A lecture on the fine-tuning argument by an expert.

Details:

Dr. Robin Collins is a Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Messiah College. Collins is the foremost defender of what is known as the teleological argument for the existence of God. He has a background in both physics and philosophy and will be discussing how the specific physical constants and conditions in the universe are finely-tuned for intelligent life and how this “fine-tuning” gives us reason to believe in a Creator.

Here is the video:

Topics:

• the constants and quantities set at the origin of the universe is fine-tuned for conscious, embodied intelligences like us
• three kinds of fine-tuning: 1) laws of nature, 2) constants, 3) quantities
• examples of 1): gravity, electromagnetism, strong force, quantization, Pauli exclusion principle
• examples of 2): gravitational constant, cosmological constant,
• examples of 3):  initial distribution of mass-energy
• in addition to fine-tuning for life, there is also fine-tuning for discoverability
• Naturalistic response to the evidence: the multiverse hypothesis
• problems with the multiverse hypothesis
• additional topics

I put the ones I am ready to speak on in bold. I recommend you learn those as well in order to illustrate the fine-tuning with evidence when you present it. The evidence is important because I’ve never found a single atheist who I discussed this with who could properly state the argument or understand the evidence. They talk about it without really understanding it, which is why we need to be ready to explain it to them.