“The Heart has its reasons, which reason does not know” -Blaise Pascal; Pensées

As a Christian, I find this statement such a breath of fresh air when studying Philosophy. After a few weeks of delving into Epistemology and wading through the Laws of logic, Pascal says something about our hearts that speaks directly to our hearts. Proverbs 21:7 says, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.”

The divisiveness in this statement is intentional, as our minds and hearts have their own “reason.” Their plural existence inside us can drive us to be beings of crude logic with a dampened sense of morality, or men of marvelous acts of kindness, self-sacrifice, and service to others.

The Bible warns us not to “harden our hearts” to the voice of our Lord. This appears to have spoken to Pascal’s heart on that fateful night when he had a divine appointment with God. What Pascal refers to as a “Night of Fire” led him to such a powerful conversion that his humbled heart began writing on religion exclusively.[i]  He did not quit science completely, but his transformed heart made him look at it differently. 

As believers, we should learn from this. Man benefits from reason, logic, and science, but our faith must guide us in these areas. Jesus came to earth to win over our hearts, and His word renews our minds, but no level of logic can comprehend the reason of Love in our hearts. For Love is incalculable, unquantifiable, unfathomable, and absolutely illogical! Perhaps that’s why we call it “Falling” in Love!

Be Blessed!

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Simpson, D. (2026). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Pascal. Retrieved from Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://iep.utm.edu/pascal-b/