This will now be a 2-part post, since I recently deleted an old website of mine and have decided to start combining articles that are related with each other, along with adding the rest of the content amid multiple blogs, etc. Without any more excuses, let's get back to the topic at hand, here...
Part 1: Anthropic Principle or a mere Tautology?
The Anthropic Principle is chiefly divided into two concepts: 1) The Strong Anthropic Principle (SAP). 2) The Weak Anthropic Principle (WAP). Without going into detail about each one (I'll provide a couple resource links in a moment), the primary premise behind these principles is that the Universe must be fine-tuned for the observer for it to exist and/or that the age of the Universe must be compatible with the conscious life that observes it. They try to answer questions that many scientists and physicists can't answer, by simply blaming everything on this tautology. Seriously, if there wasn't conscious/intelligent life to question the very Universe they live in, nothing would exist as far as we know, so what is actually the point of the Anthropic Principle?
Before I go any further, if you need a couple resources for this subject, go here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropic_principle
perpendicularity.org/blog/2012/01/02/anthropic-principle/ [Link is no longer active since I deleted that website, but I included that article below this one.]
Anyway, quotes like these, is what helps fuel the Anthropic Principle: "As we look out into the Universe and identify the many accidents of physics and astronomy that have worked together to our benefit, it almost seems as if the Universe must in some sense have known that we were coming." -F. Dyson
I must say, not all scientists and physicists, for example, are very pleased with this particular argument that is often used to "answer" questions with these principles that are simply stating the obvious. Although the Anthropic Principle does not say that the Universe was created to benefit mankind and/or the observers (they say that, so they won't take any additional ridicule, in my opinion), it does give us, the observers, a special role in the Cosmos. To many people, that is just a bunch of subjective hogwash. To me, I like the idea that the Universe is a divine platform for all conscious life, but to constantly smack a label on it and keep calling it the "Anthropic Principle," is an utter tautology in my book; cheers!
For a more interesting subject, visit: Will we eventually create high-speed Antimatter Spaceships?
Image Credit: It is in the Public Domain because it was solely created by NASA.
Image Credit: It is in the Public Domain because it was solely created by NASA.
Part 2: "Anthropic Principle - Books & Resources"
I recently ran across a silly forum online that was discussing the subject: “If you subtract mankind from the universe, what is left?”
Yeah, a simple answer to that question would be, “less morons and pollution.” But seriously, that whole debate reminded me of a similar subject, the Anthropic Principle, that I stumbled upon last year.
…Since I’m not very educated on this particular subject, I’ll just create a reference post instead. Typically, I like to keep my blog posts all original and basically use freestyle writing, but from time to time, I find it necessary to create link pages with excerpts – in the event that the subject matter is worthy and/or interesting enough, even though I don’t have much to say about it, personally. I think the last time I’ve had to do this on here, was way back when I did the blog post entitled, “Quantum Mechanics & Chaos.”
Anyway, back to the Anthropic Principle subject:
Okay, I’ll provide a brief excerpt from each resource in addition to an active link, below:
1) “Weak Anthropic Principle (WAP): the observed values of all physical and cosmological quantities are not equally probable, but they take on the values restricted by the requirement that there exist sites where carbon-based life can evolve and by the requirement that the Universe be old enough for it to have already done so. Strong Anthropic Principle (SAP): the Universe must have those properties which allow life to develop within it at some stage in its history.” Read more, here: http://www.physics.sfsu.edu/~lwilliam/sota/anth/anthropic_principle_index.html
2) “Anthropic Bias, a book that since its first publication in 2002 has achieved the status of a classic, explores how to reason when you suspect that your evidence is biased by “observation selection effects”— that is, evidence that has been filtered by the precondition that there be some suitably positioned observer to “have” the evidence. This conundrum - sometimes alluded to as “the anthropic principle,” “self-locating belief,” or “indexical information” - turns out to be a surprisingly perplexing and intellectually stimulating challenge, one abounding with important implications for many areas in science and philosophy.” Read more about this interesting book, here: http://www.anthropic-principle.com/
3) “The ultimate question here is whether there is or was some special intention or plan for the appearance of humans in the universe, and, if so, was there or is there some intending entity or intelligence or being or “creator” existing “behind” or “over” the universe and the particular qualities that occur within it. If the universe or cosmos is purely mechanistic, consisting only of matter and physical entities (forces, energy, fields, etc.), then it seems that the answer to that question of an intending entity or intelligence or creator would be “no.” But then what is the source of those closely balanced features that are observed in the existing cosmos—are they just happenstance or fortuitous coincidences? Can coincidence or lucky happenstance be a sufficient answer to this problem?” Read more about this thought-provoking subject, here: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Anthropic_principle
After reading some of these excerpts, it reminded me of a couple semi-related posts I did last year, with the title: “Ultimate Queries – Creation Theories” and “4th & 5th Dimensions, Time Travel & Parallel Universes.”
