巴斯噶(1623～1662年)

Pascal, Blaise

法国数学家、物理学家和宗教哲学家。数学家之子，为小神童，在1640年就写出圆锥曲线的论文，引起笛卡儿的嫉妒。1640年代和1650年代，对物理学（订出巴斯噶原理）和数学（钻研算术三角，发明计算机，并改进微分学）做了很大的贡献。由於早期研究的工作成果，他被视为现代机率论的创立者。同时，他逐渐卷入詹森主义的事件中。《给外省人》是扞卫詹森主义而攻击耶稣会的一系列书信。他为基督教教义辩护的钜着《辩护》，从未完成，但他把大多数笔记和未完成稿收集在一起，这些在他死後以《思想录》（1670）之名出版。後来他再次投入科学工作，对编《几何原本》做出贡献，并发表了他对旋轮线的发现，但不久又恢复宗教奉献的生活，晚年在救助穷人中度过。帕斯卡（pascal）一词即为纪念他而命名。亦请参阅Pascal's wager。

English version：

1623～1662年

Pascal, Blaise

French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher. The son of a mathematician, he was a child prodigy, earning the envy of Rene Descartes with an essay he wrote on conic sections in 1640. In the 1640s and '50s he made contributions to physics (formulating Pascal's law) and mathematics (working on the arithmetic triangle, inventing a calculating machine, and contributing to the advance of differential calculus). For work done in his early years, he is regarded as the founder of the modern theory of probability. At the same time he became increasingly involved with Jansenism. Les provinciales were a series of letters defending Jansenism and attacking the Jesuits. His great work of Christian apologetics, Apologie de la religion chrétienne, was never finished, but he put together most of his notes and fragments between 1657 and 1658; these were published posthumously as Pensées (1670). He returned to scientific work, contributing to the élements de géométrie and publishing his findings on cycloid curves, but he soon returned to devotional life and spent his last years helping the poor. The pascal was named in his honor. See also Pascal's wager.