ABSTRACT
The Anthropic Principle is a statement of the fact that our own existence as observers acts as a selection effect determining which properties of the universe can be observed by us. The principle states that we can observe only those properties that are compatible with our own existence. When conjoined with the hypothesis that our observable universe is but one member of a wider collection of universes (a World Ensemble), the Anthropic Principle may be used to explain away the unimaginably improbable fine-tuning of our universe for intelligent life, which otherwise strengthens the evidential base of the traditional teleological argument for the existence of God. If the World Ensemble comprises universes having every physically possible combination of fundamental parameters, then by chance alone our universe will appear somewhere in the collection. Since we can observe only those combinations of properties compatible with our existence, we should not be surprised to discover that the observable universe is fine-tuned for our existence. The Anthropic Principle is, thus, significant as scientific naturalism’s most recent attempt to stave off inference to a divine Designer of the cosmos.
