000			01605nam a22002057a 4500
999			_c65192 _d65192
008			200603b2018 ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
020			_a9781316632659
082			_a212.1 BAR-P
100			_aedited by Bartha, Paul
245			_aPascal's wager / _cedited by Paul Bartha and Lawrence Pasternack
260			_aUnited Kingdom _bCambridge University Press _c2018
300			_a335 p.
365			_aGBP _b24.99.
500			_aIn his famous Wager, Blaise Pascal (1623–62) offers the reader an argument that it is rational to strive to believe in God. Philosophical debates about this classic argument have continued until our own times. This volume provides a comprehensive examination of Pascal's Wager, including its theological framework, its place in the history of philosophy, and its importance to contemporary decision theory. The volume starts with a valuable primer on infinity and decision theory for students and non-specialists. A sequence of chapters then examines topics including the Wager's underlying theology, its influence on later philosophical figures, and contemporary analyses of the Wager including Alan Hájek's challenge to its validity, the many gods objection, and the ethics of belief. The final five chapters explore various ways in which the Wager has inspired contemporary decision theory, including questions related to infinite utility, imprecise probabilities, and infinitesimals.
650			_aPhilosophical theology
650			_aFaith and reason--Christianity
650			_aApologetics
650			_aPascal, Blaise, 1623-1662
700			_aPasternack, Lawrence