Galactic Punctuated Equilibrium: How to Undermine Carter's Anthropic Argument in Astrobiology
Milan M. Cirkovic, Branislav Vukotic, Ivana Dragicevic

TL;DR
This paper proposes a new approach to challenge Carter's anthropic argument by incorporating galaxy-wide and local evolutionary regulation mechanisms, suggesting the argument's limitations and questioning conclusions about extraterrestrial intelligence scarcity.
Contribution
It introduces a dynamical regulation-based framework that relaxes uniformitarian assumptions, integrating astrophysical and evolutionary insights to undermine Carter's argument.
Findings
Carter's argument has limited applicability under realistic galactic conditions.
Galactic and local regulation mechanisms influence evolutionary regimes.
The approach questions the conclusion that extraterrestrial intelligence is scarce.
Abstract
We investigate a new strategy which can defeat the (in)famous Carter's "anthropic" argument against extraterrestrial life and intelligence. In contrast to those already considered by Wilson, Livio, and others, the present approach is based on relaxing hidden uniformitarian assumptions, considering instead a dynamical succession of evolutionary regimes governed by both global (Galaxy-wide) and local (planet- or planetary system-limited) regulation mechanisms. This is in accordance with recent developments in both astrophysics and evolutionary biology. Notably, our increased understanding of the nature of supernovae and gamma-ray bursts, as well as of strong coupling between the Solar System and the Galaxy on one hand, and the theories of "punctuated equilibria" of Eldredge and Gould and "macroevolutionary regimes" of Jablonski, Valentine, et al. on the other, are in full accordance with…
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