Abstract
Pascal’s wager faces serious criticisms and is generally considered unconvincing. We argue that it can make a comeback powered by an unlikely ally: postmodernism. If one denies the existence of objective facts (e.g. about God or His relation to the world), then various non-theological considerations should come to the fore when considering the rationality of religious commitment and the choice of education for one’s children. In fact, we shall argue that, if one genuinely cares about one’s children, then – in many Western countries – one cannot consistently be both secular and post-modernist.
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Notes
According to more radical forms of PM, even constructed facts fall prey to “logocentricism.” Those holding this view might think that Rorty is something of a sell-out, and that the fact that his theory commits no obvious fallacy is itself a symptom of his logocentricism. But thinkers who are unwilling to engage in discourse governed by logic, even as one language game among many, are perhaps beyond the pale of constructive philosophical debate. The Pascal envisioned in this paper might simply walk away from a discussion with such people.
Putnam & Campbell (2010, p. 462)
See recently (Antill 2020).
This objection is raised by Gale (1991, p. 352)
See: Office for National Statistics (2016)
We don’t deny that for some people the “emigration” to a culturally distant religion might work perfectly well and make them very happy. Maybe for them such emigration would be rationally mandated.
For an influential argument for this claim, see Williams (1970).
Indeed, Rorty (1998, p. 87) thinks that claims about human value and claims about neutrinos are in the same boat.
See Snoep (2008).
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Lebens, S., Statman, D. The Unlikely Comeback of Pascal’s Wager: on the Instability of Secular Post-Modernism. Philosophia 51, 337–348 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11406-021-00349-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11406-021-00349-z