Anthropic Cosmological Principle

WAP, SAP, FAP...those of you who have jumped into Frank Tipler

and John Barrow's 700+ page volume The Anthropic Cosmological

Principle (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1986) know what these acronyms

stand for: the Weak, Strong, and Final Anthropic Principles,

respectively. Those of you wanting a less daunting introduction to

this philosophical side of cosmology (and origins) should read

"A 'What You See Is What You Beget' Theory," by Tony Rothman,

Discover , May 1987, pp. 90-99. Rothman gives a good introduction

to some of the relevant terminology and debates, and concludes:

It's not a big stop from the SAP [Strong Anthropic Principle] to

the Argument from Design. You know the Argument from Design: it

says that the universe was made very precisely, and were it ever

so slightly different, man wouldn't be here. Therefore Someone

must have made it. ... When confronted with the order and beauty

of the universe and the strange coincidences of nature, it's very

tempting to take the leap of faith from science into religion. I

am sure many physicists want to. I only wish they would admit it.

(p. 99)

 

***************************************

Origins Talk RBBS * (314) 821-1078

Missouri Association for Creation, Inc.

405 North Sappington Road

Glendale, MO 63122-4729

(314) 821-1234

Also call: Students for Origins Research CREVO BBS

(719) 528-1363