Created by the seventeenth-century philosopher and mathematician Pascal, the essays contained in Human Happiness are a curiously optimistic look at whether humans can ever find satisfaction and real joy in life – or whether a belief in God is a wise gamble at best.Throughout history, some books have changed the world.They have transformed the way we see ourselves – and each other.They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution.They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted.They have enriched lives – and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.