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Thoughts of Blaise Pascal

A fixed point (thought 383)

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) was a philosopher, engineer and mathematician of genius. Among other major scientific and philosophical advances, in 1645 he invented and built the first mechanical calculating machine, laying the concrete foundations of computer science.

The “Pensées” are a collection of very short texts, divided into numerous themes, which were found after Blaise Pascal’s death. The “Pensées” are Blaise Pascal’s most illustrious, striking and accessible work.

These films, directed by Benoît Labourdette, are based on the principle of choosing a “Thought”, and creating images, sounds, music, rhythm, life, architecture and imagination to showcase it. The film is there to propose discovery and invite personal philosophical thought, based on Blaise Pascal’s fulgurances. Each film is accompanied by the full text of the “Thought” chosen, and sometimes by a text of my own, to make the link with our contemporary reality.

On June 19, 2023, we celebrate the 400th anniversary of Blaise Pascal’s birth. These films are a form of homage to this thinker who, for me, speaks profoundly to our contemporary issues.

Selection of the day: « A fixed point (thought 383) »

How do we know if we’re right or if the other guy is right?In the staging of this film, the text appears as a single piece. This may seem simplistic. It’s meant to symbolize that a way of thinking about the world must take into account all the different points of view in order to arrive at a truth. If the text appeared as it went along, it could be fragmented, weakened by bias.
 
Link to the complete film description
A film by Benoît Labourdette (2’15s, 2023).
A fixed point (thought 383)
A fixed point (thought 383)

A film by Benoît Labourdette (2’15s, 2023).

How do we know if we’re right or if the other guy is right?In the staging of this film, the text appears as a single piece. This may seem simplistic. It’s meant to symbolize that a way of (…)
The true nature (thought 426)
The true nature (thought 426)

A film by Benoît Labourdette (2’, 2023).

Nature is a computer.If we think, in philosophical depth, of what nature is, with the DNA code that programs the living, this code itself being modulated by the environment and history, (…)
To the little things (thought 198)
To the little things (thought 198)

A film by Benoît Labourdette (2’45s, 2021).

Digital meditation.
Nature begins again (thought 121)
Nature begins again (thought 121)

A film by Benoît Labourdette (2’22s, 2021).

Thinking the mystery of life through mathematics.
You can imagine (thought 473)
You can imagine (thought 473)

A film by Benoît Labourdette (1’43s, 2021).

Sometimes the pieces of the puzzle fit together like a piece of cake... you think you’re touching heaven.
Movement (thought 129)
Movement (thought 129)

A film by Benoît Labourdette (1’22s, 2020).

At night, truths are sometimes revealed to us so lucid that they don’t survive the return of light.
Man is only a reed (thought 63)
Man is only a reed (thought 63)

A film by Benoît Labourdette (1’30s, 2020).

Facing the power of the world, what is the specificity of the human being, his deepest essence?
The reason (thought 267)
The reason (thought 267)

A film by Benoît Labourdette (4’15s, 2020).

The paradox of knowing there’s so much we don’t know. IssueCan a film be a philosophical support? I.e. to be a tool to open up to the activity of thinking about the world. I think so.
Writing my thought (thought 372)
Writing my thought (thought 372)

A film by Benoît Labourdette (1’22s, 2019).

Where the activity of writing takes us unwittingly into unfathomable depths.
Thought 381
Thought 381

Film by Benoît Labourdette (2’47 s, 2016).

Is reality more real than dream, or both are equal ? Based on the “Thoughts” by Blaise Pascal (17th century).