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It is not the case that Attributing a restricted probability space to Pascal's audience conflates the rhetorical framing of an argument with its logical scope.
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Reasons For
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Reason for
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1.
Pascal explicitly structured his argument for a specific audience with particular background beliefs; ignoring this context misrepresents his actual claim.
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2.
The probability space one considers rational depends on epistemic background—what's logically available differs across contexts and knowledge states.
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3.
Distinguishing between rhetorical framing and logical scope requires showing they can meaningfully diverge; Pascal's case may not admit this separation.
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Reasons Against
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Reason against
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1.
Pascal's wager logically applies to all possible metaphysical states, not just those he rhetorically presented to 17th-century French audiences.
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2.
Conflating rhetorical strategy with logical content allows ad hoc restrictions that undermine the argument's generalizability and rational force.
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3.
An argument's validity depends on its premises and inference rules, which exist independently of how persuasively they are framed.
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