The Morality of Science essays

The Morality of Science essays There are two parallel stories in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, one of attempting to discover the secret of life and the other of forcing nature to open her secrets to man (Neal). This novel can be looked by combining those two stories into a theme of the scientist who seeks to play God and what happens to him in his quest to create life from death. When looking at the book in this regard, the reader discovers the dangers inherent in defying the natural order, (Neal) and the potential consequences of scientific discovery. Victor Frankenstein, fascinated with scientific exploration in the physical world, embarked upon an experiment that forever changed his life and that of his family and friends. During his studies away from home, Victor foolishly decides that he will play God. I will pioneer anew way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation (Shelly p. 47). What lies behind Frankensteins scientific projects is obviously an attempt to gain power (Damyanov). Victor devotes himself to his task of creating life from death for a period of two years without once considering the implications of the result of his experiment. Thoughtless Victor built in no safety controls, no device to assure that only good actions would be performed (Neal). Shelley warns us of the dangerous division between the power-seeking practices of science and the concerns of humanists with moral responsibility, emotional communion, and spiritual values (Damyanov). Victor invested so much selfish care and time into his creation and never thought of the implications of his success. As if almost seeing into the future, Shelly gives us a warning to consider the final effects of scientific exploration and experiment (Neal). Neglecting all moral implications of his creation, Victor completes his work. Victo...

4 Scientific Ways To Convince Your Boss to Say Yes Every Time

4 Scientific Ways To Convince Your Boss to Say Yes Every Time As marketers, every month seems like the equivalent of a year in other industries. Marketing has  changed more in last few years than in the last 50 before them. Not only do we have to be awesome at being leaders, conversion experts, project managers, advertisers, copywriters, email wizards, and 48 other skills we have to build the skill of leading change. weve gotta kill the status quo before it kills us. and of course, we have to convince our bosses to go along with it all. This boils down to our ability to influence others. But, if youve ever read about the psychology of influencing others, it can be deflating. Doubly so when it comes to how to convince your boss or peers to try new stuff. 4 Ways To Convince Your Boss to Say Yes Every Time (Backed By Science)The Slightly Depressing Reality Of Influence One of the first principles of influence you come across is called the halo effect. In the 1920s, psychologist Edward Thorndike piloted a study of how military officers judge their subordinates. He found more physically attractive soldiers were were rated higher across the board on a four-point scale: intelligence, physique, leadership, and character. This means positive reactions to physical appearance were projected onto other areas of the soldiers. And as much as we hate to admit it, the rabbit hole goes deeper. This principle holds true in elections, as well. In a study called Beauty at the Ballot Box, researchers theorized that since physical attractiveness is a cue toward good health, we may be biologically programed to esteem it. Meaning were naturally inclined to favor attractive people. The halo effect is at work in our restaurants, as well. Another study called Beauty and the feast found that attractive servers earn roughly $1261 more per year than unattractive servers. And counterintuitively, Beauty matters more for female than male customers. Meaning pretty female waitresses get bigger tips from women. Oh yeah, and then theres this happy stat Pretty people earn 12% more money than average-looking humans. From politics to pot pies, something as shallow as looks play a major role in influencing others. However, when it comes to convincing your boss to say yes to that new process a fresh software tool obliterating makeshift marketing a flexible work-from-home policy we have more science-backed levers to pull than just our faces. 