Pensées

American  

[pahn-seyz, pahn-, pahn-sey] / pɑnˈseɪz, pɑ̃-, pɑ̃ˈseɪ /

noun

1. a collection of notes, essays, etc., dealing with religious and philosophical matters by Blaise Pascal, published posthumously in 1670.

---

Pensées Cultural  

1. A set of reflections on religion by Blaise Pascal (pensées is French for “thoughts”). This work contains the famous statement “The heart has its reasons that reason does not know.”

---

Example Sentences

The machine was included in Christie's auction of the library of the late Catalonia collector Léon Parcé, which also featured Pascal's philosophical piece Pensées and the first printed version of "Pascal's wager".

From BBC • Nov. 19, 2025

This story was originally published on Pascal’s Pensées and has been republished here with permission.

From Slate • Oct. 12, 2017

His Pensées appeared after his death, in 1669, and they have reappeared in many forms, “edited” by many schools of thought. 

From Immortal Memories by Shorter, Clement King

The remarks on Pascal's Pensées are unimportant contributions to the crusade against superstition; the Philosophical Dictionary, 1764, is a heterogeneous collection of articles with the same object.

From A Short History of French Literature by Saintsbury, George

But whether or not Madame de Sablé’s influence served to enrich the Pensées of Pascal, it is clear that but for her influence the “Maxims” of La Rochefoucauld would never have existed. 

From The Essays of "George Eliot" Complete by Sheppard, Nathan