What it Means to be a Thinking Reed

What it Means to be a Thinking Reed

The quotation above, taken from Pascal’s Pensées, seems disparaging of reason. Reason, the cornerstone of the Enlightenment and that which has traditionally been held as the central attribute that differentiates humans from beasts, is here said to be limited and restricted in its powers. Instead of being able to grasp the truth about the universe in its entirety, instead of having that Cartesian hope where one “firm and immovable” (Descartes, p.63) point is established and a systematic understanding of everything takes shape, reason is lowered and its powers are diminished. In many ways “the heart,” an ambiguous and mysterious concept that possesses knowledge that reason can never hope to possess, takes the place of reason. From this quotation one might be tempted to conclude that “the heart” is infinitely more important than reason. Such a conclusion is far from the mark. Pascal ultimately believes that when faced with the challenge of trying to live in the best possible way, people desperately need both reason and “the heart.” Exploring how two quotations taken together define “the mind” and “the heart” and the relationship they have with one another shows that “the mind” and “the heart” must work together to guide human beings on their quest for how to live best. The two quotations that will commence the investigation are as follows:

Principles are felt, propositions proved, and both with certainty though by different means. (p.28)

The heart has its order, the mind has its own, which uses principles and demonstrations…. (p.94)

Before seeing the relationship between “the heart” and “the mind” that is implicit in these two quotations, one must first understand what Pascal means by the order of “the mind.” According to the two quotations the mind’s order includes using “Principles and demonstrations” to prove propositions with certainty. The word “demonstration” denotes a rigorous, methodical procedure that procures certitude. Logical proofs are excellent examples of demonstrations since they utilize sound, truth-preserving laws to deductively move from premises to certain conclusions that follow from those premises. Demonstration, though, is only half of what Pascal believes comprises the order of the mind: “the mind has its own [order], which uses principles and demonstrations” (p.94). The mind needs both principles and demonstrations in order to function, and logical proofs show this to be true.

The first requirement for a logical proof is an assumption; before the truth-preserving laws of logic can be executed, an assumption must first be stated.