Pascal, Blaise (1623-1662)

A French mathematician, physicist and philosopher. Picking up on the work of the Italian Torricelli, he pronounced himself in favour of the existence of vacuums and wrote two dissertations on the equilibrium of liquids and the weight of air. He subsequently studied phenomena linked to gambling and in so doing sparked reflections on it which were at the origin of the calculation of probabilities. He then deepened the field of geometry, for which he sidelined the ancient organisation of Euclid, and tackled infinitesimal calculus. The final part of his life was more mystical; he devoted himself to faith and piety. He concluded that only faith in God and the hope for salvation can give meaning to existence. Betting on the existence of God and acting accordingly was thus the safest attitude to adopt.