4 Ways To Convince Your Boss To Say Yes With The Power Of Science 🚀 In this post, Ill share the best research on ethical approaches to convince your boss to say yes to anything. No makeup required. Youll learn four tactics: How to position what youre asking for in concrete terms, How to align your change with team objectives, Why to conduct a trial run with a mini post-mortem conversation, And how to win by starting big, then going small. One of the most powerful changes we see is crushing the bug we call makeshift marketing. A major change to the marketing landscape is the volume of tools available. But, most of them dont play well together. This means marketers are awash in single-function tools that arent actually designed with marketers in mind. This makes your life more difficult and hurts your results. So, well walk through examples of leading change to combat it. Alright, saddle up. Its time to convince your boss to say yes every time. #1: Convince Your Boss To Say Yes Through Loss Aversion First up, lets talk opportunity cost. An opportunity cost is the benefit someone could have gained, but gave up, in favor of another action. When you choose one action over another, you lose the benefits of the alternative choice. With this first approach, we will capitalize on the principles of loss aversion and prospect theory. People fear loss more than they desire benefit. And this greatly influences the way they choose between options (aka: prospects). This means people will overweigh even the smallest opportunities for loss. A Nielsen Norman Group article summarizes it like this: When choosing among several alternatives, people avoid losses and optimize for sure wins because the pain of losing is greater than the satisfaction of an equivalent gain. For example, lets say you want to adopt a new marketing tool  like to replace a less effective one (or even multiple tools). Because there is a chance the new tool will cost more than its worth in hard cash  and  in lost productivity, your boss may be instantly loss averse. This will impact her choice between the prospects of status quo and potential loss. To capitalize on this understanding, simply structure your ask in two parts: If we do [thing you want] it will add [positive value]. If we dont do [thing you want] it will cost [negative value]. In this example, your ask might sound like: If we [adopt this new tool], it will give us a [55% lift in productivity per team member]. If we dont [adopt this new tool], we are actually losing [$1,255 per week in lost productivity]. The idea here is to highlight the gain as specifically as possible. Then showcase the loss of the alternative option - in this case changing nothing - as specifically as possible. This way, you can position the facts according to the emotional principles at play. Make loss aversion your friend and get to yes faster. #2: Convince Your Boss By Aligning Change With Team Goals Next, marketers have goals to hit. In fact, a recent study we conducted found that marketers who set goals are 429% more likely to be successful. To warm up your boss to a change, use this stat to your advantage. If you have goals, like driving  1,000 qualified leads every month Cash in on alignment theory. In essence, it posits that the most successful people understand their strengths and then arrange their lives in alignment with them. This theory works for individuals and is also portable for groups. Successful organizations tick using this principle. And the power of alignment is possible when strategy, goals, and purpose mutually reinforce one another. To put it to work with your boss, structure your ask for change like this: Our team is trying to achieve [goal]. But we have [failed] for the past [timeframe]. I think the best way we can do this right now is by [thing you want]  [based on prior success]. In keeping with our 1,000 qualified leads example, the ask might be: Our team is trying to achieve [1,000 qualified leads every month]. But weve [only reached 70% of that goal] for the [past three months]. I think the best way we can do this right now is by [focusing exclusively on driving traffic] [to our top-performing landing pages]. The change youre after is a shifted focus: driving more traffic. However, the goal youre trying to achieve is the same: 1,000 qualified leads. Its also super important to notice the last part of that statement based on prior success. If your team has had any related successes in the past, highlight them for leverage as proof.If your team has had any related successes in the past, highlight them for leverage as proof. In this example, it was top-performing landing pages. In their fantastic book, Switch, authors Chip and Dan Heath call these prior wins bright spots. Theyre extremely powerful because they showcase that positive results  are possible, because you have achieved them in the past. Youre team is capable of the results. So, youre aligning your methods accordingly. Bonus: This is also a great chance to sharpen your goal-setting strategy if it needs a little work. #3:Convince Your Boss With A Post-Mortem Post-mortems sound depressing but can I confess something? I think theyre awesome. A post-mortem is an analysis held after any project. Usually, its aim is to figure out: How on earth did things go so wrong?! However, I love them because theyre amazing chances to learn. Theyre even beneficial to hold on the heels of successful projects. No matter how well a project has gone, there are always things that can be improved.  