#148 Blaise Pascal: Philosopher, Mathematician, Genius - Graham Tomlin
From Within Reason by Alex J O'Connor
March 25, 2026 · 1h 34m
About this episode
In this episode, Graham Tomlin discusses the life and contributions of Blaise Pascal, exploring his philosophical and mathematical genius.
Get Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at https://huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $50 purchase). For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack: https://www.alexoconnor.com . Graham Tomlin is a British theologian, author and former Church of England bishop. Get Graham's book, Blaise Pascal: The Man Who Made the Modern World . Graham's organisation, Seen and Unseen . TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Can Blaise Pascal Be Categorised? (03:05) Who Was Blaise Pascal? (11:12) Pascal’s First Conversion (17:19) Pascal’s “Night of Fire” (21:59) Did Pascal Reject Reason? (31:45) Pascal’s War With Descartes (42:31) Did Pascal Invent the Bus? (45:42) The Heart Has Its Reasons, Of Which Reason Knows Nothing (50:03) How Pascal Invented Probability Theory (52:29) Pascal’s Wager (1:15:35) The Pensées (1:18:30) Pascal’s “Two Minds” (1:22:39) The Importance of Boredom (1:26:58) Why Should Atheists Read Pascal? (1:31:34) What Would Graham Ask Pascal? CONNECT My Website: https://www.alexoconnor.com SOCIAL LINKS Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cosmicskeptic Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cosmicskeptic…
People in this episode
Host: Alex J O'Connor
Guest: Graham Tomlin
Topics covered
- Blaise Pascal
- philosophy
- theology
- mathematics
- reason
- probability theory
Keywords
- Blaise Pascal
- Graham Tomlin
- philosophy
- mathematics
- Pascal's Wager
- probability theory
- theology
Sponsors
Huel
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Seen and Unseen
Books & works: Blaise Pascal: The Man Who Made the Modern World
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