Issue 4 Spread

Society heavily emphasizes individuality; the traits and values that breed distinct beings who experience trials and strengths also fuels a sense of ultimate belongingness. Some turn differences into boundaries, while others demand and enforce the celebration of them. Consequently, these defining factors are often worn like bold accessories. People want them to be seen in order to validate the uniqueness of the soul they bear. This world is too quick to forget that each sole gracing its grasses faces the same battle in the grand scheme of it all: making meaning of an aimless and unexplainable existence on earth. 

There are two points in time that every life has in common: birth and death. The inbetween is what gives each person their own road to pave and identity to cultivate. Throughout that inbetween phase, anxiety surrounding one’s purpose and eternal fate is an intuitive circumstance. One will never know whether humans ascend into heaven, or roam earth in a phantom frame until their dying day. This truth has a menacing edge, one capable of puncturing and leaving a hole agape in the human heart. 

High school students are familiar with Blaise Pascal’s infinite triangular array, however, he is also responsible for the “God-shaped hole” philosophy, referring to the anxious void produced by the unexplainable realities of existence, one he feels can only be filled with theology. The French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher dealt with this concept in a work of Christian apologies that was left unfinished after his passing. Thankfully, editors pieced together his notes, publishing Pensées (“Thoughts”) on his behalf in 1670, which continues to enlighten over 350 years later.

“The present never satisfies us, experience deceives us, and leads us on from one misfortune to another until death comes as the ultimate and eternal climax,” Pascal wrote in Pensées. 

Everyone has experienced the very circumstance Pascal describes; dedicating ourselves to an action that we realize, in hindsight, has no value in the grand scheme of life. This is a struggle humans often face unknowingly as they immerse themselves in society’s suffocating environment and try to redeem gratification from what others expect of them. Everyone craves a life of fulfillment, but endure difficulty when it comes to achieving such an ambiguous concept. 

“This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself” -Pascal, Pensées

Thus, Pascal argues, people, occupations, hobbies, and inanimate objects can only distract from one’s unavoidable fate, and efforts to use said objects to fill the void of moral instability will never suffice. He believes the only way to receive true guidance in both the physical and spiritual world is through Christ. This theoretically leaves agnostics, atheists, and other non-believers bound to feel discontent and more likely to face eternal damnation. 

However, Pensées was written in the 17th century, a time when religion was a more vital part of everyday life due to its profound political influence. According to pewresearch.org, “One in five U.S. adults now describe their religion as ‘nothing in particular,’” as of 2021, and in a recent West survey, roughly ⅓ of the student body (34%) do not affiliate themselves with a religion, or identify as atheist/agnostic. Pascal viewed faith as a responsibility, whereas to Gen-Z, it is merely an option, and one more thing to add to an already full plate. 

Still, the yearning remains. Yearning to live life to the fullest, while yearning to find the true meaning in doing so. Yearning to derive meaning from existence, while yearning to know if said meaning even translates into a form of eternity. Yearning because one can dedicate their life to a higher power, but whether or not said power truly exists is uncertain. Yearning because one can fill their life with loads of knowledge, yet never have answers to the most immense and universal questions. Yearning because the hole in the heart may be irreversible, or perhaps we just need to reconsider what we are using to fill it. 

by Jazmine Blustin

Published February 3rd, 2025

Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue IV