They promote healthy self-reflection and can benefit your entire team. In this case, I want you to hold a mini post-mortem with your boss in advance of your ask. The reason is twofold. You can learn why similar changes have failed in the past. You can pre-empt legitimate objections your boss will have ahead of time. Why Have Other Things Failed? By learning why other initiatives have failed, you can learn what pitfalls to avoid. For instance, if youre proposing a move from spreadsheets to   - or a similar transition from a clunky way of doing things - how helpful would it be to learn that the last tool transition to be shot down actually had the support of your manager, but got squashed by the CFO? An easy way to phrase this question is, When was the last time we wanted to get budget for a new project, idea, or tool in our department? If the last attempt failed, you can follow with, Why do you think it failed? And is there any way it could have been approved? If it succeeded, even better! You can ask, Why was it successful? And how has it panned out? Overcoming Legitimate Objections Next, you can glean what legitimate objections your boss may have to your idea. Almost every boss Ive ever had loved to say, Yes! to great ideas. But so many of my attempts at leading a new change as the underling failed because I didnt understand their field of visibility. Field of visibility means their viewpoint informed by the things they know that I dont. Often, its the difference between someone standing on a balcony and someone in the crowd below. Company execs sit in meetings that you dont. They hear forecasts, plans, and upcoming constraints that you dont. They understand organizational dynamics you may have missed. They see your team from a broader perspective than you might. This means understanding their field of visibility is incredibly beneficial. With an informal post-mortem, you can dig into why a similar change failed. This will help you position your ask to overcome your bosss legitimate (or even illegitimate) objections. Whether its data  A project champion up the chain Or competitive research You can gain insight beforehand to have great answers to tough questions. #4: Convince Your Boss By Asking Big, Then Small Last, if youre a marketer, youve probably heard of the rule of reciprocity. Psychologist and mega best-selling author Robert Cialdini explains it in his book  Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion like this. He says, The rule says that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us [and] by virtue of the reciprocity rulewe are  obligated to the future repayment of favors, gifts, invitations, and the like. The idea is to do something for someone else  before you ask them to do something for you. When you do so, youre far more likely to get that coveted yes. But honestly, this principle might be effective, but its too manipulative for me to entertain actually doing this. Call me a boy scout, but that seems like a pretty sketchy move. And worse, an infringement on a healthy relationship. Now that Ive taken a stand on my moral high ground, Ill share with you a version of this rule Id happily endorse 😎 Cialdini also shares a specific application of this rule called bargaining, saying, Bargaining is frequently used in the negotiation process, which involves reciprocal concessions. That is, if Person A rebuffs a large request from Person B, and Person B then concedes by making a smaller request, Person A will feel obligated to reciprocate this concession with a concession of his or her own by agreeing to this lesser plea. In 1975, researchers on the Arizona State University campus cracked the code on exactly how this works. Their experiment was pretty slick. Half of the students in the test were asked, Will you chaperone juvenile-detention-center inmates on a day trip to the zoo? Only 17% of them said yes. The other half of the test subjects were asked a leading question first: Will you volunteer as a juvenile-detention-center counselor for two hours per week for the next two years? Everyone said no to the first question. However, almost 50% said yes to the second question about chaperoning the zoo visit! The angle for our marketing purposes is pretty obvious. Construct two versions of your ask.

