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Grace Nguyen
PHIL 418-01
October 5, 2015
Percy vs. Pascal
How often is it that people truly reflect on who they are? Do we know ourselves? Do we
understand how we came about into this Earth and our purpose here? These are just a few
questions philosophers Walker Percy and Blaise Pascal propose in their works. In the two works
that we read from, Lost in the Cosmos and selections from Pensee, both philosophers express this
idea of being lost. Percy and Pascal offer their definition of being lost and give readers various
examples to support their ideas. Though both philosophers approach this idea in varying ways, in
the end, Percy and Pascal agree on what it means to be lost.
In Lost in the Cosmos Percy describes being lost as the inability to place oneself in ones
world. In other words, we are unspeakable to ourselves because we are not an object in our
world. This derives from Percys concept of how interactions work either in a dyadic or triadic
manner. Dyadic is used to describe interactions between two things, for example, energy
exchanges. On the other hand, triadic is used to describe interactions between three things. In a
triadic relationship the interaction between the three things develops linguistic behavior. Percy
gives the example of Helen Keller learning what water is. Annie Sullivan guides Helen by
spelling out water in her hand while running water in the other hand. Through this experience
Helen is not only experiencing water, but she is giving water a name and a symbol in her world.
From here Percy explains that the world is triadic. The world is segmented and named by
language; it is created by sign-activity. If one thinks about it, everything in this world is
understood by its name, its sign. It is through the use of language that we as humans
understand experiences. Words enable us to signify meaning. However, Percy believes that the
self is lost because there is never a sign for oneself. As humans, we are naming things out in the
world. But, since the self is not in the world, it cant name itself therefore it is unspeakable to

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itself. Though we cant place ourselves, we need to place ourselves. He calls this the semiotic
snake in the grass.
In order to alleviate the lifestyle of being lost, Percy offers quizzes to help analyze and
categorize where the self is. This appears in the beginning of the book when Percy offers the
different chapters: the amnesic self, the self as nought, the self in nowhere, the fearful self, the
misplaced self, the promiscuous self, the bored self, the impoverished self, the depressed self,
etc. Each chapter provokes various reflections of the self and brings awareness to humans sense
of dislocation. As humans we easily fall in and out of these different categories of the self in
order to divert our consciousness of the actual problem being lost. We were born, never
questioned where we came from or how we came to be or why were there and automatically
tried to go along with society, thus trying to place ourselves in the different categories. In reality,
since we do not know ourselves, we are sincerely lost.
Just as Percy defined being lost, Pascal (in his selections from Pensee) also defines being
lost as the inability to place ourselves in the universe. Though, Pascal approaches this idea from
a slightly different perspective. To Pascal the human condition is dual. Humans fall in this
predicament of being between two infinities truth and falsehood, knowledge and ignorance,
large and small. Because of this, we are walking paradoxes. In attempt to place ourselves we
infinitely transcend ourselves. However, in the end, we are unknowable to ourselves. Pascal calls
us a thinking reed. This means that were weak but our dignity consists in thought. We identify
ourselves in the things that we know. As a result of this perspective we are fearful of what we do
not know. Pascal gives an example of our lost-ness by providing the readers with a desert
island scenario. On a desert island, a person comes to consciousness. He doesnt know where he
is, how he got there, or why he is there. However, he continues to exist on the desert island and
follow the ways of the culture of the people on the island. Humans, in the same way, serve as that

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person who came into existence on the desert island. We slowly came to consciousness on this
Earth, we didnt ask to be here, and instead of pursuing the unknown, we respond in two ways
we divert, or we are indifferent. With diversion we keep ourselves from knowing who we are or
what were doing. We allow things to distract ourselves (shiny rocks) and live a life of
unawareness of ourselves. The second option, indifference, is self-explanatory. Pascal explains
that some people are indifferent to knowing themselves. With all of this, once again, the idea of
humans as lost are presented.
Though Percy and Pascal describe being lost in different ways, both philosophers still
amount to the same thing. In the big scheme of things Pascal and Percy both define being lost as
the inability to place oneself in the world. According to the philosophers, humans respond to
being lost in different ways, but, in the end, we are still lost and do not know ourselves.
Moreover, when reading through Pascals selections from Pensees it is evident that there are
similarities between his philosophy and Percys. For example, Pascals idea of being caught
between two infinities is similar to when Percy says that one can be the hero and the asshole. In
addition to the two infinities, Percy also has the same idea as the desert island thought
experiment. Both philosophers agree that humans came to consciousness, didnt ask to be
brought into this Earth, have no clue about the who/what/where/when/why and struggle to pursue
the unknowns, that is why we are lost.
Nevertheless, some may argue that both philosophers idea of being lost do not amount to
the same thing because it is more than just a placement problem, it is a problem with
transcendence. In Lost in the Cosmos Percy explains that the self identifies itself in two modes of immanence and transcendence. In order to understand the self, one can be immanent and a
consumer or one can transcend by science and art. This alludes to the thought of having re-entry
problems from transcending. In other words, one who transcends by art or science gets too into

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their work and struggles to go back into their normal life. Still, I would argue that at the origin
of the re-entry problem lays the problem of placing the self. Even if one struggles to return to
their normal life, that still means that they are having trouble placing themselves. Having
difficulties with returning to the average daily activities is a synonym for having difficulties with
placing oneself; they are struggling to place themselves in the world of the average. In
addition, if one does not know the self, how can one be sure that they have re-entered into their
authentic, normal life? How will one ever know if the way that they are living is reality? Its like
the thought of what if this is all a dream? At the root of it is the problem of knowing the self.
Due to our human condition we are unable to place ourselves. We are considered lost
because we are not within this simple world where everything else is named. In order to solve the
complex problem of being lost, Percy and Pascal offer solutions such as knowing God. Overall,
Percy and Pascal expose the need for self-awareness and the need to be present not only in this
world but with ourselves too.
Word Count: 1,298