the fine- tuning argument

THE FINE-TUNING ARGUMENTAn Argument from Physics & Cosmology

WHAT IS BEING ARGUED FOR?

• Arguing as an inference to the best explanation (contra. impossibility).– What best explains the existence of life in the universe?– Life: Anything that consumes/uses energy and reproduces

itself• Intelligent causation can be detected.

– Why intelligent causation?• Design – Fine-Tuning distinction• Compatible with Darwinism (theistic and

naturalistic)

THE ARGUMENT1. Given the fine-tuning evidence, a life permitting

universe/multiverse (LPM) is very, very unlikely under the non-existence of a fine-tuner (~FT): that is, P(LPM|~FT & k’) ≪ 1.

2. Given the fine-tuning evidence, LPM is not unlikely under FT (the fine-tuner hypothesis): that is, ~P(LPM|FT & k’) ≪ 1.

3. Therefore, LPM strongly supports FT over ~FT.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT• Plato (429-347 BC)

– Philebus in Book X, The Laws• Cicero (106-43 BC)

– Book II, Chapters XXXVII, XLIV, XLVII in On the Nature of the Gods (45 BC)

• William Paley (1743-1805)– Natural Theology (revived argument, though on biological

terms)

POSITIONS• The Regularist

– The fundamental regularities are brute facts; they neither have nor require an explanation.

• The Necessitarian– There are metaphysical connections of “necessity” in the world that ground

and explain the most fundamental regularities. Those who advocate this position usually use the word must to express this connection.

• The Theist– The most fundamental regularities in the world are explained by the

creative and sustaining power of God: God either sustains these regularities directly, or God has created the sort of fundamental powers or necessities in nature that underlie these fundamental regularities.

MAJOR PROPONENTS• Robin Collins• Jay Richards• Guillermo Gonzalez• William Lane Craig• William Dembski• Bruce Gordon• James Sinclair

MAJOR SKEPTICS• Stephen Hawking• Victor Stenger• Max Tegmark• Lawrence Krauss• Richard Dawkins

THE LOGIC OF THE ARGUMENT• Abductive reasoning• Augustinian science over Duhemian science• Aristotle’s Four Causes

1. Material Cause, What is it made of?2. Formal Cause, What is its form or essence?3. Efficient Cause, What produced it?4. Final Cause, What purpose?

• William Whewell’s restriction of the word “science”

THE BOUNDS OF PROBABILITY

1080 x 1043 x 1025 = 10148

1080: Elementary particles in the universe

1043: Alterations in the states of matter per second (Hz, Planck time)

1025: Number in seconds the universe can maintain integrity

10148: Total number of state changes that all elementary particles in the universe can undergo through its duration.

THE FINE-TUNING OF THELAWS OF NATURE

• To say that the laws are fine-tuned means that the universe must have precisely the right set of laws in order for life to exist.– Gravity– Electromagnetism– Strong Nuclear Force– Weak Nuclear Force– Principle of Quantization


• Gravity– No stars, no planets, no life!– Example of star formation caused by gravitation

attraction.


• Electromagnetic Force– Different atomic bonds and thus complex

molecules needed for life could not form.– No light, no life!


• Strong Nuclear Force– The force that holds the atomic nucleus together. After

all, protons are positively charged and like charges repel each other. Thus, shouldn’t the nucleus fly apart?

– If stronger, no hydrogen, an essential element of life.– If weaker, only hydrogen.


• Weak Nuclear Force– If stronger, insufficient helium to generate heavy

elements in stars.– If weaker, stars burn out too quickly and supernova

explosions could not scatter heavy elements across the universe.


• Principle of Quantization– Proposed by Niels Bohr in 1910– Without it, an electron would be sucked into the nucleus

of an atom.– No atoms, no life!– Pauli Exclusion Principle (Wolfgang Pauli, 1925), all

electrons would fall into lowest orbital (no complex chemistry).

