Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the lack of contradiction a sign of truth.

This remark is associated with Pascal’s posthumously published notes known as the Pensées, compiled from fragments he wrote in the 1650s while planning an “apology” for the Christian religion. In these notes Pascal repeatedly warns against overconfidence in purely rational proofs and against simplistic criteria for judging truth. The line fits his broader habit of pointing out how human reasoning is limited, how complex realities can contain apparent oppositions, and how the absence of dispute or tension is not, by itself, evidence that a claim is sound.

Pascal cautions that disagreement or internal tension in an idea does not automatically refute it, just as smooth consistency does not automatically verify it. Human beings often treat contradiction as a shortcut for dismissal and coherence as a shortcut for assent, but Pascal argues that reality—particularly the human condition—can be paradoxical, and our perspectives partial. A true account may contain apparent contradictions because it tries to capture different aspects of a complex subject; conversely, a false account may be neatly self-consistent because it is simplified or insulated from counterevidence. The quote thus urges intellectual humility and a more rigorous standard of judgment than mere logical tidiness.