The Universe in the Light of Contemporary Scientific Developments

Abstract

Recent developments in Physics have prompted discussion of the Anthropic Principle, both weak (stating that the evolution of carbon-based life in the universe produces a selection-effect on observed values of physical quantities), and strong (asserting that the universe must have properties permitting the development of intelligent life. Either statement is self-evident, as intelligent life actually exists and could not but observe the universe as it does. Nevertheless the Anthropic Principle is philosophically important, because it testifies to, and is supported by evidence of, the wholeness of the universe and the intricate and intimate interdependence of physical and biological facts. Insistence on this wholeness has been typical of the 20th century revolution in science since Einstein and Planck, repeated today more emphatically by Bohm, Capra, Davies and others. Continuity between Physics and Biology is widely acknowledged, and eminent biologists have similarly demonstrated the integral unity of the biosphere. New evidence of holism has been disclosed by the study of turbulence and the development of fractal geometry. The contemporary concept of the universe is therefore indisputably holistic and demands a logico-metaphysical theory of wholes. This reveals that every genuine whole is a system of elements in internal relation, regulated by a universal principle of organization that specifies itself as a dialectical scale of forms, in which each successive form constitutes a higher degree of actualization of the universal principle. The human mind is a late phase in this scale, and, therefore, having developed from earlier natural forms, its knowledge brings the entire process of evolution to consciousness of itself. This is the true significance of the Anthropic Principle, and it also has important implications for theology.