The Anthropic Principle, a concept at the intersection of science and philosophy, has long served as a fallback explanation for perplexing questions about the universe. Why is the cosmological constant so small yet positive? Why does dark matter exist in the precise abundance needed for galaxies and life to form?
First articulated in its modern form by physicist Brandon Carter in 1974, the Anthropic Principle attempts to explain why the universe’s physical constants fall within the narrow range required for life. It comes in two flavors: the “Weak Anthropic Principle,” which observes that the universe must allow for observers, and the “Strong Anthropic Principle,” which suggests the universe is fine-tuned for life.
