anthropic principle

noun

1. astronomy the cosmological theory that the presence of life in the universe limits the ways in which the very early universe could have evolved

Example Sentences

“The idea of alternate worlds, alternate realities has always fascinated me,” said Halpern, who, plucking multiverse ideas from his book, told Salon about Australian physicist Brandon Carter’s “weak anthropic principle”, in which multiple universes – together, the multiverse or, in Carter’s term, the world ensemble – become a solution to the fact that you need intelligent life to observe and develop explanations for the universe in the first place.

From Salon

Mr. Will seemed convinced we can draw upon the specialness of an alleged “cosmic imperative” from the fact that, per the anthropic principle, the foundational parameters and laws of the universe are essential and precise for enabling the human species to exist and observe: us pondering us and the enveloping universe.

From Washington Post

The anthropic principle suggests that the laws of nature must take the form that we observe because otherwise we would not be here to observe them.

From Scientific American

The anthropic principle is a tautology masquerading as a truth, but it has proved remarkably resilient.

From Scientific American

A major reason for the endurance of the anthropic principle is the proliferation of multiverse theories, which hold that our universe is just one of many.

From Scientific American