Argentinian Financial Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Argentinian Financial Crisis - Essay Example Three years after the fiasco, Argentina's economy is growing steadily. The growth is still under 10%, but there is growth and a growing sense of safety and responsibility from the government, creating a very positive outlook for Argentina to emerge in years to come as a dominant presence in Latin America. Globalization is a series of links that a country has with foreign countries. Globalization in essence links a country's economy to other economies so that there is a web of interdependence throughout all linked economies thereby creating a global economy. In a recent report in Latin Business Chronicle (LBC), Argentina was ranked as the 'least-globalise' country in Latin America (Bamrud, 2005). LBC utilized 6 factors to measure each country's level of globalization. These factors included: This is an important Index that LBC created in that it allows investors, and other interested parties an opportunity to view Argentina in an extremely objective light. Remittances, money sent back home by family members working abroad, is an area that is steadily growing for Argentina. A report prepared by the American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) states, 'remittances area sign of family values, a part of human nature. They are a form of helping one's family. Remittances increase both the income of the recipient and the foreign exchange reserves of the recipient's country. "If remittances are invested, they contribute to output growth, and if they are consumed, then also they generate positive multiplier effects," notes economist, Dilip Ratha in Global Development Finance 2003, a World Bank publication ("Role of Remittances", 2003). By using this 6-step process to cull globalization indexes, one can get a larger view of the financial status of Argentina. LBC report states that Argentina has the lowest import rates in Latin America, it has a low export rate, foreign investment is low (1.2% of GDP) and it has one of the lowest remittance rates in the region as well. Even tourism levels are down (Bamrud, 2005). While Argentina is not facing imminent meltdown, it is still toddling its way back from its financial disaster 3 years ago. However, its economy is rallying. According to the U.S. Department of State's website, Argentina had an annual real growth rate of +9% in 2004, and their GDP stands at $150.0 billion. To give a bit more background, globalization is supposed to help keep countries in line and disciplined because if they have solid economic practices, the assumption is that government will be favoured by foreign investment. If the government does not practice sound economic policies, the reverse is supposed to be true - monies will either not be invested, or will be pulled from that country (Blustein, 2003). This did not happen in Argentina in the years leading up to the crisis, in fact, due to inflated expectations and selective reporting of the country's true financial state, globalization helped to create the massive Argentine downfall. II. What Happened

Computer Security Policies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Computer Security Policies - Essay Example The Reston, VA site has 1 on site senior consultant, 4 in-house junior consultants and 2 remote field consultants while our Annapolis, MD comprises 1 onsite senior consultant, 4 in-house junior consultants and 3 remote field consultants. Like our headquarters personnel, our offsite staff have years of ICT experience and industry-level certifications such as CISSP, CISA, PMP and others. To meet the growing needs of our increasing client base, we are expanding our ICT staff to add 14 onsite in-house employees and 6 remote field consultants. This future growth expansion is happening now and will be complete in six months time to truly serve all your ICT needs. Our current infrastructure consists of 1 domain controller server, 1 server for the finance department and 1 server for Web/email as well as secure remote access in the DMZ. In the months to come, we will add more hardware infrastructure to meet the growing demands of our ICT consulting and implementation services. To further enhance our capabilities aside from our modern infrastructure and certified personnel, our company has started the â€Å"road map† to ISO 17799/27001 – Code of Practice for Information Security Management and Information Security Management Systems certification. This is a globally-recognized information security certification that ensures a company practices globally-accepte d and best practices in information security – all our corporate policies are based on this ISO standards. ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE: The arrangements you make for maintaining your equipment, whether through on-site support or off-site support. Information Security issues to be considered when implementing your policy include the following: ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE: Office software forms a critical link between the primary business systems in your day to day work. The initial choice of the office package has far