Hmm, I'm starting to think all of this is becoming a mere tautology. But anyway, back to the resources…
4) “In astrophysics and cosmology, the anthropic principle is the philosophical argument that observations of the physical Universe must be compatible with the conscious life that observes it. Some proponents of the argument 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 that the fact is unremarkable that the universe’s fundamental constants happen to fall within the narrow range thought to allow life.” Read more from Wikipedia, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropic_principle
Okay, I just provided 4 excellent resources that covers the Anthropic Principle. If you’re more interested in taking your studies a little further and would like to possibly purchase some books about this subject, I’ll provide a shopping (affiliate) link below, to help hastened your search:
—End of Part 2: "Anthropic Principle - Books & Resources"
Since Part 2 was originally on another website of mine, I thought I'd go ahead and include the humorous comment field for that post, as well:
Comment#1:
Peter Kinnon says:
January 2, 2012 at 2:27 pm
There is really no need for the anthropic principle to raise eyebrows. At least inasmuch as it draws attention to the apparent fine tuning of our universe, or at least a portion thereof.
The fine tuning, by the way, is certainly not limited to the physical constants. Indeed, the most abundant and convincing evidence for it lies much further “downstream”, particularly within the domain of chemistry.
Pervasive and persistent examples of prevailing conditions being “just right” are found throughout our observations of the natural world.
“Just right”, that is, for the evolution of biology and technology, rather than specifically for our species
By avoiding the quite natural anthropocentric biases which are a legacy of our genetic and cultural histories we can build a broad evolutionary model (which extends well beyond biology) for which multiverse is not a prerequisite and certainly no “creator” or “designer” needs to be invoked.
This broad evolutionary model is outlined (very informally) in “The Goldilocks Effect: What Has Serendipity Ever Done For Us?” It can be freely download in e-book formats from the “Unusual Perspectives” website (www.unusual-perspectives.net).
Comment#2:
Administrator says:
January 2, 2012 at 2:54 pm
I realize this is spam, and that you are promoting your e-book of otherworldly, all-knowing swill and utter slop, but I left your comment for a reason. Since things are “just right,” as you say, I was able to spot a lot of keywords in this post that might help bring me better search results, so, many thanks for that! Ha-ha! Laughing my ass off, with all of these wannabe gurus of universal awareness, deciding to show up and bless us all with the knowledge that can unravel the properties of eternity. Actually, if ya listened to yourself, at least semi-closely, you will realize that YOU DEPEND on the Anthropic Principle, amen… LOL! Cheers! Thanks for the archaic babble and whatnot… Oh, and good luck selling your products online! Oh, by the way, it looks like serendipity has brought you here, so nice try, ya desperate chap... Thanks for stopping by and commenting, seriously…
Comment#3:
What a strange chap.
And, what precisely my poor deluded friend, am I selling?
Have a happy day in your fantasy land.
Pete
Comment#4:
Administrator says:
January 3, 2012 at 2:59 pm
Who are you kidding?
If I was deluded, I’d fall for inane blokes like ya self.
Since you asked, I shall copy & paste the following, which you plainly have on your website, after one has to follow endless links to get to this magical book of yours, that proves that you are selling something:
“YOU CAN PURCHASE THE PRINT EDITION OF “UNUSUAL PERSPECTIVES” ON-LINE USING YOUR CREDIT CARD OR A PAYPAL ACCOUNT
SIMPLY SELECT THE BUTTON BELOW THAT MATCHES YOUR POSTAL AREA – SHIPPING PRICE IS INCLUDED
NEW ZEALAND – 22.5 NZD
UK & EUROPE – 14.5 EUROS
USA & CANADA – 19.5 USD
AUSTRALIA – 24 AUD
PURCHASE OPTIONS FOR AFRICA, ASIA & OTHER LOCATIONS […]
Need I say more? Praise be the Anthropic Principle! Ha-ha!
---End of previous comment field (Thank God! Ha!)
---End of Post "Anthropic Principle or a mere Tautology?"
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