perhaps it's the logical flaws, or perhaps it's the fact that any deity worth its salt would reject such cold calculations anyway. Or the fact that the posited deity cares about whether you believe in and worship it or not, rather than whether you try to live a good life.

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