Modern American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Modern American History - Essay Example Thus, the advent of nuclear weapons has created profound difficulties to the very spirit of liberal democracy; and the tension between nuclear weapons secrecy and the values of liberal democracy is not new now. During the Cold War, the U.S. intelligence community had maintained maddening level of secrecy, especially on matters of defense and to question it was to run the risk of being accused of lack of patriotism, which became the defense mechanism of the McCarthy era. Is it any different now Can we anymore defend our human rights without appearing to be being "for" the terrorists The answer lies somewhere else. Since Machiavelli, secrecy has been seen as a way of the Republic, which must exercise bureaucratic power by governing through such means that must not be concealed. Such intrigue is the first step towards attaining a stronghold into affairs that is free of public scrutiny and thus becomes rigid, canonical and powerful. The present state has become a panopticon who must gaze into the public and private affairs of its people with distinct "mistrust" and hence raise an air of constant alarm. Woodrow Wilson's Woodrow anti-secrecy assertion during the 1912-election campaign held the view that "Government ought to be all outside and no inside," he said, and "there ought to be no place where anything can be done that everybody does not know aboutcorruption thrives in secret places, and we believe it a fair presumption that secrecy means impropriety."1 However, what actually tilted the balance beam towards governmental secrecy were the Atomic Energy Act of 1 946 and the National Security Act of 1947 just during the Cold War era, which established this determined requirement for secrecy beyond the public's eye and beyond their acquiescence. Political theorist Robert Dahl observes this phenomenon of a sudden urge for nuclear secrecy and comments that such requirements are "a tragic paradox" since "these decisions have largely escaped the control of democratic process."2 Secrecy and its norms have largely become effectively dogmatic after September 11. The whole world has really changed forever but not for good. The government terms this as moral obligation to protect secret and balance it constantly against the public's right to access in a culture of openness. Thus is the question is not secrecy oppressive On the contrary, even in the face of such turbulence one can draw the example of the European Convention of Human Rights. The Rights of people, as per ECHR (European Convention of Human Rights) are put above the rights of states out of a realization, borne out of harsh reality, that states acted in self-interest to the detriment of humanity throughout history. From time immemorial, the concept of States always shares a sense of being threatened (especially superpowers like us Americans): a cause and effect relation of dominating and trying to offer resistance. It is generally believed that though there are peaceful and controlled environments exi sting within states, the international arena is anarchical and prone to uncontrollable violence. What these motifs do is put the focus of national security on the protection of one's territorial boundaries and sovereignty. Power comes to be measured through military capability, where everybody starts sharing a sense of being marginalized. The world begins to have an absurd dynamism and begins to operate on a zero-sum game in which, according to

Investigation of Unknown Carbohydrate

Investigation of Unknown Carbohydrate INTRODUCTION From the name itself, Carbohydrates are hydrates of carbons that are polar in nature. The building blocks of carbohydrates are monosaccharides which are simple sugars due to their low molecular weight. Carbohydrates are the product of photosynthesis from the condensation of carbon dioxide that requires light and chlorophyll. Carbohydrates have a vital role in the nutrition of organisms since it is the major source of energy. ATP is energy released by plants and it is the needed by the body to function accordingly. Carbohydrates have different structures thus it gives distinct reactions to various reagents depending on its chemical composition. It can be grouped into monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides. Monosaccharides could be classified as polyhrdoxy aldoses or ketoses. These are the simplest carbohydrates that cannot be broken down into smaller aggregates. These are aldehydes that contain two or more hydroxyl groups. Disaccharides are two simple sugars that are linked together by a glycosidic bond- an ether bond formed from the merging of two hydroxyl groups between monosaccharides. Polysaccharides, on the other hand, are made up of multiple sugar units attached to a group of disaccharides. They are formed by a glycosidic linkage. MATERIALS AND METHODS For the identification of the unknown carbohydrates samples, 