Aposta e bestificação

  • Luís César Guimarães Oliva Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo - USP
Keywords: Abêtissement, Indifference, Wager, Pascal

Abstract

The Wager fragment is one of the most famous and discussed passages in Pascal's Pensées, but in this article we will set aside the particularities of its argumentation, already extensively treated by commentators, to focus on the relationship between the wager and the type of life it entails. The wager is not a proof, but rather places the reader before reason's defeat in obtaining proofs and serves to rationally influence those who seek truth without success. The first step is to shake the reader's indifference to religion. The second, more complex step involves the enigmatic notion of abêtissement (bestification), which aims to submit man to the infinite through the cultivation of new mental habits and the imitation of the Christian's bodily habits. Even though it cannot produce faith, which will always depend on divine grace, abêtissement has the effect of reforming the individual's life and behavior, creating in them a disposition favorable to faith. In short, to abêtir oneself is a morally sound path for awaiting grace.

Author Biography

Luís César Guimarães Oliva, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo - USP

Mercedes Okumura, Laboratório de Estudos Evolutivos Humanos (LEEH), Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/7934026593692818 Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1894-6430 E-mail: okumuram@usp.br

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Published
2026-03-09
How to Cite
Guimarães Oliva, L. C. (2026). Aposta e bestificação. ARARIPE — REVISTA DE FILOSOFIA - , 6(1), 17-33. https://doi.org/10.56837/Araripe.2025.v6.n1.1486