This illuminating and absorbing account of the life of Blaise Pascal is essential reading for anyone interested in how the modern world was formed. Graham Tomlin brings to life Pascal''s intellectual genius and the intensity of his spiritual awakening. He also sheds helpful light on the search for significance in our own age of scientific and technological advance. We are not the first generation to struggle with questions of faith, reason and ultimate meaning - Pascal was already providing brilliant insights over 300 years ago. This new biography will help you to understand Pascal''s world, and our own.>

Autorentext

Graham Tomlin is the Director of the Centre for Cultural Witness, based in Lambeth Palace, and President of St Mellitus College. He was formerly Bishop of Kensington in London. He taught theology in Oxford University and London for many years. He is the author of numerous books and is a regular speaker both nationally and internationally.

Klappentext

'Readable and expert - a brilliant guide to the life and thought of 17th century Europe's supreme polymath'
Tom Holland

'A richly detailed account of Pascal's life and times, which displays an energetic sympathy for Pascal's startling combination of intellectual precocity and humble faith.'
Rory Stewart

'A beautiful, accessible account of one of the era's most remarkable lives'
Katherine Rundell

He lived for just 39 years, yet Blaise Pascal was one of the most remarkable and creative figures of the seventeenth century.

He is known for his famous (though often misunderstood) argument 'the Wager', but there's so much more to him than that. Pascal can lay claim to have built an early version of the modern computer, done ground-breaking work in mathematics and geometry, invented urban bus transport and virtually invented probability theory. He also produced one of the most haunting and effective works of Christian apologetics ever written. He is a major intellectual figure at the beginning of the modern age who blends together in his own person and thinking issues that are critical to our age. Blaise Pascal is therefore a crucial figure: not just in the history of European thought, but for how he can shed light on our many contemporary debates.
From science to scepticism; mystical experience to distraction; religion to politics, self-love and death, Pascal's thinking was far-reaching. In this captivating biography, Graham Tomlin explores Pascal's short but extraordinary life, and the sweeping impact and relevance of his ideas to the modern world.