What sort of freak then is man! (Pascal. Pensées. #131). What does it mean to be human? Few have written with greater clarity on this question than Blaise Pascal (1623-1662). At the dawn of the Enlightenment, he wrote: “Man is neither angel nor beast, and it is unfortunately the case that anyone trying to act the angel acts the beast.” (Pensées. #678). Pascal understood that humans hold a unique place in the created order. We are not angels. We are not beasts. And yet, we