The Anthropic Principle

Paper Summary:

The paper explains that proponents of the principle believe, if any of the constants of life were any different than the observer knows them to be, then life as he or she knows it would not exist. Basically, the anthropic principle questions the origin of everything in the universe. The author reports that Brandon Carter, who presented his ideas about the anthropic principle in 1974, claims that the principle was meant only to caution astrophysicists and cosmologists of possible errors in the interpretation of astronomical and cosmological data unless the biological constraints of the observer were taken into account. The paper relates that the anthropic principle presents no definitive answers, only the suggestion that everything in the universe is interrelated and interdependent, and perhaps there is some type of intelligent design, a fundamental core that holds all these variable together.

Table of Contents
Introduction
The Anthropic Principle
Thought Leaders

From the Paper:

"The most significant premise of the anthropic principle is that our place in the universe is special. Further, we occupy a unique segment of cosmic history. This of course is the controversy of the principle. Since the early days of scientific thought, it has been believed that there is nothing special about our place in the universe. Believers in the anthropic principle hope to disprove this. Theologically, the anthropic principle has led to a revival of the argument from design, which had lost its intellectual respectability when Darwin came along."

More papers on The Anthropic Principle:

• Term Paper # 114197 : "Fine Tuning of the Universe"
• Essay # 71529 : "Patrick Glynn's "God: The Evidence" "
• Research Proposal # 141856 : "The Precautionary Principle: Proposed Use In The USA"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: