THE ANTHROPIC PRINCIPLE. Human existence depends upon the very precise calibration of thirty separate physical parameters in The Universe, which it is inconceivable could pertain by blind chance. An Intelligent Agency is required to so precisely calibrate these thirty physical parameters. Further details on this present page.
HURDLE NUMBER 31. THE ANTHROPIC PRINCIPLE HURDLE.
Here is a quote from The Arkana Dictionary of New Perspectives, by Stuart Holroyd, published by Arkana, 1989, Page 3 (Entry:- Anthropic Principle.):-
“Anthropic Principle – The existence - - - - of - - - - human life - - - depends on the coincidences of thousands of felicitous conditions which it is inconceivable could pertain by blind chance. A slight variation in any of the physical constants that constitute the “laws” of the universal order would have resulted in conditions inhospitable to life. From “The Big Bang” onwards, everything seems to have been designed and orchestrated to favor human life. This fact is known as The Anthropic Principle - - - - the facts that constitute the anthropic principle are beyond dispute. “
The following quote is from the book – Show Me God – by Fred Heeren, volume 1, published by Daystar Publications, 4th printing, 1998, page 213:-
The author quotes Stephen Hawking – “The Universe - - - - if the rate of expansion one second after The Big Bang had been smaller by even one part in A HUNDRED THOUSAND MILLION MILLION, the universe would have collapsed before it ever reached its present state.” (My capitals.)
Here is a quote from the same book – page 395:-
The author quotes Stephen Hawking again, which cites the critical ratio between the masses of the proton and the electron as one of the many fundamental numbers in nature. He adds - - -“These numbers seem to have been very finely adjusted to make possible the development of life.”
The next quote is from the book The Road to Reality – by Roger Penrose, (Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University), published by Vintage Books, 2005, page 759:-
“Another example of cosmic good fortune is the fact that the neutron’s mass is just slightly greater than that of the proton (1838 and 1836 electron masses respectively). The existence of an appropriate family of stable nuclei, on which almost the whole of chemistry depends, rests upon this seemingly fortuitous fact.”
The next quote is from the book The Quantum And The Lotus, by Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Xuan Thuan, published by Crown Publishers, NY, 2001, page 39:-
“Modern cosmology has discovered that the conditions that allow for human life seem to be coded into the properties of - - - - our universe and in all the physical laws that govern it - - - - (There are) about 15 numbers called “physical constants - - - - - (They list these numbers) - - - These constants (ie:- their precise values) play a fundamental role in how a universe evolves - - - If these constants and initial conditions were just slightly different, then we wouldn’t be here talking about them. The universe, right from the start, seems to have carried the seeds that allowed for the emergence of consciousness - - - - - In the words of Freeman Dyson (Note:- Dyson joined the faculty at Cornell as a physics professor), “The universe in some sense must have known we were coming.”
Here is a quote from page 41 of the same book:-
“The density of the universe at the start - - - had to be fixed with an accuracy of around 10 – 60 (If very, very, very slightly different) - - - there would be no life. This astonishing precision is analogous to the dexterity of an archer hitting a one centimeter square target placed FIFTEEN BILLION LIGHT YEARS AWAY (my capitals) - - - - In the face of such extraordinary fine tuning, many cosmologists have argued that the universe was so finely tuned in order to allow it to produce life - - - humanity - - - - being the very reason the universe was designed as it is.”
Here is a quote from page 50 of the same book:-
Einstein is quoted:-“The scientist - - - his religious feeling takes the form of rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law, which reveals AN INTELLIGENCE OF SUCH SUPERIORITY.” (My capitals.)
The next quote is from the book Home is Where The Wind Blows – Chapters From a Cosmologist’s Life, by Fred Hoyle (Plumian Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge University), published by University Science Books, California, 1994, page 421:-
“The atheistic view that the universe just happens to be here without purpose and yet without logical structure seems to me to be obtuse - - - - What I suspect is that the restrictions defining our universe - - - - are optimized for their consequences.”
The next quote is from the book The Goldilocks Enigma by Paul Davies (Paul Davies is an internationally acclaimed physicist and cosmologist, writer of over 20 books. He has a Ph.D. from The University of London, and has held academic appointments at Cambridge and other universities. He is currently employed at Arizona State University.), published by Penguin Books, 2007, pages 2 to 3:-
“To meet - - - the requirements (for life to occur) certain stringent conditions must be satisfied in the underlying laws that regulate the universe, so stringent, in fact, that a biofriendly universe looks like a “fix” or a “put up job” to use the words of British cosmologist Fred Hoyle (who was Plumian Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge University). It appeared to Hoyle as if a super-intellect had been “monkeying with the laws of physics” - - - - On the face of it, the universe DOES look as if it has been designed by an intelligent creator expressly for the purpose of spawning sentient beings - - - - The universe seems to be just right for life in many intriguing ways - - - the enigma of why the universe is so uncannily fit for life - - ”
The next quote is from page 9 of the same book:-
Davies quotes James Jeans (Professor of Applied Mathematics at Princeton University, and a highly influential astronomer):-
“The Universe appears to have been designed by a pure mathematician.”
HURDLE NUMBER 32. THE TERRESTRIAL ANTHROPIC PRINCIPLE HURDLE.
