Pascalova hlediska

The initial part of the paper deals with the situation of the knowing person in the context of the limits of knowledge. It focuses primarily on Pascal’s interpretation of the exhortation to know oneself, which will subsequently become the unifying motif of the entire text presented here. Although only Thoughts is discussed here, there presently follows a passage focusing on the broader context of this topic within the framework of the entirety of Pascal’s life and work. Following this part comes the primary analysis of the paper, which is dedicated to the question of how Blaise Pascal takes perspective into account in the context of knowledge. The given problem is first introduced by an excursion into Pascal’s reflections on two types of thinking (l’esprit de géométrie and l’esprit de finesse) and the ways of knowledge. The primary part of the analysis is focused especially on Pascal’s “observing,” where observation is focused above all on fragments in which the French philosopher takes into account the inconstancy of the human in the partiality of the point-of-view, emphasizes the instability of knowledge and its methods, uses the metaphor of painterly perspective and reflects on the (im)possibility of having truth. At the same time, Pascal’s reflections are supported by the approaches of some later thinkers – Friedrich Nietzsche and José Ortega y Gasset. Taking into account the promising nature of knowledge, and coming to terms with it, is identified as an expression of Pascal’s intellectual unpretentiousness and humility.