Anthropic Reasoning and the Contemporary Design Argument in Astrophysics: A Reply to Robert Klee

In a recent study of astrophysical “fine-tunings” (or “coincidences”), Robert Klee critically assesses the support that such astrophysical evidence might be thought to lend to the design argument (i.e., the argument that our universe has been designed by some deity). Klee argues that a proper assessment indicates that the universe is not as “fine-tuned” as advertised by proponents of the design arguments. We argue (i) that Klee’s assessment of the data is, to a certain extent, problematic; and (ii) even if Klee’s assessment of the data is correct, it provides a necessary but not a sufficient response to the design argument. However, an adequate skeptical rejoinder to the design argument can be made by appealing to the anthropic principle. 1. Introductory: Pythagoras, Klee, and Anthropic Fine-tunings The validity and meaning of the so-called ‘fine-tunings', underlying the anthropic principle, has always been highly controversial. In a recent interesting critical study, colourfully entitled “The Revenge of Pythagoras: How a Mathematical Sharp Practice Undermines the Contemporary design Argument in Astrophysical Cosmology,” Robert Klee criticizes both the mathematics and physics of (putative) finetunings, in order to show that the teleological conclusions drawn from them are ill-founded (Klee 2002). Klee's primary target is a contemporary design argument that invites us to believe that the best explanation for the apparent fine-tuning of certain astrophysical numbers is that our universe was designed by a deity. Clearly there are at least two possible means to criticize the theist’s argument: one could challenge the significance of the astrophysical numbers, or one could challenge the numbers themselves. Klee takes the latter (uncommon) approach. While the ultimate target of Klee’s criticism is the design argument, often the proximate target is anthropic reasoning and the anthropic principle. The