A Natural Introduction to Fine-Tuning

TL;DR

This paper discusses the fine-tuning problem in physics, reviewing various philosophical and scientific explanations, and cautions against uncritically accepting the Principle of Naturalness as a scientific principle.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the fine-tuning problem, including examples, solutions, and critical perspectives on the Principle of Naturalness.

Findings

Highlights the importance of critical thinking about fine-tuning explanations

Reviews multiple solutions like design argument and cosmological natural selection

Warns against treating the Principle of Naturalness as a scientific principle

Abstract

A well-known topic within the philosophy of physics is the problem of fine-tuning: the fact that the universal constants seem to take non-arbitrary values in order for live to thrive in our Universe. In this paper we will talk about this problem in general, giving some examples from physics. We will review some solutions like the design argument, logical probability, cosmological natural selection, etc. Moreover, we will also discuss why it's dangerous to uphold the Principle of Naturalness as a scientific principle. After going through this paper, the reader should have a general idea what this problem exactly entails whenever it is mentioned in other sources and we recommend the reader to think critically about these concepts.