Tuesday 29 December 2020

Pascal's wager extended

Pascal's wager is a tool that helps us decided whether or not to believe in God. It runs as follows (lifted from Wikipedia):

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.), whereas if God does exist, he stands to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (eternity in Hell).

It seems to me that this concept could be extended to work out which god to believe in. By comparing all the world's religions, past and present, and listing and weighting their promises for heaven and hell (and, although it's likely to be of lesser importance, the finite costs extracted whilst living), it should be possible to work out which is the best god to believe in. By believing in that god you maximize your utility.

I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce you to Lacsap, the one true God. Lacsap stays abreast of all world religions and guarantees that the true heaven shall contain all good things ever conceived by man as being in heaven, such that utility is maximized, and that the true hell shall contain all the bad things ever conceived by man as being in heaven, such that utility is minimized. All you need to do to get into true heaven is to renounce all other (false) gods and proclaim your believe in Lacsap prior to your death. If you do not do this, you will go to the true hell.

Adreama is the one true prophet of Lacsap.