Pascal’s Wager:
Your Infinite Loss

 

When you win Pascal’s bet, your win is infinite.

• But your risk is finite.

When you lose Pascal’s bet, your loss is infinite.

• But your win is finite.

 

Granted, there are pro’s and con’s about the usefulness, and application of this idea.

Persoanally, it doesn’t promote or scratch the surface on the depth and breadth of genuine Faith in Messiah.

But, what it does do: is crack the door open for the bombastic skeptic that maybe shut down to every other argument and challenge them on a personally selfish, self preservation level. This may crack the dooor open to further and deeper discussions in the future.

Judge for yourself.

Two separate videos below:

 

 

 

Pascal’s Wager: Overview

Pascal’s Wager is a pragmatic philosophical argument developed by Blaise Pascal in the 17th century. Rather than trying to prove God’s existence through evidence or logic, Pascal frames belief in God as a rational bet under uncertainty. He argues that, since reason cannot definitively determine whether God exists, every person is essentially forced to “wager” with their life on the question15.

The wager is structured as follows:

• If you believe in God and God exists, you gain infinite reward (eternal happiness).
• If you believe in God and God does not exist, your loss is finite (perhaps some earthly pleasures foregone).
• If you do not believe in God and God exists, you risk infinite loss (eternal suffering or missing out on infinite happiness).
• If you do not believe in God and God does not exist, your gain is finite.

Given these possible outcomes, Pascal concludes that it is rational to “bet” on God’s existence, since the potential gains (infinite) vastly outweigh the potential losses (finite)125.

Key Features and Assumptions

• The wager is not about proving God’s existence, but about what is the most rational action given uncertainty.
• It uses principles from decision theory, specifically expected value: even if the probability of God’s existence is small, the infinite value of the reward makes belief the rational choice24.
• Pascal assumes that everyone is already “embarked” in this wager simply by living; non-participation is not an option15.

Criticisms and Objections

Several objections have been raised:

• Many Gods Objection: There are many possible gods and religions, each with their own claims, so Pascal’s wager does not specify which god to wager on1.
• Authenticity of Belief: Belief motivated solely by self-interest may not be genuine or acceptable to God1.
• Probability Assignment: The wager assumes a nonzero probability of God’s existence, but strict atheists may assign it zero4.
• Inconsistent Revelations: Competing religious claims make the wager less straightforward1.

Similar Concepts and Models

Pascal’s wager is the most famous example of a pragmatic argument for theism, but it is not alone. Other similar concepts include:

• William James’s “The Will to Believe”: James argued that in certain cases, it is justifiable to believe a proposition without sufficient evidence if the decision is forced, momentous, and not decidable on intellectual grounds alone. This is another pragmatic argument for religious belief, focusing on the practical benefits of belief rather than evidential support3.
• Decision Theory Applications: Pascal’s wager is considered one of the first applications of decision theory to philosophy, weighing outcomes and probabilities to guide rational action under uncertainty15.
• Other Pragmatic Arguments: Some philosophers have developed finite versions of theistic wagers, focusing on finite rewards and losses rather than infinite ones, or have applied similar reasoning to other existential questions (e.g., moral choices with uncertain outcomes)35.

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Summary Table: Pascal’s Wager and Related Models

Model/Argument	Core Idea	Focus	Infinite/Finite Stakes
Pascal’s Wager	Bet on God for infinite gain, finite loss	Existence of God	Infinite
James’s “Will to Believe”	Justified belief when decision is forced and momentous	Religious commitment	Finite/Pragmatic
Decision Theory in Philosophy	Rational action under uncertainty	Various choices	Both
Finite Theistic Wagers	Similar to Pascal, but with finite outcomes	Existence of God	Finite

Conclusion

Pascal’s wager remains a foundational argument in philosophy of religion, notable for its pragmatic and decision-theoretic approach. While it has inspired both support and criticism, it also paved the way for other pragmatic arguments-such as those by William James-that evaluate belief not on evidence alone, but on the practical consequences and rationality of belief under uncertainty35.

Citations:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal’s_wager
2. https://1000wordphilosophy.com/2021/01/04/pascals-wager/
3. https://philarchive.org/archive/JACPAF
4. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pascal-wager/
5. https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/pascals-wager/v-1
6. https://www.catholic.com/qa/what-is-pascals-wager
7. https://mlpp.pressbooks.pub/introphil/chapter/blaise-pascal-the-wager/
8. https://iep.utm.edu/pasc-wag/
9. https://www.reddit.com/r/CatholicPhilosophy/comments/13cgc8n/can_somebody_explain_the_pascals_wager/
10. https://www.gotquestions.org/Pascals-wager.html
11. https://www.reddit.com/r/philosophy/comments/6efc79/pascals_wager_is_awesome_and_misunderstood/
12. https://www.reddit.com/r/philosophy/comments/km0v1d/a_better_version_of_pascals_wager/
13. https://minireview.io/action/pascal-s-wager/games-like
14. https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/115361/pascals-wager-and-paganism
15. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAChristian/comments/1e60wdi/how_does_free_will_exist_if_god_designed_our/
16. https://www.caseagainstfaith.com/atheism-agnosticism–pascals-wager.html
17. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-american-philosophical-association/article/an-epistemic-version-of-pascals-wager/2C5CC121A705C68F82BA23E407E68894

Answer from Perplexity: pplx.ai/share

 

Below is the second witness to the Pascal’s wager connection.