By Zia H Shah MD
Pascal’s wager is a philosophical argument advanced by Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), seventeenth-century French mathematician, philosopher, physicist, and theologian.[1] This argument posits that individuals essentially engage in a life-defining gamble regarding the belief in the existence of God.
Pascal contends that a rational person should adopt a lifestyle consistent with the existence of God and actively strive to believe in God. The reasoning behind this stance lies in the potential outcomes: if God does not exist, the individual incurs only finite losses, potentially sacrificing certain pleasures and luxuries. However, if God does indeed exist, they stand to gain immeasurably, as represented for example by an eternity in Heaven in Abrahamic tradition, while simultaneously avoiding boundless losses associated with an eternity in Hell.[2]
The possibilities defined by Pascal’s wager can be thought of as a decision under uncertainty with the values of the following decision matrix.
| God exists (G) | God does not exist (¬G) | |
|---|---|---|
| Belief (B) | +∞ (infinite gain) | −c (finite loss) |
| Disbelief (¬B) | −∞ (infinite loss) | +c (finite gain) |
Given these values, the option of living as if God exists (B) dominates the option of living as if God does not exist (¬B), as long as one assumes a positive probability that God exists. In other words, the expected value gained by choosing B is greater than or equal to that of choosing ¬B.
In fact, according to decision theory, the only value that matters in the above matrix is the +∞ (infinitely positive).
If you decide to believe in God, atheists’ ask which God? God of Islam, Christianity or Judaism? Let me try to help:
Video: With Robert Kuhn and John Polkinghorn: If Christians, Jews and Atheists Debate, Islam Wins?
My advice to Robert Lawrence Kuhn: At some point after sufficiently examining the evidence we have to take a leap of faith If the Atheists and the Christians Debate, Islam […]
If Christians and Atheists Debate, Islam Wins: Lane versus Millican
Epigraph Say, ‘O People of the Book! come to a word common between us and you — that we worship none but Allah, and that we associate no partner with […]
A British Convert to Islam: ‘I found Qur’an mother of all philosophies’
Promoted post: The Best Muslim, Jewish and Christian Voices for Bringing Peace in Israel and Palestine and The Muslim Times is nominating Senator Bernie Sanders for Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 Source: Arab […]
Categories: Abrahamic faiths, gambling, Monotheism