The Argument From Fine-Tuning

The universe is incredibly fine-tuned, not just for life, but for it's own existence.

From the initial conditions of the Big Bang, to the microscopic DNA strands that carry instructions for the creation of life, this world in which we find ourselves is fine-tuned on a razor's edge. It is so finely tuned that if the some of the quantities were altered, the universe would collapse on itself and die. If other quantities were altered the universe would never be able to form galaxies, or any other element than hydrogen. 

It's important to note that "fine-tuned" doesn't mean "designed". That would certainly be a circular argument. The term "fine-tuned" refers to the fundamental reality of the constants and quantities that make up the known universe, including certain aspects of the Milky Way galaxy, our solar system, the earth and moon.

Here are a few examples:

• amount of entropy of the universe
• the gravitational constant
• the strong nuclear force
• the amount of matter in the universe
• the speed of light
• the ratio of proton to electron mass
• the size and shape of the Milky Way galaxy
• the position of our solar system within the galaxy
• the distance of the earth to the sun
• the distance and size of the moon to the earth
• the tilt of the earth's axis
• the rotation speed of the earth
• the mass and composition of the earth
• and so on and so on

There are literally hundreds of "fine-tuning" examples that, if changed, would not permit the earth to sustain human life. So what are we to think of this incredible phenomenon? Is this worth studying, or is it just an incredible coincidence to notice?

There are 3 possible explanations for the incredible fine-tuning observed in the known universe:

1. Chance
2. Necessity
3. Design

Chance: It is essentially a throw of the dice, just a shot in the dark, and could have been any set of quantities. The famous physicist Roger Penrose has estimated that the odds of the universe having it's unique set of constants and quantities is 1/10^10^126. That's a number so large that there is not enough space in the known universe to hold all of the 0's needed to write out that number.

Necessity: There is no other possible way for the universe to be the way it is. But physicists and scientists see no reason that the universe must be the way it is. They speculate that any of these fine-tuned elements could have been different. Even if it were necessary, that would tend to point to something beyond the universe itself dictating the physical necessity of the universal make-up.

Design: Something or someone had a plan in mind, a purpose, and deliberately set up the universe in such a way to enable a particular outcome. 

So which seems more plausible to you? That the universe just happened to be spit out the way it was, like a spin of the roulette wheel? That the universe must be this way and that there is no other way it could be? Or that it was designed by a superior intellect powerful enough to bring the universe into being ex-nihilo?

The argument would be stated as follows:

1. The fine-tuning of the universe is due to either chance, necessity, or design.
2. The universe is not due to chance or necessity.
3. Therefore, the universe is designed.

"A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a super intellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature." - Fred Hoyle