LikeMothsToFlame
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From Wikipedia:
Is this a valid reason for belief in a God? Maybe it's just me, but this is one of the best arguments for belief I've seen in quite awhile.
Full article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal's_WagerIt states that if you were to analyse your options in regard to belief in Pascal's God carefully (or belief in any other religious system with a similar reward and punishment scheme), you would come out with the following possibilities:
From these possibilities, and the principles of statistics, Pascal deduced that it would be better to believe in God unconditionally. It is a classic application of game theory to itemize options and payoffs and is valid within its assumptions.
- You may believe in God, and God exists, in which case you go to heaven: your gain is infinite.
- You may believe in God, and God doesn't exist, in which case your loss is finite and therefore negligible.
- You may not believe in God, and God doesn't exist, in which case your gain is finite and therefore negligible.
- You may not believe in God, and God exists, in which case you will go to hell: your loss is infinite.
Is this a valid reason for belief in a God? Maybe it's just me, but this is one of the best arguments for belief I've seen in quite awhile.