Playing Dice with the Universe
Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Humanities
First Advisor
Edidin, Aron
Keywords
Anthropic Principle, Probability, Philosophy of Science, Cosmology
Area of Concentration
Philosophy
Abstract
The diverse family of views falling under the heading 'The Anthropic Principle' seek to explain the curious fact that our universe is an hospitable place for living things. In a discussion informed by Bayesian probability theory, the most popular of these explanations--that employing the multipleuniverse hypothesis--is challenged. Contrary to intuition, this hypothesis is not confirmed by the unlikely fact that our universe permits life. A related line of reasoning, conunonly known as 'The Doomsday Argument,' is then considered. Although the Doomsday Argument strikes most philosophers who have written on the subject as highly suspect, no one has successfully shown its invalidity. It is herein proposed that the argument's faults can be demonstrated by careful application of commonly accepted principles of probabilistic reasoning.
Recommended Citation
Barnett, David, "Playing Dice with the Universe" (2003). Theses & ETDs. 3205.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/3205
Rights
This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.