It is an essential figure, whose brilliant work never ceases to resonate in us. Between literature and philosophy, mathematics and physics, religion and polemics, finesse and geometry, he made no choice. On the contrary, he has embraced everything, seen everything, understood everything, assimilated everything and finally exceeded everything with the fever of one who knows his own finitude.
This unique author in the landscape of French thought, is Blaise Pascal, the author of Thoughts and the Provincialbut also of The cone test, of Arithmetic triangle Treatise, of The art of persuasion, and of so many other key pieces that would make a date, such as the invention of the calculating machine and that of the first public transport, the famous «five-floor carriages».
So, “ scary genius ”, as Chateaubriand claims? No doubt. But a genius who, paradoxically, is also in his own way our fellow human being and our brother, a familiar without familiarity and, finally, our «contemporary capital». For the fourth centenary of his birth, numerous events and publications give us, throughout France, and particularly in Clermont-Ferrand, which saw it born on June 19, 1623, a unique opportunity: to discover or rediscover it. Let’s not miss it.
Celebrate Pascal in “distance” capsules and podcasts
Today’s youth, who also love finesse and lightness in the face of the serious challenges of our time, has invented, as everyone knows, video capsules and other formats says reels. The deepest ideas do not scare him, as shown tel youtuber struggling with the Pascalian bet, or such others with Pascal’s rhetoric. At the other end of the spectrum, but still online, we find with interest the Minutes from Port-Royal (produced by the Society of the Friends of Port-Royal) which this year brings together a series of "Pascallian Conferences", academic and no less exciting (organized by the Blaise Pascal International Centre and the University of Clermont Auvergne) !
Between these two extreme forms, one will not be shy of pleasure, listening for example to Etienne Klein (4-minute podcast on France Culture, 29 May 2023) drawing all the physical and metaphysical lessons from Pascal’s words on the void, or from Francis Métivier interviewed by Patricia Martin (France Inter, 17 March 2023, 54 minutes).
Celebrate Pascal in «virtual» mode: with your glasses and on the road!
A festive curiosity, which comes at the right time, was given to the public in preview at the Exhibition Space of the Michelin head office. It will be visible at the festival « The Burning Clouds ” from 16 to 18 June 2023, and in many sites, including the Blaise Pascal Symposium to be held in Montreal, Quebec on November 3 and 4. This is an immersive experience that allows you to watch, using VR headsets, a 360° film, aboard one of the famous 5-floor cars invented by Pascal, reconstructed for the occasion.
The five-floor coach is known to be the world’s first urban transit experiment. Blaise Pascal conceived the project and founded the company in 1661! These carriages already have the essential characteristics of modern lines: vehicles follow a fixed route, with departures at regular intervals and a fixed rate depending on the journey. Five lines were built. The experiment lasted until 1677. It was not until 1823 that the first omnibuses appeared in Nantes. We were celebrating the 200th anniversary of their designer. Can you be more ahead of your time?!
Celebrate Pascal in «presential» Conferences, exhibitions, publications
Nothing beats, however, the "living" party in the flesh. For example, festival-goers of “Nuits ardentes” will have the chance to attend a conference by the famous mathematician Cédric Villani on, in particular, the “Pascaline”, namely one of the very first calculating machines, which Pascal developed, At a young age, to relieve his father of his tedious accounting work.
For those who wish to understand the life and works of Blaise Pascal in their entirety and without omitting anything (impossible mission, moreover!), the Roger Quillot Art Museum, located in the historic district of Montferrand, gives a very comprehensive exposure (The Mysteries of Blaise Pascal, from June 15 to October 15, 2023), which is the subject of prestigious loans from the National Library of France, the Musée des Arts et Métiers, the Louvre and the Musée national d'art moderne.
This exhibition is built in five parts: Pascal, Clermont, France and Europe; Pascal and the religious and political context of his time; Pascal scholar, experimenter and entrepreneur; Pascal philosopher and mystic; and finally Pascal after Pascal, the story of a national figure. An encyclopedia for all audiences, which focuses on contextualization and sensitive approach to texts, works and scientific experiments.
As a counterpoint to such a beautiful visit, if you are lucky enough to be in Clermont-Ferrand on June 19, 2023, you will not miss the opportunity to admire and listen to Marie-Christine Barrault performing in a musical and literary performance, based on the work of Marc Pautrel, at the House of Culture : A Childhood of Blaise Pascal.
Marie-Christine Barrault was, along with Françoise Fabian, Antoine Vitez and Jean-Louis Trintignant, one of the characters in the film My Night at Maud’s, by Eric Rohmer, famous for his reference to the bet.
The special conferences scheduled for the occasion include Pierre Force (Columbia University) will give on September 12 in the amphitheatre of the Lycée Blaise-Pascal de Clermont-Ferrand: Innovation as a spiritual exercise: Pascal and Montaigne, two concepts (innovation and exercise) that immediately plunge us into the heart of this brilliant personality that was Blaise Pascal.
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