Café Philo: A Summer with Pascal by Antoine Compagnon

Wednesday, August 27, 2025 From 6:00 PM To 7:30 PM Add to Calendar 2025-08-27 18:00:00 2025-08-27 19:30:00 Café Philo: A Summer with Pascal by Antoine Compagnon Explore the wit and wisdom of Pascal in a guided discussion that blends literature, philosophy, and convivial exchange. The French Library, 53 Marlborough St, Boston, Massachusetts, United States America/New_York

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Join us for a rich and reflective philosophical evening exploring A Summer with Pascal, Antoine Compagnon’s engaging introduction to one of France’s most brilliant and influential minds: Blaise Pascal.

The book brings Pascal’s reflections on faith, doubt, reason, and the human condition vividly to life through the thoughtful and accessible voice of Antoine Compagnon, esteemed scholar and literary critic.

Praised as both “charming and instructive,” the book offers a rare chance to connect with a thinker who continues to speak to the human experience across centuries:
“Even those who pick it up as a diversion may find that Pascal is a companion for all occasions, that he is a friend and a guide for all mortal men and women who are searching, with an inevitable mix of angst and hope, for the truth and grace that truly save us.”
—Daniel J. Mahoney, New Criterion

Guided by Pierre-Laurent Boulanger, a Boston-based philosopher with academic experience in Paris and Berkeley, this book club–style conversation invites participants to explore these timeless questions together.

Reading the book in advance is encouraged but not required. You can order your copy on Harvard University Press website.

The event will be held in English.

Members

$10

Non-Members

$15

About the book:

Best known for his contributions to mathematics and physics, Blaise Pascal was also a brilliant philosopher and theologian whose Pensées and Provincial Letters remain cornerstones of Western thought.

A Summer with Pascal offers an accessible and engaging introduction to one of France’s most complex and overlooked thinkers. With clarity and insight, Antoine Compagnon leads readers into Pascal’s world of reason, faith, and moral questioning, revealing just how deeply his ideas still speak to our time.

About the Speakers:

Antoine Compagnon is Blanche W. Knopf Professor of French and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and Professor Emeritus at the Collège de France. A member of the Académie française, he is one of France’s most respected literary scholars.

He is the author of numerous influential works, including Proust Between Two Centuries, Five Paradoxes of Modernity, and A Summer with Montaigne. His writings—translated into nineteen languages—bridge literature, philosophy, and intellectual history, making the ideas of great French thinkers accessible to a wide audience.

Pierre-Laurent Boulanger teaches philosophy at the International School of Boston. He previously taught for ten years in the Philosophy Department at Université Paris Nanterre, with a research focus on the philosophy of the body and sport.

Passionate about making philosophical ideas accessible and relevant, he brings a thoughtful and engaging approach to public discussion. His welcoming style invites participants of all backgrounds to explore life’s big questions through literature, conversation, and shared reflection.

This event launches our new series of philosophy-infused literary gatherings, with upcoming sessions on Tocqueville, Thoreau, and Sylvain Tesson.

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