Blaise Pascal (Kerfol)

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) was a French scientist and philosopher. He was born at Clermont-Ferrand as the son of the king's counselor, Étienne Pascal. Pascal's passion for mathematics might be explained by the fact that his father had taught him languages, but no mathematics which aroused his curiosity. At the age of 16, Pascal was already working on complex geometry and established the theorem of the Mystic Hexagram.

After his father had died in 1646, the Pascals came under the influence of the Jansenist movement, but Étienne Pascal disliked the fact that his sister, Jacqueline Pascal, wanted to join them. However, Jacqueline joined them in 1651 and Blaise followed in 1654.

Pascal's most famous work is the Pensées, which was an apology of Christianity. It's about the discussion of reason versus faith, and the free will. Those were also the topics, the Jansenists argued about with the Jesuits. Sadly, the work was unfinished, since Pascal died in 1662, before he was able to complete it. [1]

t's worth mentioning that Edith Wharton considers "The Pensées" as one of her favorite books.[2]

Blaise Pascal Versailles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Pascal#/media/File:Blaise_Pascal_Versailles.JPG

[1] "Blaise Pascal." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Blaise_Pascal.aspx#3

[2] Singley, Carol J. Edith Wharton. Matters of mind and spirit. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. P. 55