"Fixed patterns of heaven I have established" - Jeremiah. The Anthropic Principal

Jeremiah 33:

“Thus says the Lord, 'If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established, then I would reject the descendants of.. David.. not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham (the future Messiah).”

The Anthropic Principle (AP) is an observation in cosmology that states that the universe must have those properties which allow for the development of life within it at some stage in its history. This principle implies that the laws of physics and the fundamental constants of nature must be finely tuned to allow for the existence of life, and that the universe itself must be vast and old enough for life to have developed.

The anthropic principle has been expressed by philosophers and scientists for centuries, but it was not until the 1980s that it was formally articulated as the Anthropic Principle by Brandon Carter and Frank Tipler.

One of the main arguments in favor of the AP is that the universe appears to be fine-tuned for life in a number of ways. For example, the strength of the four fundamental forces of nature – gravity, electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force – are all precisely balanced to allow for the formation of atoms, molecules, and stars. Similarly, the cosmological constant, which is responsible for the expansion of the universe, is very small compared to what it could have been, otherwise the universe would have expanded too quickly for galaxies to form.

Proponents of the AP argue that these fine-tunings are too improbable to have occurred by chance, and that they must be evidence that the universe was designed for life. They also argue that the vastness and age of the universe are necessary for life to have developed, as it takes billions of years for complex life forms to arise.

The mathematical odds of the universe being "fine-tuned" for life are incredibly small. For example, the value of the cosmological constant, which is responsible for the expansion of the universe, must be within a very narrow range in order for galaxies and stars to form. If the cosmological constant were just slightly larger or smaller, the universe would have either expanded too quickly for galaxies to form or collapsed too quickly for stars to form.

Similarly, the strength of the four fundamental forces of nature – electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, and gravity – must also be within very narrow ranges in order for life to exist. For example, if the electromagnetic force were slightly weaker, atoms would not be able to form, and if the strong nuclear force were slightly weaker, atoms would not be stable.

The fact that the fundamental constants of physics, the laws of nature, and the initial conditions of the universe all appear to be fine-tuned for life has led some physicists to argue that the AP is correct. However, other physicists argue that the SAP is a form of circular reasoning: we are here to observe the universe, so it must have been fine-tuned for life. 

This would be like surviving a firing squad and exclaiming “I had to in order to witness it.” Right…

The fact that the universe is so fine-tuned for life is a fascinating puzzle that has puzzled scientists for many years.

Here are some of the mathematical odds of the universe being "fine-tuned" for life:

• The cosmological constant must be within a range of 10^-120 and 10^-123 in order for galaxies and stars to form.

• The strength of the electromagnetic force must be within a range of 10^-41 and 10^-43 in order for atoms to form.

• The strength of the strong nuclear force must be within a range of 10^-54 and 10^-56 in order for atoms to be stable.

• The strength of the weak nuclear force must be within a range of 10^-63 and 10^-65 in order for certain nuclear reactions to occur that are necessary for life.

These are just a few examples of the many ways in which the universe appears to be fine-tuned for life. The odds of all of these factors happening by chance are incredibly small, which is why the AP is such a controversial topic.