Pascal, Blaise
Achievements: One of the greatest intellectuals in Western history: adding machine, barometer, probability.
Born: June 19, 1623; Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne, France
Died: August 19, 1662; Paris, France (Aged 39)
Field & Discipline: Science; Mathematics; Physics; Philosophy; Religious Philosopher
Language: French
Education: At home
Major Works:
"Thoughts on Religion"
"Provincial Letters"
Life & Times:
Pascal read Euclid at the age of 14 and accompanied his father to scientific gatherings in [knew] Mersenne*'s cell, a frequent meeting place for men of science, including [knew] Gassendi* and [knew] Roberval*.
Pascal published his "On Conic Sections," in 1640, at the age of 17. ([amazed] Descartes* refused to believe it was the work of a youth.) It contained Pascal's famous theorem of hexagons, which stated that if any six points on a conic section (a circle, ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola) are joined by straight lines, and if the sides of the hexagon formed by this are extended, the three pairs of opposite sides will intersect at three points that lie on one straight line.
At 18, Pascal effectively invented the adding machine, a device that, with the simple movements of gears, was able to add, subtract, multiply, divide, carry digits over to the next column, and accurately record totals. He called his machine the "Pascaline,” patenting it in 1644. By 1652, he had produced 50 prototypes. The machines, however, were expensive and he sold few. But they brought him fame, and in 1652, he gave a series of lectures on the machine, and presented one to [gave calculator to] Christina of Sweden*. In a sense, the machine was the first digital calculator, since it operated by counting integers. It was later simplified by [his calculator simplified by] Leibniz*.
In 1646, two disciples of the Abbe de Saint-Cyran, France's foremost exponent of Jansenism, showed up at the Pascal house to tend Pascal's father, who had been injured in a fall. They introduced Pascal to the teaching of the recently deceased Dutch priest [influenced by] Jansen*, who believed in predestination and denied the existence of free will and who profoundly influenced Pascal.
From 1647, Pascal carried out experiments to confirm [confirmed theory of] Torricelli*'s unpopular notion that nature does not, after all, abhor a vacuum. His treatise "New Experiments Concerning Vacuums," published in 1647, added to his reputation as a brilliant thinker, but led to arguments with a number of scientists who did not believe in the existence of a vacuum. To prove his theory, Pascal worked to reproduce and extend Torricelli's experiments on atmospheric pressure at every altitude by constructing different mercury barometers (whose mercury column included an empty space at the top thought to be a vacuum) and measuring air pressure.
Pascal did one set of experiments in Paris in 1647, and in 1648, dispatched his brother-in-law [brother-in-law was] Perier* to do another on top of the Puy de Dome, a mountain in Central France. These famous experiments paved the way for further studies in hydrodynamics and hydrostatics, and in the process, Pascal invented the syringe, perfected the barometer, and created the hydraulic press. The press operated on a physical principle, later named "Pascal's principle," first formulated by Pascal in "Treatise on the Equilibrium of Liquids and the Weight of Air Mass"(1653). It held that pressure applied to a contained liquid is transmitted unreduced throughout the liquid irrespective of the area over which the pressure is applied.
By 1648, [influenced by] Mazarin*'s tax reforms were adversely affecting the Pascal family. Pascal's tax-collector father was forced to retire and soon died. Pascal himself, never robust, fell seriously ill, and did not recover completely for three years. In 1652, his younger sister, [sister was] Jacqueline Pascal*, also a dedicated Jansenist, entered the convent of Port Royal, about 20 miles south-west of Paris. Once he had recovered, Pascal spent 1651-54 in intense scientific activity. He wrote treatises on the equilibrium of liquid solutions, on the weight and density of air, and on the arithmetic triangle. In 1654, he began to correspond with celebrated mathematician [corresponded with] Fermat* on the study of chance. He developed the correspondence into an essay laying the basis for the probability theory included in his "Treatise on the Arithmetical Triangle.”
In 1654, Pascal had the first of two revelations that led him to believe that his religious attitude had been too intellectual and remote, and that he must renounce the world and surrender to Jesus Christ. In January, 1655, he joined his sister at the convent of Port-Royal and gave up mathematics and his social life almost completely. He wrote only at the convent's request and never again published in his own name. At the convent, Pascal entered the fight between the Jansenists and the Jesuits of the Sorbonne University in Paris. The Jesuits had publicly denounced the leading Jansenist theologian [defended] Arnauld* as a heretic. In 18 brilliant anonymous pamphlets, the "Provincial Letters" (1656-57), Pascal accused the Jesuits of spouting meaningless jargon, casuistry, and moral laxity. The letters remain one of the masterpieces of French satire and influenced [influenced] Voltaire*.
Pascal's most famous work in religious philosophy "Thoughts on Religion," was published in 1669: a collection of meditations on human suffering and faith in God. These "Thoughts" were intended as notes for a casebook on Christian truths, provisionally entitled "Apologia for the Christian Religion," which remained unfinished at his death. The "Thoughts" contain insights into religious truths, coupled with skepticism of rationalist thought and theology. The style of writing owes much to the work of [influenced by] Montaigne*.
In 1658, Pascal returned to consider mathematical problems, in particular that of the cycloid, the curve traced by a point on the circumference of a rolling circle. He applied the calculus of indivisibles to the problem of the area of any segment of the cycloid and the center of gravity of any segment, and solved the problems of the volume and surface area of the solid formed by rotating the cycloid about the axis. Pascal then offered two prizes for solutions to these problems, and received replies from the likes of [work related to] Wren*, [work related to] Christiaan Huyghens*, and Pierre Fermat.
In 1659, Pascal composed the "prayer for conversion,” a work that was later greatly admired by English Methodist [admired by] Wesley*. In 1661, despite failing health, he developed a modern city transportation system for which he obtained a patent, and managed to run a system of hansom cabs on the Paris streets with three lines of scheduled stops, the profits going to charity.
Extra Connections:
His work related to that of [work related to] Graunt*, [work related to] Buffon*, and [work related to] Guericke*,
Influenced [influenced] Herder*
[influenced] De Moivre* developed Pascal’s probability work.
[knew] La Rochefoucauld* frequented his friend Sable’s salon.
Assessment: One of the 17th century's most brilliant thinkers and inventors
Oneliner: Blaise Pascal, French math genius
Bibliography:
- Adamson, Donald,Blaise Pascal: Mathematician, Physicist and Thinker about God,Basingstoke: St. Martin"s Press, 1995.
- Collier's Encyclopedia.
- Dictionary of Scientific Biography.
- Encyclopedia Britannica.
Father: Etienne Pascal
Mother: Antoinette Begon
Siblings: Gilberte; Jacqueline
Spouse: None
Children: None