“As men are not able to fight against death, misery, ignorance, they have taken it into their heads, in order to be happy, not to think of them at all.”
- June 19, 1623 – August 19, 1662
- French
- Mathematician, Physicist, Inventor, Philosopher, Theologian
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Quote
“As men are not able to fight against death, misery, ignorance, they have taken it into their heads, in order to be happy, not to think of them at all.”
Explanation
Pascal highlights the human strategy of willful distraction in the face of life’s most unavoidable and unsettling truths—death, suffering, and ignorance. Since we are powerless to overcome these fundamental aspects of existence, we cope not by confronting them, but by ignoring them, choosing instead to fill our lives with diversions, pleasures, and distractions to avoid despair. This deliberate forgetting becomes, ironically, the means by which many seek happiness.
This insight is foundational in Pensées, where Pascal develops the concept of divertissement (diversion). He argues that people keep themselves busy—through work, entertainment, social life—not because they are fulfilled, but because they fear what silence and stillness might reveal. Without distraction, they would be forced to face their mortality, moral limitations, and spiritual emptiness. Thus, diversion is not innocent amusement—it is often a defense against truth.
In the modern world, filled with endless media, consumerism, and stimulation, Pascal’s diagnosis feels even more acute. We live in an age of constant distraction, often avoiding deep reflection on the very questions that define human existence. His quote challenges us to consider: Are we truly happy, or simply avoiding what matters most? Real happiness, Pascal suggests, does not come from avoidance, but from honestly facing life’s hardest truths—and seeking meaning beyond them.
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