Human Happiness (Penguin Great Ideas) - Softcover

Pascal, Blaise

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141042516 ISBN 13: 9780141042510

Publisher: Penguin, 2009

Synopsis

Created by the seventeenth-century philosopher and mathematician Pascal, the essays contained in Human Happiness are a curiously optimistic look at whether humans can ever find satisfaction and real joy in life – or whether a belief in God is a wise gamble at best.

Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves – and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives – and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

About this title

About the Author

Blaise Pascal was born in Clermont in 1623, the son of a government official. During his short life he left his mark on mathematics, physics, religious controversy and literature. A convert to Jansenism, he engaged with gusto in a controversy with the Jesuits, which gave rise to his Lettres Provinciales on which, with the Pensées, his literary fame chiefly rests. A remarkable stylist, he is regarded by many as the greatest of French prose artists. He died, after a long illness, in 1662.

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0141042516
• ISBN 13: 9780141042510
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128