Fine Tuning Argument Analysis
What are fine tuning arguments? Is some version of this argument a good argument for theism?
The fine tuning argument is based on the fact that given the conditions of our universe, human life is extraordinarily improbable. To discuss the fine tuning argument, we must first define the term “confirmation”. If something confirms something else, it simply means that it raises the probability for that thing. We could also say that it is evidence of that thing. For example, if we were to discover that intelligent life was at the center of the universe, that would be significant confirmation for theism. However, something confirming something else does not equate to that thing being likely. The existence of cheddar cheese confirms the hypothesis …show more content…
Ergo, intelligent life confirms theism. However, confirmation alone is not to imply that theism is likely. It simply makes the point that the hypothesis of theism is more likely to be true when talking about a world that contains intelligent life than one that does not. To significantly confirm theism, we need additional, stronger evidence, such as if we were to discover that perhaps the new testament was spelled out in the deep structure of the hydrogen atom or that the entire universe was structured around intelligent life. The premise of fine tuning is along these lines. In physics, we have not discovered that the the entire universe is centered around intelligent life, but we have discovered the cosmological constant, which may be just as …show more content…
As it were, the likelyhood of this constant is extremely small, about 1/1022. The universe has to be set or “tuned: to this number for life to be possible, and if it were “tuned” to any other number there would be no life. That is to say, the constant that permits life is “fine tuned”. The cosmological constant confirms the hypothesis of theism. Remember that just because something confirms something else, it is not to say that it is likely. The absence of life would be evidence against theism, and therefore the presence of life is evidence for theism. The existence of cheese is evidence for a creator with a high priority to the existence of cheese. Even if hypothesis is unlikely, it would be even more unlikely if there weren’t any
The fine tuning argument is based on the fact that given the conditions of our universe, human life is extraordinarily improbable. To discuss the fine tuning argument, we must first define the term “confirmation”. If something confirms something else, it simply means that it raises the probability for that thing. We could also say that it is evidence of that thing. For example, if we were to discover that intelligent life was at the center of the universe, that would be significant confirmation for theism. However, something confirming something else does not equate to that thing being likely. The existence of cheddar cheese confirms the hypothesis …show more content…
Ergo, intelligent life confirms theism. However, confirmation alone is not to imply that theism is likely. It simply makes the point that the hypothesis of theism is more likely to be true when talking about a world that contains intelligent life than one that does not. To significantly confirm theism, we need additional, stronger evidence, such as if we were to discover that perhaps the new testament was spelled out in the deep structure of the hydrogen atom or that the entire universe was structured around intelligent life. The premise of fine tuning is along these lines. In physics, we have not discovered that the the entire universe is centered around intelligent life, but we have discovered the cosmological constant, which may be just as …show more content…
As it were, the likelyhood of this constant is extremely small, about 1/1022. The universe has to be set or “tuned: to this number for life to be possible, and if it were “tuned” to any other number there would be no life. That is to say, the constant that permits life is “fine tuned”. The cosmological constant confirms the hypothesis of theism. Remember that just because something confirms something else, it is not to say that it is likely. The absence of life would be evidence against theism, and therefore the presence of life is evidence for theism. The existence of cheese is evidence for a creator with a high priority to the existence of cheese. Even if hypothesis is unlikely, it would be even more unlikely if there weren’t any