Our universe is stunningly tuned for life . The values of the physical constants are precisely tuned to favor the conditions necessary for...
Our universe is stunningly tuned for life. The values of the physical constants are precisely tuned to favor the conditions necessary for life to develop in the universe. If these constants of nature were even slightly different from their current values, the conditions for life as we know it would certainly not have been present, and life as we know it would not exist in the universe.
From a scientific point of view, a universe tuned for life is a confusing problem. How did this particular situation come to happen? Since the tuned-for-life universe is a specific state, it seems logical to think that there must be some valid reason for its existence.
One possible reason for a universe tuned for life is the mere chance. Why couldn't the universe be just like that? It is possible that a constellation of coincidences could have created a universe suitable for the emergence of life, and in which life and intelligence emerged, which then raised the question of why, to which there is no answer that can be traced back to a specific cause.
This is a possible reality of the specialized universe, but for scientific understanding, this answer can only be the last resort in the search for reality. As long as chance is the solution, scientific thinking will not be satisfied and will constantly try to find other possibilities to eliminate chance.
Another possible reason for a universe tuned for life is that it was created by conscious design. If a mind created the universe, (why shouldn't it?), then that mind would certainly aspire to create a universe in which other minds could exist (I certainly would, if I could create a universe), and as a necessary implication, in which life could be possible.
This is, of course, one possible solution to the mystery of a universe tuned for life, but science in search of a cause cannot settle for this answer either. Not primarily because the creator God, the intelligence that exists above the universe, is outside the reality investigated by scientific methods, but because the existence of a tuned universe presupposes a cause that does not close the chain of causation, since the question remains, how did God, the creator, come into being, a question that science must continue to seek a causal answer to.
The most widely accepted hypothesis of a tuned-for-life universe in modern science is the multiverse, the existence of a multitude of countless universes that coexist but differ in their parameters and physical constants by birth. If the multiverse is an existing reality, then it is a natural assumption that among the innumerable universes that exist, there should be ones in which the natural constants are favorable to the conditions of life and in which we are living.
The main problem with the physical reality of the multiverse is that it seems hopeless that it will ever leave the state of scientific hypothesis. At present, there seems no reasonable possibility that other universes outside our universe could ever be investigated by scientific methods of understanding.
A variant of the multiverse, the evolutionary multiverse, tries to explain why universes suitable for life can become dominant and thus naturally exist in a multitude of multiverses, but the existence and emergence of the evolutionary process seems to be unjustifiable by scientific methods.
This is where science now stands, in a disturbingly confusing situation from which there seems to be no justifiable way out. What follows is a speculative hypothesis that could lead to an explanation of a tuned-for-life universe using the tools of scientific methodology.
How can a special universe come into being? Science can only give the theoretically possible answer to this question, using the methods of scientific investigation, that this particular universe is one of many possible ones. The traditional multiverse hypothesis, however, must be avoided because it is difficult to justify, so the only scientifically viable way is to look for the answer in the possibility of a cyclic multiverse.
Suppose that, instead of a multitude of universes existing simultaneously, there is only a single universe, but its process of existence is cyclical, its direction of evolution is such that there is a state (final state) that is identical to a previously existing state (initial state). Furthermore, suppose that the physical parameters of the post initial state of existence are randomly generated. These are strict assumptions that require scientific explanation, but let us hypothetically accept these conditions.
Now let's look at the physical parameters that allow life to emerge. The necessary condition for life is the presence of an environment that supports diversity, which is not in equilibrium but close to equilibrium. Such an environment, if it can persist, can be assumed on scientific grounds (we cannot yet prove this scientifically) that life will sooner or later eventually and necessarily emerge in such an environment.
So, if it were scientifically conceivable that those, and only those physical parameters create a long-lived universe among cyclical existents, in which the states created by the physical parameters result in a varied, non-equilibrium situation, then the existence of a universe tuned for life could be traced back to natural causes.
(When examining life, we should not limit our scientific thinking to the living matter we know. Of course, this is a possible version of life, but other physical parameters can create a universe, quite different from the one we know, in which the strict condition necessary for life to emerge are present, the presence of a diverse, non-equilibrium environment can also be satisfied by these physical parameters.)
To test the hypothesis, we need only look at our own existing universe. On the basis of the fact that the universe is tuned for life, we need to verify these assumptions, which are based on a scientific supposition.
1. The evolution of the universe is a cyclical process. The scientifically testable claim is whether the final state of our universe can be the same as the initial state. From the cyclical model of a universe tuned for life, it follows that at the end of the evolution of our universe, when all change is completed, the resulting state is the state that preceded the Big Bang. The quantum field theory, which includes gravity (theory of everything), can provide the answer.
2. Randomness of physical parameters. A scientifically testable claim about whether it is possible, and under what conditions, for physical parameters to be other than what we know them to be. From the cyclic model of the tuned-for-life universe, it follows that the theory of everything, a quantum field theory that includes gravity, should lead to a description of space that allows for variability in physical parameters. This idea is not entirely extraneous to current scientific research.
3. Transitivity of the equilibrium state. It is a scientifically testable proposition that those, and only those physical parameters, that produce a diverse, non-equilibrium state will maintain that state for a long time. It is an obvious statement that a universe in which changes persist for a long time exists for a prolonged period of time. It also logically follows, those physical parameters that rapidly produce a state of equilibrium will maintain a state of variation for a short time. And when a state without changes is reached, the first assumption implies that this final state is the initial state of the cycle. From the cyclical model of a universe tuned for life, it follows that the physical parameters of a universe result in a long-lasting state of variation, which is an obvious fact of observing our universe.
So, if we could find a physical model of our universe that satisfies these conditions, then a tuned-for-life universe would be explained by natural causes, and a tuned-for-life universe would be a natural cause in this model. Our universe is tuned for life. This fact, while not confirming that our universe is cyclical, may be the only scientifically verifiable and theoretically plausible cause of this fact.
A possible example of a cyclic universe is the grid model of space discussed in the thoughts. The grid model naturally satisfies the conditions outlined above, and is naturally suited to solving the problem of a universe tuned for life. All this does not prove the reality of the grid model, but it may provide a supporting argument for examining its reality.
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