What is Pascal's Wager?

Pascal's Wager is a philosophical argument proposed by 17th-century philosopher Blaise Pascal. It posits that humans bet with their lives that God either exists or does not. Pascal argues that a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not actually exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.). However, if God does exist, he stands to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (eternity in Hell).

The wager uses the following logic: even if the probability of God's existence is extremely low, the potential benefits of believing are so vast as to make betting on theism rational. Pascal asserts that wagering on God's existence requires only a finite sacrifice, while the potential benefit is infinite, making the choice a rational one under his framework 1.