Does a Fine-Tuned Universe Tell Us Anything About God?

TL;DR

This paper critically examines the argument that the universe's fine-tuning suggests the existence of God, analyzing philosophical and metaphysical perspectives without definitive conclusions.

Contribution

It offers a philosophical critique of the fine-tuning argument and situates it within classical metaphysical theology, highlighting potential tensions with traditional notions of God.

Findings

Fine-tuning is compatible with multiple explanations.

The argument for God as the cause of fine-tuning is not conclusive.

Metaphysical analysis links fine-tuning to divine being through classical analogy.

Abstract

The apparent fine-tuning of several fundamental parameters that determine the properties of our Universe and make it hospitable to life is sometimes used as an argument for God from design. I review the concept of cosmic fine-tuning and critically examine the claim that God is its most probable cause. While not definitively repudiating this claim, I argue that it is potentially in tension with the more apophatic approach to God found in the Abrahamic traditions. I then offer a metaphysical analysis of the contingency of fine-tuning that situates it within the classical analogy of being that points to the Divinity.