“The immortality of the soul is a matter which is of so great consequence to us and which touches us so profoundly that we must have lost all feeling to be indifferent about it.”
- June 19, 1623 – August 19, 1662
- French
- Mathematician, Physicist, Inventor, Philosopher, Theologian
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Quote
“The immortality of the soul is a matter which is of so great consequence to us and which touches us so profoundly that we must have lost all feeling to be indifferent about it.”
Explanation
Pascal argues that the question of the soul’s immortality is too significant, too deeply personal, and too far-reaching in consequence to be met with indifference. Whether the soul endures after death or not touches on the meaning of life, the nature of justice, the purpose of existence, and our ultimate destiny. To treat such a profound matter with apathy, he suggests, is not intellectual neutrality—it is a loss of moral and emotional sensitivity.
In Pensées, this line supports Pascal’s broader appeal to take seriously the great questions of existence, even if they cannot be fully resolved by reason. He challenges those who dismiss such issues casually, asserting that rational doubt or disbelief is more respectable than lazy indifference. If the soul is immortal, then life is filled with eternal weight; if it is not, then we must still confront what that absence of meaning implies. Either way, to remain unmoved is a failure of the heart.
In the modern age—where questions of meaning, mortality, and the afterlife are often ignored amid distraction and busyness—Pascal’s insight remains compelling. His quote calls us to face the most fundamental truths with courage and seriousness, not because certainty is possible, but because the stakes are too great to dismiss. Indifference, in matters so profound, is not wisdom—it is a silence where our deepest questions deserve a voice.
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