Why Do People Fall in Love

In 1680, the French 17th-century philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal had his Penseés (Thoughts) published, and since he died in 1672, this was assembled posthumously.  It is a collection of some 800 to 1,000 notes and manuscript fragments on theology and philosophy, expressing his religious beliefs.  Pascal explored the contradictions of human nature in psychological, social, metaphysical and theological terms, while defining the human condition using three words: boredom, inconstancy and anxiety.  Mankind emerges from Pascal’s analysis as a wretched and desolate creature within an impersonal universe, but hope is still there as anyone can be transformed through faith in God’s grace.

In this work Pascal wrote, “The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know.”  Pascal probably meant that truth and reason not only come from what we see and hear, but also from what we feel in our heart.  Since this was in French, it is difficult to know…