Publisher's Synopsis
This comprehensive work on Pascal is devoted to his use of key terms depicting the central subject of the "Pensees", the human condition.;Commencing with a discussion of language and order in the "Pensees", Nicholas Hammond proceeds from an analysis of those terms which are usually thought to denote the human condition after the Fall - inconstance, ennui and inquietude - to vocabulary generally associated with the state of the redeemed - repos, bonheur, felicite and justice. The author ends with a consideration of the notoriously unstable term verite.;The conclusions drawn are not only consistent with the most recent scholarship about the text itself, but also extend further, through the author's identification of the apologetic, persuasive purpose in the deliberate instability of Pascal's linguistic usage.;Giving an account of a number of important critical controversies, as well as offering a novel and challenging insight into the "Pensees" themselves, this in-depth study of Pascal's use of epistemological terms should appeal to specialist and undergraduate readers alike.
