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Related papers: The Fine-Tuning of the Universe for Life

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Fine-tuning in physics and cosmology is often used as evidence that a theory is incomplete. For example, the parameters of the standard model of particle physics are "unnaturally" small (in various technical senses), which has driven much…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2017-07-14 Luke A. Barnes

Our laws of nature and our cosmos appear to be delicately fine-tuned for life to emerge, in a way that seems hard to attribute to chance. In view of this, some have taken the opportunity to revive the scholastic Argument from Design,…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2015-05-22 Klaas Landsman

This short paper proposes an alternative theory to Anthropic Principle. According to our interpretation, the Universe is not "fine-tuned" for life, but "roughly-tuned" for computation and its biofilness is only a phenomenon. This standpoint…

General Physics · Physics 2016-07-19 Zoltan Galantai

A well-known topic within the philosophy of physics is the problem of fine-tuning: the fact that the universal constants seem to take non-arbitrary values in order for live to thrive in our Universe. In this paper we will talk about this…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2024-09-06 Julian De Vuyst

The apparent fine-tuning of several fundamental parameters that determine the properties of our Universe and make it hospitable to life is sometimes used as an argument for God from design. I review the concept of cosmic fine-tuning and…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2025-02-18 Adam D. Hincks

In 2011, I published a popular-level book, The Fallacy of Fine-Tuning: Why the Universe is Not Designed for Us. It investigated a common claim found in contemporary religious literature that the parameters of physics and cosmology are so…

Popular Physics · Physics 2012-02-21 Victor J. Stenger

The fine-tuning of the universe for life, the idea that the constants of nature (or ratios between them) must belong to very small intervals in order for life to exist, has been debated by scientists for several decades. Several criticisms…

General Physics · Physics 2021-07-15 Daniel Andrés Díaz-Pachón , Ola Hössjer , Robert J. Marks

The observable universe is necessarily hospitable for life. There are indications, however, that the laws of physics and cosmological parameters need not take the form and values observed, and if they were slightly different life could not…

General Physics · Physics 2012-07-24 Colin S. Coleman

It is commonplace in discussions of modern cosmology to assert that the early universe began in a special state. Conventionally, cosmologists characterize this fine-tuning in terms of the horizon and flatness problems. I argue that the…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2014-06-13 Sean M. Carroll

The fundamental laws and constants of our universe seem to be finely tuned for life. The various multiverse hypotheses are popular explanations for the fine tuning. This paper reviews the four main suggestions on inference in the presence…

Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability · Physics 2009-09-03 V. Palonen

Evidence for fine-tuning of physical parameters suitable for life can perhaps be explained by almost any combination of providence, coincidence or multiverse. A multiverse usually includes parts unobservable to us, but if the theory for it…

High Energy Physics - Theory · Physics 2007-05-23 Don N. Page

The fine-tuning of the universe for intelligent life has received a great deal of attention in recent years, both in the philosophical and scientific literature. The claim is that in the space of possible physical laws, parameters and…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2015-06-03 Luke A. Barnes

The mechanism of production of a large number of universes is considered. It is shown that universes with parameters suitable for creation of life are necessarily produced as a result of quantum fluctuations. Fractal structures are formed…

Astrophysics · Physics 2008-11-26 S. G. Rubin

Finetuning and Naturalness are extra-empirical theory assessments that reflect our expectation how scientific theories should provide an intuitive understanding about the foundations underlying the observed phenomena. Recently, the absence…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2019-05-16 Heinrich Päs

Fine-tuning studies whether some physical parameters, or relevant ratios between them, are located within so-called life-permitting intervals of small probability outside of which carbon-based life would not be possible. Recent developments…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2024-03-04 Daniel Andrés Díaz-Pachón , Ola Hössjer , Calvin Mathew

The physical processes that determine the properties of our everyday world, and of the wider cosmos, are determined by some key numbers: the 'constants' of micro-physics and the parameters that describe the expanding universe in which we…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2018-01-23 Mario Livio , Martin J. Rees

The effective coupling `constants' of physics, especially the cosmological constant, are observed to have highly biophilic values. If this is not a hugely improbable accident, or a consequence of some mysterious logical necessity or of some…

High Energy Physics - Theory · Physics 2011-01-31 Don N. Page

Anthropic principles were grown from the problem of fine tuning. Although anthropic principles have been discussed in cosmology for years there is no exact definition for fine tuning. Starting from the supposed similarity in the topologies…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 Zs. Hetesi , L. Végh

We introduce a mathematical framework for quantifying fine-tuning in general physical settings. In particular, we identify two distinct perspectives on fine-tuning, namely, a local and a global perspective --- and develop corresponding…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2018-11-28 Feraz Azhar , Abraham Loeb

Despite the success of modern physics in formulating mathematical theories that can predict the outcome of experiments, we have made remarkably little progress towards answering the most fundamental question of: why is there a universe at…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2012-08-24 Stuart Heinrich
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