Robin Collins begins his essay with an analogy of a perfectly sustained biosphere on the surface of Mars as an example of a fine tuned situation and considers the probabilities of the biosphere’s origins. Fine tuning is how we describe a specific arrangement of observations where the final outcome appears more purposefully designed rather than existing by chance or accident. He explains that the likelihood of the sphere coming into existence by a series of natural unplanned processes is much less
In “God, Design, and Fine-Tuning”, Robin Collins argues for the Intelligent Design of the universe from the Fine-Tuning Argument. Collins’ argument is probabilistic in nature; however, it fails due to its misuse of probability theory. Aided by the work of both Bradley Monton and Mark Colyvan, I will show why Collins’ argument fails. It can be shown that this line of reasoning concludes that the existence of a life permitting universe is zero. Essentially, Collins’ argument does not prove what he
finely tuned to live its life accordingly. In order for this to be possible, God must have finely tuned all beings so that they were well fit for life. In depth, this argument is, “If a fact stands in need of an explanation, and a hypothesis explains this fact better than anything else, then they support each other. Our universe being so perfect for life is a fact in need of explanation. The hypothesis that God has finely tuned everything to be where all living beings can exist in this universe is an
The existence of such finely tuned universal parameters within the universe makes for a strong case of an intelligent design of the universe. Indeed, Collins does support this, by stating that there is a more solidified basis to believe in theism over the atheistic single-universe hypothesis. This suggests that it is near improbable for the existence of fine-tuning under the atheistic single-universe hypothesis that does not support the existence of a higher intelligent being, but is not wholly improbably
"strong" version covered their universes, but the distinction between spatiotemporal districts and universes, and hence between the weak principle and the strong, could not always be made firmly: one writer’s "universe" could sometimes be another’s
addressed in this paper. They are with God anything is permissible; the laws of physics have never been broken and galaxies simply hold themselves together; and that if there was an eternal and unchanging God we would be living in a totalitarian universe. The first objection, with God anything is permissible, means that with God, people can do anything they want because they will always be forgiven. That is not the case. God will forgive people, but only if they ask for forgiveness and truly regret
The existence of god has been relentlessly debated with many strong arguments. This essay will primarily discuss the most prevalent arguments for and against the existence of a higher being. Although there are many strong arguments for both atheism and theism, ultimately the theist point of view is greater justified morally and logically. One of the most commonly debated matters for both theism and atheism is the logical problem of evil. Atheists dispute that the presence of evil in this world and
observable reality. Philosopher and psychologist William James, it is often claimed, first defined the science (fiction) multiverse in 1895 when he said, “Visible nature is all plasticity and indifference, a multiverse, as one might call it, and not a universe” (10). My presentation makes two contributions to his claim, and, for that matter, all later uses of the multiverse in science and science fiction by contending that the multiverse is a much older Sophistic device. I call this the “rhetorical metaverse
him. Today there are many theories on the existence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, but only one theory goes beyond them and into an even larger realm. The contents of this theory, known as the “multiverse” theory, suggest that humans on Earth live within one universe of many others that reside within a primordial vacuum containing many other universes (Jenkins and Perez). Each of these universes possesses potentially different natural constants and physical laws that govern them differently
There have been generations of debating over whether God exists and how the universe was made. Many atheists and theists/creationists have argued over scientific proof that the Bible is accurate and that God exists. People have said that science and spirituality are separate, and cannot coexist. The world has so many mysteries concerning this and the earth's creation. All people can do is debate, and choose what they put their faith in. For instance, Bill Nye, a famous scientist who also was in
personal or intervenes in our lives whereas deists would disagree. Agnostics hold the view that we cannot be sure that God exists. Of these, theism may be the most probable worldview. One action that is often attributed to God is the creation of the universe. Due to the complexity of the universe’s design and how it came into existence, it can be suggested that it was created by a timeless and/or immaterial, rational being (i.e. God). Among academics, this is often known as the teleological argument
long-ago ancestors did, one can only get a small idea as to the size of the universe. A telescope allowed us to see further and expanded our understanding. Today's research goes even further, and greatly augments our knowledge of the universe. In fact, the universe is so big that no one knows exactly how big it is, because light simply cannot travel fast enough to illuminate it. Now, take that, our one infinitely big universe, and multiply it by infinity. Now, you have the idea of the multiverse, a
The philosophy of religion is and always has been a very interesting topic. The existence of God has been debated since the beginning of history and is still debated to this day. Many very influential people have shared their thoughts and arguments to this popular debate. Of these influential thinkers are William Paley and Roger White. Paley, a British thinker living in the late 1700s, believed since that the world appeared to be “created” then it must have been created by a higher power. Many
Frame, Randy. "Evolution: Pope Says Evolution More than a Hypothesis." Christianity Today. December 9, 1996. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1996/december9/6te072.html (accessed December 19, 2011). Johnstone, Parker Lochiel. Origin of the Universe, Life, then Religions. Philadelphia: Theoscience Publishers, 1989. Stenmark, Mickael. How to Relate Science and Religion. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004. Wilber, Ken. The Marriage of Sense and Soul: Integrating Science
John Polkinghorne’s The Universe as Creation does its best to not convince the reader of Intelligent Design, but rather to dissuade the reader from the notion that although the is intelligently designed, but in this way, it has made science possible. Polkinghorne asserts that “scientists are motivated by the desire understand what is happening in the world.”(551, Polkinghorne). As a physicist himself, Polkinghorne understands the desire to understand the world, even shifting careers to become a priest
their time searching for reason, and meaning behind life. “There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened." (Adams, 82) The universe is bizarre, and inexplicable in the extreme, and this novel is a prime example of life’s erratic events. British writer Douglas Adams was
Within and beyond philosophy, lies the tension between the universal concept of free will and determinism. From a general standpoint, individuals are convinced that they rule and govern their own lives. Free will embodies that individuals have the freedom to dictate their own future. It asserts that our minds and essence have the capacity to choose our own actions and direction, whilst also choose alternative paths. Determinism on the other hand, suggests that life is a product of necessity and causation
the sea, Egypt and Babylonia. Gradually moving from a system of gods and divine powers ordering the world to a system of elements, mathematics, and physical laws, the Greeks slowly adapted old ideas to fit into a less supernatural, hyper-rational universe. As ancient peoples began to realize that sun, moon and stars follow certain rhythms in step with the seasons, they began to hypothesize that some conscious set of rules must be dictating these movements and seasonal changes that, for agrarian or
One of the great public battlegrounds in modern time is science vs. religion. Is this the great unwinnable war, or is there a common ground? I suggest that the issue is not either side is absolutely right or wrong; the issue in our public discourse, in our public theology, is the misinformation both sides present and the failure to understand the complexity of information. As Donald Rumsfeld might say, it is "the unknown known" - a failure to accept that which we do not know. In 1633, Galileo Galilei
especially not a show with Judge Simon Cowel’s vain insults. Fox’s American Idol phenomenon still soars high a decade after its initial premiere in 2002. The remains popular even with Cowel retired. 29.3 million viewers, 21% more than the previous season, tuned in to hear Ryan Seacrest announce the winner of the tenth and latest season of American Idol. The viewers of the show wax and wane year to year, but for eight straight seasons it remains America’s favorite evening entertainment (Bauder par 3, 10).