Uploaded April 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Pascal's wager is an argument that you should believe in God, because you have a lot to gain by believing and a lot to lose by not believing. In this video, I defend Pascal's wager against three objections: (1) The many-gods objection; (2) the impossibility objection, and (3) the irrationality objection.
This talk is based on two papers of mine:
Salvaging Pascal's wager: philpapers.org/rec/JACSPW
Epistemic Permissivism and Pascal's wager: (currently under review; email me for a draft)
This talk was presented to the Talbot philosophy department on March 12, 2021. Thanks to Anthony Rowden for inviting me, and for designing the awesome thumbnail!
0:00 Intro (to the wager and to decision theory)
13:32 Salvaging Pascal’s Wager (many gods objection)
26:17 Epistemic Permissivism and Pascal’s wager (impossibility and irrationality objections)
45:19 Summary and Conclusion
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Check out my website: liz-jackson.com
For more on my research: liz-jackson.com/research
For popular-level interviews, podcasts, and blog posts I’ve done: liz-jackson.com/public-philosophy
Follow me on social media:
Twitter: twitter.com/lizjackson111
Instagram: @lizjackson111
Facebook: facebook.com/lizjackson111
Pascal's wager is an argument that you should believe in God, because you have a lot to gain by believing and a lot to lose by not believing. In this video, I defend Pascal's wager against three objections: (1) The many-gods objection; (2) the impossibility objection, and (3) the irrationality objection.
This talk is based on two papers of mine:
Salvaging Pascal's wager: philpapers.org/rec/JACSPW
Epistemic Permissivism and Pascal's wager: (currently under review; email me for a draft)
This talk was presented to the Talbot philosophy department on March 12, 2021. Thanks to Anthony Rowden for inviting me, and for designing the awesome thumbnail!
0:00 Intro (to the wager and to decision theory)
13:32 Salvaging Pascal’s Wager (many gods objection)
26:17 Epistemic Permissivism and Pascal’s wager (impossibility and irrationality objections)
45:19 Summary and Conclusion
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out my website: liz-jackson.com
For more on my research: liz-jackson.com/research
For popular-level interviews, podcasts, and blog posts I’ve done: liz-jackson.com/public-philosophy
Follow me on social media:
Twitter: twitter.com/lizjackson111
Instagram: @lizjackson111
Facebook: facebook.com/lizjackson111