THE FINE-TUNING OF THECONSTANTS OF NATURE

• There are fundamental numbers that occur in the laws of physics.– Gravitational constant– Strength of Electromagnetism– Cosmological constant


• Gravitational Constant– Determines the strength of gravity via Newton’s Law of

Gravity

F = Gm1m2/r2

• Actual value of G is 6.67 x 10-11 Nm2/kg2

m1

m2r


Q: How fine-tuned is the strength of gravity as given by G?

A: We must first look at the range of force strengths in nature.


G0 = Current Strength of Gravity

Strength of Weak Force: 1031G0

Strength of Electromagnetism: 1037G0

Strength of Strong Force: 1040G0

1040G0 = ten thousand, billion, billion, billion, billion times the strength of gravity


• So, how fine tuned is gravity?• If it were increased then starts would get too hot

and burn out quickly.– If gravity was increased by one part in 1034 of the range of

force strengths then:• even single-celled organisms would be crushed, and only

planets less than 100 feet in diameter could sustain life with our brain size. Such planets, however, could not contain an ecosystem to support life of our level of intelligence.

• If it were decreased then stars would never burn heavy elements.


• The cosmological constant (Λ, lambda) is a term in Einstein’s theory of gravity that influences the expansion rate of empty space.– It can be positive or negative. (Unless it is within an

extremely narrow range around zero, the universe will either collapse or expand too rapidly for galaxies and stars to form).

VARYING FUNDAMENTAL CONSTANTS• Jordan-Brans-Dicke Theory

– The value of G becomes a dynamical value (contrary to GR)

• Varying Speed of Light (VSL)– Attempts to solve horizon problem (contrary to inflation)

• Superstring Theory• Eternal Inflation

THE FINE-TUNING OF THEINITIAL CONDITIONS OF THE UNIVERSE

• Roger Penrose’s initial low entropy calculations–

• Cosmic landscape parameters– Range of all possible universes given they be governed by

the present laws of nature– 10500 possible universes, only 10120 given Λ

GOD AS AN EXPLANATORY HYPOTHESIS?• Best scientific evidence suggests that it did have a

complex fine-tuning.• Remember, not arguing for God per se.• Is Plantinga’s approach to explanation applicable?

WHO’S AFRAID OF THE MULTIVERSE?• What is the multiverse?• Are there different versions?• Do I have a twin somewhere?• How many are there?

LEVEL 1 MULTIVERSE• Features

– Same laws of physics, different initial conditions

• Assumptions– Infinite space, ergodic matter

distribution• Evidence

– CMB measurements point to flat, infinite space, large-scale smoothness

– Simplest model


– Same fundamental equations of physics, but perhaps different constants, particles and dimensionality

• Assumptions– Chaotic inflation occurred

• Evidence– Inflation explains flat space, scale-invariant

fluctuations, solves horizon problem and monopole problems and explains fine-tuned parameters

LEVEL 2 MULTIVERSE

Sources: http://arxiv.org/pdf/1012.1995, NASA W-Band 94 GHz WMAP, ESA/LFI & HFI Consortia Planck one-year survey


– Same as level 2• Assumptions

– Physics unitary• Evidence

– Experimental support for unitary physics– AdS/CFT correspondence suggests thateven quantum gravity is unitary– Decoherence experimentally verified

• Mathematically simplest model

LEVEL 3 MULTIVERSE—QUANTUM WEIRDNESS


– Different fundamental equations of physics

• Assumptions– Mathematical existence = physical

existence• Evidence

– Unreasonable effectiveness of math in physics

– Answers Wheeler/Hawking question: “Why these equations, not others?”

