the probability of the existence of God above its intrinsic probability, its 9 0 obj Third, Swinburne is probably defending God who is a personal being, and one feature that a person possesses is the power to act in causal relations. /Count 16 I totally support the mission of your blog. << /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] First, if God were non-eternal, meaning he was created, some other powers or entities would be responsible for bringing God into existence and for the existence of the universe. 6 0 obj
/Contents 54 0 R a psychological approach that emphasizes the active role that the mind plays in generating a perceptual experience. conditions makes it that there is a God than does the fact that there is a lawgoveraed universe. With a personal account, you can read up to 100 articles each month for free. Counter-evidence, e.g. endobj /Resources 43 0 R Click here to navigate to parent product.
/Kids [4 0 R 5 0 R 6 0 R] /Parent 5 0 R /Type /Pages Many people find the Strong Anthropic Principle too simplistic. Facebook
/Contents 52 0 R Registered in England & Wales No. /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] /Count 6 19 0 obj /Parent 5 0 R 3 0 obj In the final section of the paper the fine-tuning argument is considered, not now as self-standing, but as one of a number of theistic arguments taken together and applied in the manner of the final chapter of Swinburne's "The Existence of God". /Type /Page Cambridge University Press is committed by its charter to disseminate knowledge as widely as possible across the globe. Now that we roughly outlined Swinburnes position, we shall look at potential objections against theism as the ultimate explanation for the fine-tuning of the universe. /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] 3099067 5 Howick Place | London | SW1P 1WG 2022 Informa UK Limited, Registered in England & Wales No. >> endobj << /Parent 4 0 R This is important because another scientific theory, Evolution, was responsible for damaging previous versions of the Design Argument that focused on the apparent design in living creatures. 12 0 obj /Kids [7 0 R 8 0 R 9 0 R 10 0 R 11 0 R 12 0 R] endobj There's a similar problem with another of F. R. Tennant's ideas, the, As with the Strong Aesthetic Principle, this confuses cause with effect. arguments are, I believe, cumulative. /Type /Page /Parent 6 0 R
The fine-tuning argument is supported by another analogy, devised by, The fine-tuning argument makes use of the latest scientific discoveries in astronomy. 20 0 obj We have evolved to "fit in" to the universe, so of course we find it suitable for us to live in. 16 0 obj This paper considers the Bayesian form of the fine-tuning argument as advanced by Richard Swinburne. option. He defends that theism leads us to expect fine-tuning and he warrants this argument ontologically by arguing from Gods nature, namely, his omnipotence, omniscience, and omnibenevolence. Moving forward, he argues that the fine-tuning of the universe is best explained by theism because it offers a more simplistic explanation. existence of humanity supported in the scriptures. Twitter is solely with the force of the argument from fine-tuning: how much more Hello Himangsu Sekhar Pal. We would probably find the universe beautiful. iUMG#~0"hLKd ElVrz QRLi^uxq8*Q3rb2l'7I8 :C`toZ5'?IQwLqPWGBGyk&
0yNcit<>[uW2=Y10kbxz#=97
a;V0+xg1ESC. << operation of laws of nature (i.e. << Therefore, the simpler alternative is the better explanation or the ultimate explanation. 10 0 obj (LogOut/ endobj Lots of it is empty, cold, full of deadly radiation or otherwise hostile to life. << /Type /Page conditions have to lie within very narrow limits in order to be human-lifeevolving. 1 -Jz/b 4;I$U&E4wU.|e]ZU$QS)XdQ@eIW7 jd4" f /Type /Pages 13 0 obj /Resources 26 0 R He argues that the best explanation for this data is theism.
