The heart in Pascal and in the hesychast tradition

This article by Daniela Palasan offers a comparative study between the notion of the heart in Blaise Pascal and the hesychast tradition of the Christian East. The approach, resolutely theological and interdisciplinary, brings pascalian writings into dialogue with texts from the Fathers of the Eastern Church — notably Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Palamas, Diadochus of Photice and Mark the Ascetic — as well as with the works of contemporary theologians such as Dumitru Staniloae and Paul Evdokimov. The central idea is that the heart constitutes, in Pascal as in Orthodox spirituality, the integrating center of the human being, the seat of the divine image, the locus of intuitive knowledge and the space of encounter with God. The article shows that the separation between reason and heart is a consequence of original sin, and that Jesus Christ plays the role of mediator between the abyss of the human heart and the divine abyss. The main contribution lies in bringing to light deep convergences between two distinct spiritual traditions around a common anthropology centered on the heart.