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2 years ago in Finance By Nidhi S

Historical evidence regarding Pascal’s reading of Hobbes’s De Cive.

Historical records concerning Pascal’s engagement with Hobbes’s De Cive.

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By Jayalakshmi Answered 1 year ago

While direct proof is scarce, it is highly probable Blaise Pascal, a brilliant mathematician and thinker in mid-17th century France, was aware of Thomas Hobbes's controversial political work, De Cive. The intellectual circles of Paris, particularly those around Marin Mersenne, circulated such manuscripts. Pascal's own thoughts on human nature and politics engage with similar themes, suggesting a likely, if indirect, familiarity.
 

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