Confessions of a Multiverse Skeptic
Okay, the title of my post is a little misleading. A more accurate, but less catchy, title for my post would be, “Confessions of a Skeptic of the Multiverse Objection to the Fine-Tuning Argument.” Whew! Just trying saying that five times fast! On a serious note, I’ve mentioned before that I am not convinced by … Confessions of a Multiverse Skeptic
LINK: Why Is There Anything At All? A Response To Stenger
“As someone with sympathies for the Argument from Contingency, and as a non-believer, I am constantly frustrated when I see atheists who should frankly know better completely miss the point of the argument and attack straw-men or simply re-define the word “nothing” so the problem goes away. Philosophers have been quite good at pointing out … LINK: Why Is There Anything At All? A Response To Stenger
LINK: Quodlibeta on Multiversial Musings
A well-written summary of leading objections to the multiverse as an objection to various versions of cosmological and teleological arguments. LINK Your name Your email Subject Your message (optional)
Stenger on Zero Total Energy as Evidence for Atheism
I do not have a physics background, so I am posting this in case someone who does can clarify this for me. In his book, God: The Failed Hypothesis, physicist Victor Stenger argues that the fact that the universe began from a state of zero energy is evidence for God’s nonexistence. On page 116, he … Stenger on Zero Total Energy as Evidence for Atheism
LINK: Mikael Stenmark on Evolution, Purpose, and God
A number of biologists maintain that the recent developments in evolutionary biology have profound implications for religion, morality and our self-understanding. The author focuses on the issue whether evolutionary biology has any relevance for a religious understanding of the meaning of life. First, the question about the meaning of life is clarified. Second, the argument … LINK: Mikael Stenmark on Evolution, Purpose, and God
LINK: Study on Religious Belief Systems of Persons with High Functioning Autism
Catherine Caldwell-Harris and Patrick McNamara have published a very intriguing study in the cognitive science of religion entitled, “Religious Belief Systems of Persons with High Functioning Autism.” Here is the abstract: The cognitive science of religion is a new field which explains religious belief as emerging from normal cognitive processes such as inferring others’ mental … LINK: Study on Religious Belief Systems of Persons with High Functioning Autism
LINK: Anthony Aguirre on the Multiverse Hypothesis
Anthony Aguirre is a physicist at UC Santa Cruz. He wrote a paper in 1995 on the multiverse hypothesis. Here is the paper’s abstract: The notion that there are many “universes” with different properties is one answer to the question of “why is the universe so hospitable to life?” This notion also naturally follows from … LINK: Anthony Aguirre on the Multiverse Hypothesis
Justin Barrett’s “Hyperactive Agency Detection Device” (HADD)
Another item for the “not new, but new for me” category. Justin Barrett is a cognitive scientist of religion and the author of Why Would Anyone Believe in God? In that book, Barrett advances an intriguing explanatory hypothesis for why most people believe in God: the Hyperactive Agency Detection Device (HADD) hypothesis. I have to … Justin Barrett’s “Hyperactive Agency Detection Device” (HADD)
Sophisticated Critique of Many Worlds Explanation of Fine-Tuning
The following essay was recommended to me by Paul Draper. The paper is not a defense of the fine-tuning argument, but he regards it as one of the best critiques of the many worlds explanation of fine-tuning: Roger White, “Fine-tuning and Multiple Universes,” forthcoming in Nousftmu.pdf (PDF) Here is some info about the author: ROGER … Sophisticated Critique of Many Worlds Explanation of Fine-Tuning