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.

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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.”

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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

The facts of Pascal's life, so far as they are necessary for this brief introduction to the Pensées, are as follows.

From Pascal's Pensées by Pascal, Blaise

In 1746 he wrote his Pensées Philosophiques, intended to be placed in opposition to the Pensées of Pascal.

From History of Free Thought in Reference to The Christian Religion by Farrar, Adam Storey

This section of the Pensées is directed chiefly against them.

From Pascal's Pensées by Pascal, Blaise