What is the anthropic principle
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In short, it isn’t that the universe is designed for (human) life but that our kind of life is an outcome of our particular universe. It counters the reasoning that, in one form or another, “our universe is so well tuned for (human) life that there must exist some designer of this universe”.
The reasoning behind it is that there may exist or have existed countless other universes and if they never supported life there wouldn’t be any observer.
Imagine for a moment that the universe begins, runs it course, and then resets into a new form. There are an infinite number of possible forms the universe takes.
However, of those infinite number of possible forms, *we* can only observe those forms which permit the development of human existence. We could not, for example, observe a universe where solid matter does not exist even if we could postulate a set of rules under which such a universe could form.
That’s the basic notion of the anthropic principle: that the universe must have been ‘designed’ for us otherwise we would not be able to observe it.
It’s the idea that the whole universe revolves around humans. It’s like some of the ancient ideas that the universe revolved around our planet or our sun.
It’s presented, like all illusions, from a strange angle, however, with entertaining truths like: “If the planet was just a few miles this way or that, humans couldn’t survive” And a host of other things that are in fact true but neglect the fact that the same things are true about the titmouse as well.
The whole universe works together in a complex way to create the titmouse! If any one of a zillion variables was off they couldn’t exist! It’s like god tuned the universe to create the titmouse!
It’s one of those things that falls apart under the tiniest rational scrutiny but is more than enough to convince a believer. (since they already were convinced).
Just another human hubris dressed up in pure white robes
The ideas is that you look around you and realize that the world you live in is just right for you. If it were much different you wouldn’t be able to live in it.
Some people may consider that a miracle, other might point out that any world with observers in it must be fit for those observers to live in so the only observed worlds are such that they are just right for observers.
A simile that I have found very convincing is that of a sentient puddle of water marveling that the hole in the ground it lies in is exactly the same shape as itself.
Obviously we are shaped by our environment and we can assume that this holds true for any observer in any environment. We evolved to adapt to the world we live in, so it should come as no great surprise that the world we live in is shaped just right for us to live in it.
There are variations of this, that go on to make observations that of all the ways that a universe could be only the ways that allow for observers to come into existence will ever be observed, which is obviously true.
Other ideas are less obviously clear, but the general idea is that we should not be surprised to find that the universe looks like it was made for us, as we couldn’t actually live and make any observations in a universe that didn’t look like it was made for us.
I believe the anthropic principle is misguided and misses the point of those who talk about the fine-tuned universe.
The people above have explained the principle well. But those who speak of the “fine-tuned” universe (whether by another being, chance, or something else) are NOT surprised to find themselves in a universe where human life can flourish. Rather, they are surprised at the EXISTENCE of the uch a universe at all, regardless of whether they’re in it or not.
It is far more probable, they argue, that quantum fluctuations would lead to the temporary appearance of such a universe (these are known as Boltzmann brains) than that such a universe should actually exist.
So the anthropic principle is reasonable, but it doesn’t address the real objection of teleology people. It’s as if there’s a firing squad and every day they execute a guy. One day it’s my turn and all ten marksman fire and I’m still living. My surprise is NOT that I find MYSELF as the guy that survived it (the only person who could think that is the one who survived it); rather, I’m surprised that the marksmen all missed. That is, I’m surprised by the very existence of such an entity as a survivor of a firing squad or fine-tuned universe, apart from my own experience.
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