Ethics and Casuistry: The ethics of debate in Pascal's Provincial letters

Malinowski-Charles, S. et Bernier, M.-A. (2026). Ethics and Casuistry: The ethics of debate in Pascal's Provincial letters. Dans : Avnur, Y. et Ariew, R., (eds.) A Companion to Pascal. Wiley, pp. 367-380.

Prévisualisation

PDF Télécharger (284kB) | Prévisualisation

Résumé

Summary
In the 18 letters, written between January 1656 and March 1657, that constitute The Provincial Letters , Pascal attacks the Jesuit art of casuistry and the ethics that ensue from it. This paper will argue that it is precisely through the writing of these public letters that Pascal, who at the beginning was still foreign to theological and philosophical questions, came to conceive of his own ethics. The more he wrote on the Jesuits' moral laxism, criticized their theory of “accommodation” and their doctrine of “probable opinions,” the more he set up the principles of his own moral conception, which included an ethics of debate based on elements further developed in the Art of Persuasion and the Spirit of Geometry . Beyond the intellectual expression of the austere moral requirements of Christianity, Pascal felt the need to use rhetoric to “speak to the heart” of his readers. Thus, although ethical rules are strict and firm for him, they must also be communicable in a fancy and pleasant way. This is, arguably, Pascal's original contribution to the quarrel on how to argue publicly, which was raging in his time.

Type de document:	Chapitre de livre
Date de dépôt:	16 avr. 2026 18:28
Dernière modification:	20 avr. 2026 14:36
Version du document déposé:	Post-print (version corrigée et acceptée)
URI:	https://depot-e.uqtr.ca/id/eprint/12814

Actions (administrateurs uniquement)

Éditer la notice