Blaise Pascal
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Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) was a French mathematician, physicist and religious philosopher. Among his contributions to the natural sciences are construction of mechanical calculators, considerations on probability theory, studies of fluids, and clarification of concepts such as pressure and vacuum. Following a profound religious experience in 1654, Pascal abandoned mathematics and physics for philosophy and theology.
See also: Pascal's wager, Pascal (unit), Pascal programming language
Biography
Blaise Pascal was born in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, France on June 19, 1623. His mother died when he was three, and he was raised by his mathematician father, Étienne Pascal (1588-1651).
Computer historians recognise his contribution to their field by his construction at the age of 18 of a mechanical calculator capable of addition and subtraction. He also produced a treatise on conic sections as a young man. In 1654, prompted by a friend interested in gambling problems, he corresponded with Fermat and laid out a simple account of probabilities.
He later formulated Pascal's wager, an argument for the belief in God based on probabilities. His name is also attached to Pascal's triangle, a way to present binomial coefficients, which were, however, known long before his time.
His notable contributions to the fields of the study of fluids (hydrodynamics and hydrostatics) centered around the principles of hydraulic fluids. His inventions include the hydraulic press (using hydraulic pressure to multiply force) and the syringe. He clarified concepts such as pressure (the unit of which bears his name) and vacuum.
Following a profound religious experience in 1654, Pascal abandoned mathematics and physics for philosophy and theology. His most influential work, the Pensées, was never completed, but a version of his notes for that book were published in 1670, 8 years after his death, and it soon became a classic of devotional literature.
Pascal is also known for his attack on Casuistry as a popular ethical method used by Catholic thinkers in the early modern period, (especially the Jesuits) as the mere use of complex reasoning to justify moral laxity.
Pascal died in Paris on August 19, 1662.