Interpreting Pensées through Dionysius Areopagite

Abstract

This paper analyses the hierarchical perspective that Pascal calls the “cause of the effects” and which enables him to turn arguments continually into counterarguments in Pensées. The foundation of this method is a hierarchy based on the extent of light something partakes of. The paper claims that the logic of arguments based on an ever-raising level of light can be traced back to the work of Dionysius Areopagite, to whom Pascal even refers in Pensées once.