L'Art de persuader: précédé de l'art de conférer de Montaigne

by Blaise Pascal, Michel de Montaigne

L'Art de persuader est une oeuvre philosophique de Blaise Pascal. R�dig� vers 1660, ce texte s'inscrit dans un combat th�ologique. � ce moment-l�, pour les Jans�nistes, il �quivaut au Discours de la m�thode, il « t�moigne de l'efficacit� redoutable de l'argumentation �. L'Art de persuader est un art de penser � la mesure de la faiblesse et de la grandeur de l'homme. Penser, c'est mettre m�thodiquement en balance, en doute et � l'�preuve, sur deux plateaux, avant d'�valuer et juger, les objets de l'exp�rience entre eux, et avec soi-m�me. L'Art de persuader de Pascal, �crit en 1658, texte h�ritier de L'Art de conf�rer (1580) de Montaigne, suppose une alliance de la raison et de l'intuition, de la logique et des figures rh�toriques, qui rend l'esprit capable de toucher juste.

Genres: Philosophy, France

145 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1660

About the author

Early work of Blaise Pascal of France included the invention of the adding machine and syringe and the co-development with Pierre de Fermat of the mathematical theory of probability; later, he, a Jansenist, wrote on philosophy and theology, notably as collected in the posthumous Pensées (1670).

This contemporary of René Descartes attained ten years of age in 1633, when people forced Galileo Galilei to recant his belief that Earth circled the Sun. He lived in Paris at the same time, when Thomas Hobbes in 1640 published his famous Leviathan (1651). Together, Pascal created the calculus.

A near-fatal carriage accident in November 1654 persuaded him to turn his intellect finally toward religion. The story goes that on the proverbial dark and stormy night, while Pascal rode in a carriage across a bridge in a suburb of Paris, a fright caused the horses to bolt, sending them over the edge. The carriage, bearing Pascal, survived. Pascal took the incident as a sign and devoted. At this time, he began a series, called the Provincial Letters , against the Jesuits in 1657.

Pascal perhaps most famously wagered not as clearly in his language as this summary: "If Jesus does not exist, the non Christian loses little by believing in him and gains little by not believing. If Jesus does exist, the non Christian gains eternal life by believing and loses an infinite good by not believing.”

Sick throughout life, Pascal died in Paris from a combination of tuberculosis and stomach cancer at 39 years of age. At the last, he confessed Catholicism.

Reviews

[Yann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un peu court!

[Alexander Mastros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ευχάριστο βιβλίο, ο τίτλος ίσως ειναι λίγο παραπλανητικός.. κατά τα άλλα το βρήκα υπέροχο! Μια δυνατή ανάλυση στο πως να αναπτύξουμε τις ιδεες μας σωστά, με ορισμούς και θεμέλια.

"Η τέχνη λοιπόν, την οποία εγώ αποκαλώ τέχνη της πειθούς, και που επί το ακριβέστερον δεν είναι παρά ο τρόπος ανάπτυξης αποδείξεων μεθοδικων και τέλειων, συνιστάται στα εξής τρια ουσιώδη:
Να ορίζει κανεις τους ορους που πρόκειται να χρησιμοποιήσει με σαφεις ορισμούς, να διατυπώνει προφανείς αρχές ή αξιώματα για να αποδείξει τα εν λόγω, και να αντικαθιστά διαρκώς νοερά στην απόδειξη τα οριζόμενα με τους πλήρεις ορισμούς."

[Utku · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this piece in Harvard Classics, which contains Blaise Pascal's notable works in one volume, also including his shorter works such as The Art of Persuasion. It was a throwback for me to my math and geometry high school class, where our tutors painfully insisted on showing proofs of theorems we were using. He not only talks about understanding the truths, but also the will to comprehend. It is a piece that everyone should read at least once.

[Petros Lamprides · Rating 4 out of 5]

Σε πολύ λίγες σελίδες, ο Pascal εξηγεί την μέθοδο της "Γεωμετρικής Ρητορικής", κάνοντας έναν ωραίο παραλληλισμό της τέχνης -όχι τόσο της πειθούς, αλλά- της συζήτησης με την γεωμετρία, στην οποία τίποτα δεν θεωρείται δεδομένο, εκτός από τα αξιώματα, τα οποία και δεν μπορούν να απλοποιηθούν. Πολύ χρήσιμο και καλογραμμένο.

[David Finkleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Profound if obscure

I sought the original statement of what are called Pascal’s Eight Rules. The first three are stated clearly, the others are hard to find. In fact, I have not yet found them.

[Carter Reads Classics · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way he thinks. Pascal seems depressed as always though. It’s sad reading his writings.

[Royce Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book by a renowned author that makes you think. I particularly liked his explanation around three principle objects of truth. Everyone should probably read it.