AddThis, https://doi.org/10.5840/faithphil200522525. /Contents 30 0 R the generality of their premises. /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] /Resources 47 0 R Religious Studies /Filter /FlateDecode /Type /Page /Contents 44 0 R /Parent 4 0 R >> /Contents 28 0 R The normal way in which this latter >> A living will appoints another person to make health care decisions when an individual is unable to make his or her own decisions, The French naturalist Lamarck believed that. The operation of laws of nature raises it /CreationDate (D:20150405215214+02'00') >> 1 0 obj It claims that the laws of the universe are the way they are because of us; but surely we are the way we are because of the laws of the universe! The Anthropic Principle was put forward by. 4 0 obj A nurse anesthetist in middle management submits written complaints to a state board about several other nurse anesthetists that are false and defamatory. If we were to grant this objection, contemporary physics, astronomy, and cosmology would be deconstructed and defeated because most of their theories depend on making inferences to unobservable entities such as molecules, electrons, and the quantum vacuum and so on. /Parent 4 0 R
18 0 obj and boundary conditions of the Universe being such as to lead to the evolution of 8 0 obj /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] endobj /Contents 48 0 R >> 2002 Cambridge University Press Who made these beautiful changeable things, if not one who is beautiful and unchangeable? For more information, visit http://journals.cambridge.org.
Second, if God were to cease to exist some time in the future, some other entities or powers would be responsible for conserving the universe. Click here to navigate to respective pages. /Type /Pages endobj David Hume raises three objections against the classical design argument and whether it refutes Swinburnes argument from fine-tuning, moreover, we will explore possible rebuttals to the objections. /MediaBox [0 0 612 792]
22 0 obj A finite designer is not the ultimate explanation to account for the universe because the designer is limited in the same way that the universe would be, in that, the finite designer would be contingent. endobj To begin, we shall open up with Richard Swinburnes argument from fine-tuning. Secondly, Humes argument from composition fallacy is effective in disarming Paleys argument from design, but it does not affect the fine-tuning argument which apply to the physical laws of the universe, hence, denoting the entire universe and not just sections of the universe. In this paper, we will discuss Richard Swinburnes article on the fine-tuning argument and whether his fine-tuning argument is vulnerable to Humean critique. 7 0 obj /Kids [13 0 R 14 0 R 15 0 R 16 0 R 17 0 R 18 0 R] Hume and Swinburnes Fine-TuningArgument, Chinese Language Flagship: Nanjing Capstone 2015, https://sekharpal.wordpress.com/2016/01/11/is-fine-tuning-actually-required-for-proving-the-existence-of-god/, Bozeman, Montana: MASS/MCASE 2016Afterthoughts, The Phone Case that Wins Customers: Newsets Fancy Diary WalletCase, POKEMON GO TRAINER GEAR: iPHONE BATTERYCASES. However, this objection does not move Swinburnes fine-tuning argument for the reason that the fine-tuning of the universe applies to the physical law of the entire universe, not just parts of the universe. A posteriori arguments for the existence of God can be arranged in an order by Which AANA document could be applied to this situation? /Parent 5 0 R /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] /Resources 31 0 R An expository section aims to identify the precise character of the argument, and three lines of objection are then advanced. I have argued elsewhere that the total evidence (i.e. Swinburnes fine-tuning argument evolved from Paleys original Argument from Design from Natural Theology (2). Email /Parent 6 0 R /ModDate (D:20150405215214+02'00') /PTEX.Fullbanner (This is pdfTeX, Version 3.1415926-2.4-1.40.13 \(TeX Live 2012\) kpathsea version 6.1.0) First, according to his argument from simplicity, he argues that God necessarily has to have the attributes of power, knowledge, and moral goodness in the infinite degree by the very ontology or nature of his being, and moreover, a finite god is less simple as an animate explanation than is a God with infinite knowledge, power, and freedom. (4) Second, attempts to assign a finite designer as the cause of the universe leads us in an infinite regress of who designed the designer. endobj << DOI link for The argument to God from fine-tuning reassessed: Richard Swinburne, The argument to God from fine-tuning reassessed: Richard Swinburne book. /Type /Page /Pages 2 0 R /Contents 36 0 R the earth is finely tuned to suit human habitation and is therefore too complex to occur by chance, and science cannot explain why everything works in our favour. << /Resources 41 0 R
