Concepts
| URL | Description |
|---|---|
| Anthropic Principle |
In astrophysics and cosmology, the anthropic principle (from the Greek, anthropos, human) is the philosophical consideration that observations of the physical Universe must be compatible with the conscious life that observes it. Some proponents of the anthropic principle reason that it explains why the Universe has the age and the fundamental physical constants necessary to accommodate conscious life. As a result, they believe it is unremarkable that the universe's fundamental constants happen to fall within the narrow range thought to be compatible with life. The strong anthropic principle (SAP) as explained by Barrow and Tipler (see variants) states that this is all the case because the Universe is compelled, in some sense, for conscious life to eventually emerge. Critics of the SAP argue in favor of a weak anthropic principle (WAP) similar to the one defined by Brandon Carter, which states that the universe's ostensible fine tuning is the result of selection bias: i.e., only in a universe capable of eventually supporting life will there be living beings capable of observing any such fine tuning, while a universe less compatible with life will go unbeheld. English writer Douglas Adams, who wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, used the metaphor of a living puddle examining its own shape, since, to those living creatures, the universe may appear to fit them perfectly (while in fact, they simply fit the universe perfectly). |
| Evolutionary Epistemology |  |
| Intelligent Design | Intelligent design (ID) is a form of creationism promulgated by the Discovery Institute, a politically conservative think tank based in the U.S. The Institute defines it as the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for the existence of God, presented by its advocates as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins" rather than "a religious-based idea". All the leading proponents of intelligent design are associated with the Discovery Institute and believe the designer to be the Christian deity. |
| Teleological argument | A teleological argument for the existence of God, also called an argument from design or physicotheological proof, is an a posteriori argument for the existence of God based on apparent design and purpose in nature, beyond the scope of any such human activity. Arguably, one can infer the existence of a designer given this premise, presumably God. Various concepts of teleology are developed by ancient and classical philosophers, such as Plato, who proposed a divine Artificer; others, notably Aristotle, rejected that conclusion in favor of a more naturalistic teleology. |