1.00 ml of two unknown samples were transferred in a test tube and 1.00 ml of Molisch reagents was added as well as 1.00 ml of concentrated . For each of the tests- Iodine test, Benedicts test, Barfoeds test, Seliwanoffs test and 2,4-DNP test, fresh samples were needed for each. Table 1 shows the needed amount of reagent for each test for a qualitative analysis. The identity of the two unknown samples was then distinguished based on the reaction of the given set of carbohydrates. For the hydrolysis of starch, 50.00 ml of 5% starch solution was placed in a 100 ml beaker. About 5.00 ml of concentrated sulfuric acid was added. Covering the beaker with aluminum foil, it was then heated until boiled in a water bath. About 1.00 ml of the sample was placed in two separate test tubes with the addition of 1.00 ml of iodine reagent to one and 1.00 ml of Benedicts reagent to the other. The sample was heated continuously. With an interval of 5 minutes, 1.00 ml of the sample was transferred into two separate tees tubes once again and with the addition of the iodine and Benedicts reagent until a blue-black precipitate is formed with the iodine reagent and a brick red color with the Benedicts reagent. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Table 2 shows the desired color change of the carbohydrates upon the addition of certain reagents. Molischs test is a general test for carbohydrates that determines the presence of carbonyl groups, which gives off a deep purple colored substance. The Iodine test gives off a blue-black colored complex as a positive reaction towards iodine. Benedicts test determines the identity of the reducing sugars which results to an orange-rust color. Barfoeds test has the same purpose as Benedicts test for determining the reducing sugars, but this Barfoeds test gives off a positive test for reducing monossaccharides only. Seliwanoffs test determines the presence of aldoses and ketoses, only the ketoses give off a positive reaction resulting to a brick red color. The 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine or the 2.4-DNP test determines the reaction of monosaccharides that gives off yellow- black crystals of osazones that intensifies the color of the substance. Molischs test is a general test for carbohydrates. Concentrated sulfuric acid was added producing a deep purple colored substance. The carbohydrate undergoes dehydration wherein water was released upon the addition of sulfuric acid. Pentoses and hexoses react with the sulfuric acid resulting to the positive color change. For the Iodine test, the only sugar that reacted was starch. Starch is a polysaccharide- a mixture of amylose and amylopectin. An amylose forms a helical structure in water. Iodine could easily penetrate through the helical structure, since monosaccharides and disaccharides arent too small they do not react with iodine. Upon the penetration of the iodine to the core of the helix, it produces a blue-black colored substance. When heated, the blue color disappears because the helical ring of the amylose is disrupted. Iodine is does not have the capacity to bind itself back to helix. The blue color returns when the starch is cooled. The iodine can now bind back to the helix. Benedicts test identifies the reducing sugars, the monosaccharides and the disaccharides. This reagent is a weak oxidizing reagent. Cuprous oxide was converted from cuprous hydroxide. The former determines the presence of the reducing sugar. Seliwanoffs test differentiates ketoses from aldoses. The ketose yields a brick red color upon the addition of heat. Ketose undergoes dehydration when diluted in HCl and heated. Barfoeds test identifies the reducing sugars as well, but this test is specific only for monosaccharides. Carbohydrates exposed to the Barfoed reagent, a mixture of copper acetate and glacial acetic acid, undergoes reduction. The reducing monosaccharide reduces the cupric ions to cuprous ions in acidic medium (4). The cuprous ions formed in turn, reduce the colorless phosphomolybdic acid to blue phosphomolybdous acid (4). The positive color change for monosaccharides was exhibited by a deep blue color, while the disaccharide exhibited a light blue color. The 2,4- DNP test is a general test for carbohydrates. This determines the presence of aldehydes and ketones. The aldoses and ketoses are quite similar. The reducing sugars produce a positive test. The identity of starch could be easily distinguished through the iodine test. When the starch is hydrolyzed it can have a positive result in the Benedicts test. The acetal linkages in starch are hydrolyzed in hot aqueous acid (6). Benedicts test is a useful test in detecting the sugar concentration in the urine of a patient diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. The color of the precipitate gives an approximate percentage of sugar excreted in the urine (4). The color determines the percentage of sugar present in the urine. If the precipitate is blue, sugar is absent, green if there are 0-0.5% sugar, yellow if 1% sugar, orange if 1.5% sugar, and red if 2% sugar or more.