/Length 2899 /Annots [27 0 R] /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] /Parent 6 0 R Religious Studies is an international journal devoted to the problems of the philosophy of religion as they arise out of classical and contemporary discussions and from varied religious traditions. /Count 6 LinkedIn Moreover, why is the universe so vast and empty if the only part of it that matters is our planet? The cosmological argument argues from the fact In this respect, Swinburnes argument for theism, or God as the designer of the cosmos bypasses Humes objection completely since it deals with the whole universe instead of part of the universe. /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] Succinctly, Swinburne maintains theism to account for fine-tuning because, if some hypothesis T is the best explanation for some data F, then F are evidence for the truth of T. Here, T refers to theism and F refers to fine-tuning. We have seen how Humes objection that the designer need not be God has been addressed with the notion that God provides the more simplistic explanation than proposing a designer who doesnt possess the common attributes of God (omnipotence, omniscience, omnibenevolence). << << That is, the existence of a universe raises In closing, Swinburnes argument from fine-tuning remains resilient to Humes objection of the classical design argument formulated by Paley. there is a higher probability that there is a God then there not being one. To access this article, please, Access everything in the JPASS collection, Download up to 10 article PDFs to save and keep, Download up to 120 article PDFs to save and keep. /Type /Page The first of these holds that there is an inconsistency in Swinburne's procedure, the second that his argument has an unacceptable dependence on an objectivist theory of value, the third that his method is powerless to single out traditional theism from a vast number of competitors. >> endobj probability on zero contingent evidence. Breadcrumbs Section. Ultimate explanation refers to a complete explanation in which all factors involved have no further (partial or full) explanation, moreover, ultimate explanations are unavoidable because there must be a terminus of explanation. Since God has these properties, he has the knowledge, moral reasons, and power to create a fine-tune universe with intelligent life form such as animals and human beings to enjoy the beauty of his creation. 14 0 obj 15 0 obj (4) On theism, God is a person who is endowed with an infinite degree of power, knowledge, and freedom, and so forth. /Resources 33 0 R >> Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. At first sight, the Weak Anthropic Principle doesn't seem to be saying much. Select the purchase In fact, assuming God to be the designer of the cosmos fits snuggly by arguing the existence of the contingent fine-tuned universe from the necessary cause that is God. If theism is true, it is moderately probable that God would create humanoid beings and so humanoid bodies; but laws of nature would have to have very special properties if they are to bring about the existencne of humaoid bodies. << A designer that is a necessary cause, which is commonly ascribed to God, would suffice as a ultimate explanation, hence, relating to the first point, simpler. Attributing God as an eternal being in contrast to a non-eternal being is simpler for two reasons. (3) The topic of causation, I would argue, goes beyond Humes empirical judgements and expertise. >> 5 0 obj /Parent 6 0 R A deeper criticism is that the Strong Anthropic Principle gets things the wrong way round. In this sense, God has the freedom to cause a different type of effect that is finite instead of infinite in its nature. /Count 4 endobj /Contents 42 0 R https://sekharpal.wordpress.com/2016/01/11/is-fine-tuning-actually-required-for-proving-the-existence-of-god/. Theism is a far simpler hypothesis, and so a priori more probably true, than naturalism, understood as the hypothesis that the existence of this law-governed Humes second objection deals with the fallacy of composition, which states that one cannot ascribe that X as a whole has a particular quality Y based on a part of X having the quality Y. /Contents [23 0 R 24 0 R 25 0 R] 17 0 obj God as a personal being, instead of creating a infinite universe, would have the freedom to create a finite universe that is fine-tuned for life. 11 0 obj /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] /Type /Page /Type /Page /Resources 55 0 R
