Journal of East China Normal University (Philosoph ›› 2018, Vol. 50 ›› Issue (4): 81-92.doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5579.2018.04.009

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Whose “Beton God”?: The Relationship between Blaise Pascal and China

JI Jian-xun   

  • Online:2018-07-15 Published:2018-07-26

Abstract: Scholars in the literal circle used to focus on parallel research to explore the possible influence of Pascal, a world-renowned litterateur and thinker, on Chinese culture. In effect, as for his influence on the communication between the Eastern and Western civilizations, he did has some direct and specific factual connections with Chinese culture. Who put forward the influential "Bet on God" first? Based on related original texts, this paper explores the background and intellectual implications of Diego de Pantoja's "Bet on God" in Chinese context and Pascal's doctrine of "gambling", trying to figure out the possible influence between them. Then this paper examines the connection between Pascal and the religions in Chinese society in terms of moral theology, the chronological study of the Bible and the arguments for the existence of God and analyzes the triangle relations among Leibniz, Pascal and the Jesuits in China, hoping to discover the real Pascal in China.

Key words: Blaise Pascal, The Provincial Letters of Blaise Pascal, Pensées, Bet on God, doctrine of “gambling”, Diego de Pantoja