We have seen that The Universe, against all the odds is perfectly configured so as to enable the existence of biological life-forms. It turns out that Planet Earth, similarly against all the odds, is also perfectly configured and arranged so as to enable the existence of biological life-forms. We can refer to this as The Terrestrial Anthropic Principle. Here are some quotes from authoritative sources that substantiate the above statement:-
Here are some quotes from the book Gaia by J. E. Lovelock, published by Oxford University Press, 1989:-
Page 10:- “The atmospheric concentration of gases such as oxygen and ammonia is found to be kept at an optimum value from which even small departures could have disastrous consequences for life.”
Page 6:- “The climate and the chemical properties of The Earth now and throughout its history seem always to have been optimal for life. For this to have happened by chance is as unlikely as to survive unscathed a drive blindfold through rush hour traffic.”
The next quote is from New Scientist (magazine), issue for 14th January, 2017, page 133. Article:- Earth’s Ghostly Guardian – by Marcus Woo:-
“Our planet’s protective magnetic field - - - without it a - - - onslaught of charged particles would bombard our planet’s atmosphere - - - stripping away the - - - - - gas (ie:- atmosphere) surrounding our planet entirely.”
The next quote is from the Book of Facts Volume 1, by Isaac Asimov, published by Coronet Books, 1981, page 326:-
“Twenty thousand plants are listed by The World Health Organization as being used for therapeutic purposes.”
(My comment:- If a wild plant happens to contain chemicals beneficial to humans, this fact confers no particular competitive advantage or survival benefit for the plant. In that case, the theory of evolution cannot explain the bio-pharmacy provided for our use on Planet Earth. Not content to merely cure human ailments, Planet Earth also provides an astounding assortment of ingredients for our gastronomic pleasure. The Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Herbs by Deni Bown (published by BCA reprint 1997) lists over 1000 different herbs.)
The next quote is from the book Lucky Planet – Why Earth is Exceptional - - - by David Waltham (Ph.D. in Physics – Head of Earth Sciences at University of London, published by Icon, 2014, page ix:-
“There are many ways of getting a world wrong, but few ways of getting it right - - - - Earth has been blessed with incredible good fortune, giving it the right properties to sustain a complex - - - biosphere.”
The next quote is from page 42 of the same book:-
The author tells us that there are (as he insists) twelve properties of a planet that could allow it to be habitable by life-forms. He speculates that “we end up with only one planet in a trillion satisfying all twelve properties.” (He admits that this number is speculative.)
The following quotes are from the book Rare Earth by Peter D. Ward (Professor of Geological Sciences at The University of Washington in Seattle) and Donald Brownlee (Professor of Astronomy at the same university), published by Copernicus Books, 2004:-
Page xxvi:- We are told that The Giant Planets (of The Solar System) protect Earth from asteroid collisions.
Page xxix:- The authors explain that our position in the galaxy is just right for life to form. (Most locations would be fatal to life!)
Pages xxxi to xxxii:- The authors explain some of the features of Earth that are conducive to life.
Right distance from The Sun.
Right mass of The Sun (long enough lifetime, and not too much ultraviolet light.)
Stable planetary orbits.
Right planetary mass (ie:- of The Earth).
Amount of water on Earth just right. (Most planets have no water. If we had too much water, there would be no land.)
The Moon the “correct” size – apparently stabilizes Earth’s axial tilt, optimizing the seasons.
Right amount of carbon. (Too much would cause The Greenhouse Effect, and overheated temperatures.)
Page 45:- The authors point out that “planets - - - - if they form close enough to the star to be in its habitable zone, they typically end up with very little water”
Page 47:- The authors point out that “With even twice as much water, Earth would have ended up - - - - entirely covered with - - - water - - - and very few nutrients would have been available in the ocean.”
Page 53:- The authors point out that “The planet’s remarkable mixture of land and oceans is a balancing act.”
(My comment:- The habitability of Earth comprises a numerous and vastly improbable series of “balancing acts”.)
OBJECTIONS TO THE ANTHROPIC PRINCIPLE.
The main objection to The Anthropic Principle and also to The Terrestrial Anthropic Principle is as follows:- This universe might possibly not be the only universe. There might possibly be billions and billions of (parallel) universes, each with different physical laws and physical constants. This being the case, it was inevitable that at least one of these universes would have all the parameters finely tuned exactly “right” for life to form. Furthermore, with so many planets in these various universes, it was inevitable that at least one would have the Earth-like features conducive to biological life-forms. In that case, we do not need to postulate an Intelligent Agency who fine-tunes all the physical laws and parameters.
I want to argue against this (so called) “multi-verse” theory with the following “parable”.
I go to a card game. The dealer deals me EXACTLY THE SAME HAND TEN TIMES IN A ROW! I accuse him of dealing from the bottom of the deck. He laughs at me. “Haven’t you heard of The Multi-verse Theory?” he asks me. He explains that with billions of card games on billions of planets in billions of (parallel) universes, it was inevitable that sooner or later the same hand of cards would turn up ten times in a row, defying odds of 1 in a billion billion billion.
Question:- Would you believe the dealer’s explanation, or would you insist that he was dealing from the bottom of the deck.?
The “Multi-verse theory is purely speculative. There is no scientific evidence for it. It is effectively an atheist “cop-out”, a deliberate evasive obfuscation of The Anthropic Principle. The Anthropic Principle constitutes compelling evidence for the existence of an Intelligent Agency who fine-tunes the universe (and Planet Earth) for our benefit.