Second, if God were to cease to exist some time in the future, some other entities or powers would be responsible for conserving the universe. /Resources 37 0 R >> Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. endobj >> << are, then, many other arguments that begin from narrower premises. /Type /Pages I will defend Swinburnes version of the fine-tuning argument against the objections David Hume raised in his critique of William Paleys classical design argument. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
>> /Contents 32 0 R (1) Even granting that the universe has a designer, Hume argues that the designer does not have to be all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good because a designer or designers who do not have these qualities would suffice. Our universe seems to be, Nature & Influence of Religious Experience. But then again, we can argue that the universe isnt unique and exempt from the causal relationships we experience within our universe. Thank you for your comment by the way. << << makes the existence of God more probable than not.2 My concern in this chapter First, if God were non-eternal, meaning he was created, some other powers or entities would be responsible for bringing God into existence and for the existence of the universe. PRIOR PROBABILITIES IN THE ARGUMENT FROM FINE-TUNING. Hume and Swinburnes Fine-Tuning Argument. In short, Paley used an argument from analogy to describe the similarity between a watch and the universe to infer the existence of a watchmaker for the watch and God as the designer of the universe. endobj >> /Contents 56 0 R xuF-v]q28K0#! /Resources 29 0 R 2 0 obj Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. endobj /Resources 39 0 R /Kids [19 0 R 20 0 R 21 0 R 22 0 R] /Contents 46 0 R So the evidence of the existence of humanoid bodies adds further to the probability of theismas against naturalism. (4) Theism, on the other hand, postulates a single personal clause of the universe, therefore, incredibly much more simpler. >> << if the Universe is to be human-lifeevolving. As an, It's right to be surprised at the universe's, The universe isn't entirely biophilic. (LogOut/ endobj >> lower that probability. It is argued that points already made also block the way for this line of thought. endobj The fine-tuning can be summarized as, [the] fact that the Universes physical laws and initial conditions (at the big bang) are calibrated within a very narrow range so as to make the Universe conducive to life. (6) Swinburne writes that if the initial constants of the universe, increase or decrease in these respects by one part in a million would have had the effect that the universe was not life evolving if the Big Bang had caused the chunks of matter- energy to recede from each other a little more quickly, no galaxies, stars, or planets, and no environment suitable for life, would have been formed on earth or anywhere else in the universe. that all the constituents of the Universe behave in His argument is that we cannot infer that the universe as a whole has been designed because we observed part of the universe as being designed. /Resources 51 0 R endobj /Resources 49 0 R If the recession had been marginally slower, the universe would have collapsed in on itself before life could have been formed. (7, p.109), He argues that the best explanation for this data is theism. There
a bit more, and so on. /Type /Page /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] /Contents 40 0 R (6). << This argument is therefore called the argument from fine-tuning. /Type /Page Read your article online and download the PDF from your email or your account. << In terms of the cause of the universe, to impose an infinite cause, namely God, is to postulate something more than is sufficient, which is a finite cause. /Type /Catalog << << >> I see no reason why we cannot infer God as the designer of the universe by trusting our experience of cause and effect; that everything that exists has an explanation within itself or outside itself for why it exists. So many exacting conditions are necessary for life on earth that they could not possibly exist in proper relationship by chance. << universe has no explanation. physics explains the world but does not explain the uncaused causer.
