Pensées

The Pensées (Thoughts) is a collection of fragments written by the French 17th-century philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal.

[2] The Index Librorum Prohibitorum forbids its printing or reading, as it conflicts with the orthodoxy of the Catholic Church.

[12] Although the Pensées appears to consist of ideas and jottings, some of which are incomplete, it is believed that Pascal had, prior to his death in 1662, already planned out the order of the book and had begun the task of cutting and pasting his draft notes into a coherent form.

[16] Several attempts have been made to arrange the notes systematically; notable editions include those of Léon Brunschvicg, Jacques Chevalier, Louis Lafuma [fr] and (more recently) Philippe Sellier.

Although Brunschvicg tried to classify the posthumous fragments according to themes, recent research has prompted Sellier to choose entirely different classifications, as Pascal often examined the same event or example through many different lenses.

[20][21] In recent times scholars have noted parallels between Heidegger and Pensées, while postulating various instances of influence.