Pascal's Wager: A French Mathematician's Reasoning

Pascals Wagerpascal A French Mathematician Reasoned That There Is No

Pascals Wagerpascal A French Mathematician Reasoned That There Is No

Pascal’s Wager Pascal, a French mathematician reasoned that there is no rational proof for God’s existence. Nevertheless, Pascal argued, it is pragmatically justifiable to believe in God. The idea is that if there is a God, and you believed, then you get eternal rewards. If there is a God and you did not believe, you get eternal punishment. If there is no God, then either way you have nothing to lose (since there is no afterlife).

So, the rational thing to do, is to choose to believe in God. However, Pascal assumed there was a 50-50 chance that God exists. But there is not. First, we must decide which God exists, if one does. Since there are at least 1000 different Gods people believe in (and many more that people do not believe in), the odds that any one exists is, at best, 1-in-a-1000.

Then, even if you decide this, you must determine what God wants of you. For most religions it is not enough to believe God exists, you must pray and conduct particular rituals. Consider this. What if God gave us the ability to reason in order that we would see there is no rational proof for God’s existence. And only those people who recognize this and, using their God given reason, decide to NOT believe in God get into heaven? (remember the parable about the ten talents, Matthew 25) Kierkegaard Leap of Faith Many Christian doctrines are contradictory: 1.

God is immortal and God is mortal (Jesus). 2. God is merciful and God is just. 3. God knows everything and we have free-will.

4. God is omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent and evil exists. According to Soren Kierkegaard, the essence of Christian doctrine is faith......belief in the absurd. One must recognize the absurdity of the belief, and believe not only in spite of the absurdity, but actually because of it . Notice, this is not “blind faith†where one believes without investigation.

You must see the absurdity, then take a “leap.†James William James has a different story. For James, an option may have three qualities. It may be live or dead, momentous or trivial, and forced or unforced. • An hypothesis is a proposition presented for belief. And an option is when you have two or more hypothesis to choose from. • A live hypothesis is one which holds some meaning to you personally. It is “live†in your mind.

Otherwise, the hypothesis is dead. If you have two live hypotheses to choose from, you have a “live option.†• A momentous hypothesis is one which has significant consequences. Otherwise, it is trivial. Thus, an option is momentous if the consequences of your choice of hypothesis are significant. • A forced option is one where you cannot get away with “not choosing.†you must make a choice. James claimed that when you have a “genuine†option , one which is live, momentous and forced and reason cannot determine which hypothesis to choose, it is reasonable to simply make a choice (go with your gut).

Clifford Clifford and Blanshard believe that we have a moral obligation to only believe things that have sufficient evidence supporting them. Our actions and our emotions are the direct result of our beliefs and values. Because our actions and emotions affect ourselves and others around us, we have an obligation to ourselves and others to be selective in our beliefs. We should carefully screen our beliefs, letting only those with good evidence in, and rejection others. Nozick and Existentialism One of the big questions throughout this assignment is: Must there be a “god†to give our lives meaning?

Many belief so…..if there is no god, why are we here? (I hear this all the time) (consider Nozick’s example) But notice that this question seems to assume we are like slaves…..waiting to be given a purpose. Unless someone else tells us our purpose, we have none! Existentialism (among other claims) claims that we create our own purpose. According to Sartre, the only way to live an authentic life is determine for yourself what you are and who you will be. To live by doing what others expect of you, or what you think some unseen being expects of you, is not to live an authentic human life.

We create our own meaning for our own lives……unfortunately, most people choose to not think and just live by doing what others tell them they should do. Assignment 2 Situation Analysis Based on what you’ve learned so far in this course, regarding the 5 Cs, 4Ps, and STP, complete the assessment questions below. Submit the completed template in the Week 10 assignment submission link. Name: Professor’s Name: Course Title: Date: Company/Brand Selected (Fiat Chrysler, IBM, Burger King, or Old Spice): 1. Customers Who are the current customers/users?

Include information related to demographics, psychographics and buying behavior, price sensitivity, customer satisfaction and loyalty. For example: You could include information such as whether the brand is trying to appeal to a certain social or cultural group and how customers perceive the product/brand. It’s also possible to include demographic information related to: age, educational attainment, geographic area, gender, race, employment status and/or home ownership. Additionally, you can discuss psychographic information which includes those attributes that relate to personality, values, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles of people. This area is also related to situational life stages as well as customer beliefs, and how customers want to see themselves and be perceived.

Some examples of psychographic groups include video gamers, soccer moms, sports fanatics, hipsters, and single moms. Life cycle stages include: retirees, new homeowners, college students and new parents. Be aware that some products/brands may appeal to a wider customer base than others. [Insert response] What do the customers buy/use? [Insert response] What changes can the company/brand expect in the future? How can the company/brand better serve its customers? (For example, you could include information about the current demand for the product/brand, and how it is changing or has changed including possible variations or modifications in the future. You may also determine/discuss if the brand/company can take advantage or has taken advantage of the changes.

It’s also possible to consider and talk about whether the product/brand is a less expensive substitute, perhaps, or maybe a product/brand that is easier to use with more features.) [Insert response] Opportunities (Make sure you label why you call each item an opportunity): 1. [Insert response] 2. [Insert response] 3. [Insert response] Threats: (Make sure you label why you call each item a threat): 1. [Insert response] 2. [Insert response] 3. [Insert response] 2. Company This Section Discusses what the brand is currently. Identify strengths and weaknesses of the company/brand as it exists today, providing at least 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses. What does the company/brand do well and not so well at this very moment?

List 3 Strengths (Make sure you label why you call each item a Strength): 1. [Insert response] 2. [Insert response] 3. [Insert response] List 3 Weaknesses: (Make sure you label why you call each item a weakness): 1. [Insert response] 2. [Insert response] 3. [Insert response] This Section deals with what the company/brand needs to become. How can the company/brand improve its weaknesses and maintain or grow its strengths? Suggest how the company/brand can improve upon the things it does well and not so well. [Insert response] 3. Context Define the current business environment. Include information about political, legal, economic technological and societal factors that may influence sales.

For example: You could perhaps discuss the current trends and conditions for this Industry and for the brand. It’s possible to include information about how the Economy affects this industry. This could include changes in income: are people losing jobs, or getting paid more? Changes in spending habits could be considered as well. Other factors such as use of public transportation and shopping online may also be relevant.

Whether or not the product is high-tech, or state-of-the-art can be also be included in describing the context. For example, are there other companies producing new versions of the product? Is the market changing quickly? How is technology affecting this product or service? Are there any new laws that may affect the brand?

Political Environment : [Insert response] Legal : [Insert response] Economic : [Insert response] Technological : [Insert response] Societal/Sociocultural : [Insert response] 4. Collaborators Define the business partnerships. Does the company/brand have any current partnerships? What other company/brand may be a good partner for them? Current Partnerships and the discussion on them: [Insert response] Proposed Partnerships and the discussion them: [Insert response] 5.

Competitors Who are the main competitors? Label and discuss the top three competitors and why you consider them a competitor. Competitor 1: [Insert response] Competitor 2: [Insert response] Competitor 3: [Insert response] 6. Recommendations Based upon the analysis you just completed in this worksheet, what are three (3) key recommendations that you could pass along to Management regarding the future direction of the company you selected? Discuss why you have created these strategies and why you think they should be undertaken and work for the business.

1.Recommendation #1 and the Defense of the Recommendation: [Insert response] 2. Recommendation #2 and the Defense of the Recommendation: [Insert response] 3. Recommendation #3 and the Defense of the Recommendation: [Insert response] © 2018 Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University. MKT 100 Assignment ) Page 1 of 4