Examining Pascals Argument for God Essay -- Religion Pascal

There have been many responses to Pascal’s proposition. British humorist Terry Pratchett cleverly summed it up in one of his books with a story of a philosopher who said, â€Å"Possibly the gods exist, and possibly they do not. So why not believe in them in any case? If it's all true you'll go to a lovely place when you die, and if it isn't then you've lost nothing, right? (Pratchett 51)† To the average person, it seems as though there are two choices of religion; to believe in God or not to believe in God. Pascal’s theory is that it is better to believe in God, even without reason, because in so believing, you lose nothing, whereas if you do not believe, you stand to lose significantly. On the surface, this wager seems to make an adequate amount of sense, but upon further examination, the argument begins to break down. Pascal states, â€Å"According to reason, you can defend neither of the propositions. (Pascal 444)† He does not think that reason is sufficient to prove God’s existence, nor is there solid evidence one way or the other. â€Å"There is an infinite chaos which separates us, (Pascal 444)† Pascal says, meaning that if there is a God, humans cannot comprehend Him or His actions. This is to say, even if God exists, humans could not possibly know enough about Him to prove His existence by proof or reason. This, Pascal says, is why the wager is necessary; we cannot know if He exists, we must decide to either believe or disbelieve based on logic. Pascal says that the choice is between several sets of human qualities or characteristics: the true vs. the good, reason vs. will, knowledge vs. happiness, and error vs. misery. He theorizes that the believer who turns out to be correct in his belief will have true good, agreement with rea... ... of belief that have been created around the deity by humans. Even if there is a God and belief in Him is founded, there is no way to know if He will or will not bestow rewards upon His followers. Pascal’s theory would make sense if it were based on anything other than religion. Theology depends more on personal motivations than a desire for some unknown reward that may or may not exist. Pascal seems to be merely covering his own ass with this wager, telling himself that he is believing in anticipation of his eventual reward. This is not a satisfactory justification for believing in a God for which one has no evidence. Works Cited Pascal, Blaise. â€Å"The Wager.† Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings. William L. Rowe and William J. Wainwright, ed. Harcourt Brace, Orlando, FL. 1973. Pratchett, Terry. Hogfather. Harper Prism, London, England. 1996. Examining Pascal's Argument for God Essay -- Religion Pascal There have been many responses to Pascal’s proposition. British humorist Terry Pratchett cleverly summed it up in one of his books with a story of a philosopher who said, â€Å"Possibly the gods exist, and possibly they do not. So why not believe in them in any case? If it's all true you'll go to a lovely place when you die, and if it isn't then you've lost nothing, right? (Pratchett 51)† To the average person, it seems as though there are two choices of religion; to believe in God or not to believe in God. Pascal’s theory is that it is better to believe in God, even without reason, because in so believing, you lose nothing, whereas if you do not believe, you stand to lose significantly. On the surface, this wager seems to make an adequate amount of sense, but upon further examination, the argument begins to break down. Pascal states, â€Å"According to reason, you can defend neither of the propositions. (Pascal 444)† He does not think that reason is sufficient to prove God’s existence, nor is there solid evidence one way or the other. â€Å"There is an infinite chaos which separates us, (Pascal 444)† Pascal says, meaning that if there is a God, humans cannot comprehend Him or His actions. This is to say, even if God exists, humans could not possibly know enough about Him to prove His existence by proof or reason. This, Pascal says, is why the wager is necessary; we cannot know if He exists, we must decide to either believe or disbelieve based on logic. Pascal says that the choice is between several sets of human qualities or characteristics: the true vs. the good, reason vs. will, knowledge vs. happiness, and error vs. misery. He theorizes that the believer who turns out to be correct in his belief will have true good, agreement with rea... ... of belief that have been created around the deity by humans. Even if there is a God and belief in Him is founded, there is no way to know if He will or will not bestow rewards upon His followers. Pascal’s theory would make sense if it were based on anything other than religion. Theology depends more on personal motivations than a desire for some unknown reward that may or may not exist. Pascal seems to be merely covering his own ass with this wager, telling himself that he is believing in anticipation of his eventual reward. This is not a satisfactory justification for believing in a God for which one has no evidence. Works Cited Pascal, Blaise. â€Å"The Wager.† Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings. William L. Rowe and William J. Wainwright, ed. Harcourt Brace, Orlando, FL. 1973. Pratchett, Terry. Hogfather. Harper Prism, London, England. 1996.