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| Monroe County Community College |
For my MCCC Philosophy of Religion students.
From Robin Collins, "The Anthropic Teleological Argument," in Peterson and Hasker et. al., Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings.
Explain: The “likelihood principle of confirmation.”
Observations provide evidence
in favor of one hypothesis over another, if the observations are more probable
under that hypothesis.
Use “Abraham Lincoln inkblot”
example.
In this argument the observation is: the existence of our
fine-tuned universe, which makes complex life possible.
Explain: The fine-tuning of the universe:
The constants and initial
conditions of the universe are set just right for intelligent life to evolve.
If gravity were slightly
stronger, then too much clumping together of particles would exist. If gravity
were slightly less, then not enough clumping together would exist and
individual stars would not have formed.
Collins says – “Many of the
fundamental constants must fall into a relatively narrow range in order for
complex life to exist.
Explain “naturalism.”
Naturalism – “the universe
exists as a brute, inexplicable fact.” (195)
Reality is only physical.
Purely physical objects do not think. They do not plan or design things.
Complex things are random
Either the fine-tuned universe was designed, or the fine-tuned
universe came about by purely natural causes.
The question is: which is more
likely?
State: The Argument
1. The
existence of a fine-tuned universe is not surprising under theism.
2. The
existence of a fine-tuned universe is enormously surprising under naturalism.
3. Therefore,
by the likelihood principle, the existence of a fine-tuned universe strongly
support theism over naturalism.