HOW MANY UNIVERSES?• Stanford cosmologists Andre Linde and Vitally

Vanchurin’s paper “How Many Universes are in the Multiverse?” (April 2010)– Universe is a result of quantum fluctuations in slow roll-

inflation (string cosmic landscape).– Subject to change depending on definitions and

parameters of inflation cosmology

INTERPRETING THEQUANTUM WORLD

• Interpretation is methodological/philosophical, it seeks to explain the data.1. Ensemble2. Copenhagen3. de Broglie-Bohm4. von Neumann5. Quantum Logic6. Many-Worlds7. Time-Symmetric8. Stochastic9. Many-Minds10.Consistent11.Objective Collapse12.Transactional13.Relational

INFLATIONARY-SUPERSTRING MULTIVERSE

The inflationary/superstring multiverse generator can only produce life-sustaining universe because it has the following four components/mechanisms.1. A mechanism to supply the energy needed for the

bubble universes. (Actual Mechanism: Inflation Field)

2. A mechanism to form the bubbles. (Actual Mechanism: Einstein’s Equation + Inflation Field)

INFLATIONARY-SUPERSTRING MULTIVERSE

3. A mechanism to convert the energy of inflation field to the normal mass/energy we find in our universe. (Actual Mechanism: E=mc2 + coupling between inflation field and matter fields)

4. A mechanism that allows enough variation in constants of physics among universes. (Actual Mechanism: Superstring Theory)

IS THE MULTIVERSECOMPATIBLE WITH THEISM?

• Yes, there’s nothing to suggest that it is not and it fits with God’s creativity (as revealed) and the historical trend of science.

• If God were to create, would he create an open system or closed system?

WEAK & MINIMALISTICANTHROPIC PRINCIPLE

• WAP—The universe we inhabit must have a life-permitting structure appears to be enough to make the observer-relative life-permitting fact unsurprising.– Ultimately, the claim “this universe is life-permitting” is

tautologous.– Multiverse is a dissatisfactory explanation, irrelevant to

the features of our universe.• MAP—When testing fundamental theories with observational

data, ignoring selection effects can give incorrect conclusions.

*Strong AP: Life needed to exist

STANDARD MODEL

STANDARD [CREATION?] MODEL

INFORMATION• The numerical values of laws and constants are arbitrary.• Shannon Information: I=log2p

– The mathematical expression of information and the amount of any information in any series of characters is inversely related to the probability and uncertainty.

– Roll a die, lands on 5, more information is being relayed because it eliminates other possibilities.

– Flip a coin, eliminate one possibility, less information conveyed.

• More uncertainty eliminated, more information being related.

INFORMATION• Complexity vs. Specified Complexity– ffdfbb59^^MgdAShSEA^TTLEujjP:Ms6c1o4

t6l7a8n1dNDsd+//bwadu– “Time and tide wait for no man.”

• According to Shannon, both display information.• First string is extremely complex. The second

string has a specific order allowing it to perform a function.

AESTHETICS EXCURSUS• Reverse engineering

– From the very large aspects of the universe (i.e. big bang cosmology, galactic and stellar evolution, etc.) to the very small (i.e. the fitness of the chemical elements and the coding of DNA for life), the cosmos is so readily and profitably reverse engineered by its human inhabitants as to suggest that the whole shebang was engineered from the beginning. See D. Halsmer et al., Int. J. of Design and Ecodynamics 4 no. 1 (2009), 47-65.

AESTHETICS EXCURSUS• Meaningfulness in meaninglessness• Elements of genius• Periodic table• Designed for discovery

NATURAL EVILProblem: How can the designer design such a physical reality that causes such much evil? (i.e. earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.)

NATURAL EVIL

NATURAL EVIL• Problem: How can the designer design such a

physical reality that causes such much evil? (i.e. earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.)

• Nature is not evil, only moral agents are evil.• The designer’s moral status is irrelevant.

WHAT SAY YOU GOOD SIR?“The impression of design is

overwhelming.” –Paul Davies (The Cosmic Code, 203).

“A commonsense interpretation of the facts suggests that a super-intellect has monkeyed with physics… and that there are no blind forces in nature.” –Fred Hoyle

CONCLUSIONS• The argument makes it only probable that there is

design in the universe.• The argument does not demand perfection.• The argument does not need to explain the

problem of evil.• There must be a cause for design in the universe.• The designer must be extremely intelligent.

the fine- tuning argument

Documents

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finetuning evidence

teleological argument

sort of fundamental

brute facts

existence of life

best explanation contra

sustaining power of