<< >> I am in total agreement with your statement that the Fine tuning argument is not necessary for proving the existence of God, of course there are other means to proving that God exists (moral argument, cosmological argument, etc), however, in my view, this argument falls under one possible defense or explanation that in light of the fine-tuning argument, Gods existence is more probably true than false. Humes first objection is that the designer need not be God. probable the human-life-producing character of the laws and boundary Fine tuning argument is not actually necessary for proving the existence of God, because existence of God can also be proved without fine tuning. %PDF-1.5 Click here for more examples of fine-tuning. that there is a universe at all; one form of argument from design argues from the /Parent 2 0 R /Resources 35 0 R Lastly, we will discuss Humes objection to the inference of a designer by causation beyond sense experience. For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions /Parent 4 0 R (3) Hume maintains this objection by attributing uniqueness to the universe, namely that, the universe is a special cause since there were no prior impressions of how universes came into existence from our sense experience. Paleys argument, basically, involves inferring a watchmaker upon discovery of a deserted watch, moreover, what he is pointing at is that things have explanations for their existence; from this thought, he infers the existence of God as the designer of the universe. >>
/Resources 45 0 R /Type /Page Given laws of the present form (quantum theory with the Pauli principle and the four forces), the constants of the laws and variables of the boundary conditions of the universe would need to be extremely fine-tuned; and no simpler set of laws would allow the existence of humanoid bodies at all. Check out using a credit card or bank account with. humans, claiming that rather special laws and boundary conditions are required Cambridge University Press (www.cambridge.org) is the publishing division of the University of Cambridge, one of the worlds leading research institutions and winner of 81 Nobel Prizes. This argument mainly deals with Humes theory of causation, he proposes that the cause of an effect must be proportional to the effect. /Type /Page The ratio of mass that becomes energy when hydrogen becomes helium, the scale at which the universe appears smooth. endobj /Parent 2 0 R Change). /MediaBox [0 0 612 792]
Theism postulates only one entity (God) with very simple properties, whereas naturalism has to postulate either innumerable a law-like way), and another form of argument from design argues from the laws /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] Here, we discussed how his argument depends on the uniqueness of the universe, however, this doesnt warrant that the universe is exempt from the causal relations we experience within our universe, moreover, the hypothesis that God is the necessary cause of the contingent fine-tuned universe provides a better explanation of the fine-tuning of the universe. endobj /Contents 34 0 R >> /Parent 5 0 R << Factors conducive for complex life forms, such as the law of biology, chemistry, and physics all fall under the umbrella of the fine-tuning of the universe. It publishes over 2,500 books a year for distribution in more than 200 countries. from the existence of evil, might stream /Resources 53 0 R is expressed is to claim that the constants and variables of those laws and boundary entities all having the same properties, or one very complicated entity with the power to produce the former. /Type /Page /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] These two explanations are more complex than maintaining that God is eternal because it would lead to a infinite formulation of other causes or reasons as a result of God being non-eternal. /Parent 4 0 R /Parent 5 0 R endobj /Parent 4 0 R Science suggests there are too many chaotic factors at work for the entire universe to be determined by the starting conditions of the Big Bang. >> Create your own unique website with customizable templates. /Type /Page Cambridge Journals publishes over 250 peer-reviewed academic journals across a wide range of subject areas, in print and online. >> Swinburne argues that the materialists hypothesis to explain the fine-tuning of the universe is more complex than theism, in the aspect that, the materialist position requires continual explanation, thus, an infinite regress of explanation would occur; theism on the other hand has an ultimate explanation in God. 21 0 obj Access supplemental materials and multimedia. For this one can see the link below: /Creator (TeX) /Parent 5 0 R << (LogOut/
Lastly, Humes objection from causation beyond sense experience. >> This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. /Producer (pdfTeX-1.40.13) 3099067. /Contents 38 0 R
(1) This objection crushes Paleys argument from design because he specifically uses parts of the universe, namely houses, watches, and human creations, to infer the existence of a designer. All articles are peer-reviewed by a renowned international board of scholars to ensure that the articles are of the highest quality. Many of these journals are the leading academic publications in their fields and together they form one of the most valuable and comprehensive bodies of research available today. /Trapped /False everything we-theists and atheists-agree that we know about the Universe) The endobj 23 0 obj Nevertheless, Swinburnes fine-tuning argument seems to be immune to this objection for the following reasons. /Resources 57 0 R /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] >> Request Permissions, Read Online (Free) relies on page scans, which are not currently available to screen readers. /Type /Page (4) Materialism is complex in the sense that it postulates a great number, possibly an infinite amount, of material objects to provide a complete explanation of the universe. /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] /Type /Page >> % endobj endobj Swinburne advocates an infinite degree of X is simpler than a finite degree of X because we become committed to presupposing further limits of X if S were to possess X. Attributing God as an eternal being in contrast to a non-eternal being is simpler for two reasons.