Question

Lets assume for the question that our universe happens to be deterministic in the sense all events have been and will be determined by the initial state or by a particular early state and it is one of an ensemble of possible universes. Lets also assume that the initial state determining all future states occurred at random and we can use the weak anthropic principle to justify our existence as observers. Noting that people often act and think rationally. Noting that all canonical cultural works are highly and complexly appropriate to their purpose. Speculating that the universe could be less orderly than observed while having the same laws, I have this question: How likely is is that we live in this universe and not one where our human highly regarded works of poetry, music, literature, mathematics, science etc or, if we were non-human intelligent observers, their counterpart creations, do not exist or are not of such high quality? If the answer is that less sensible, highly orderly situations could be compatible with intelligent observers and the result of a random initial configuration, is it logical that that the possibility we live in one overwhelmingly outnumbers that of our own observed world? If the answer is yes, does that not invalidate classical determinism as having more than trivially slight probability?

Answer 1

The likelihood of living in a universe where complex cultural works exist as a result of the universe's initial conditions is tied to the anthropic principle, which suggests our universe is specifically tailored for our existence. Speculation on a multiverse adds complexity, suggesting numerous other lifeless universes could exist. Determinism is challenged philosophically by such speculative concepts.

Step-by-step explanation:

The concept that we live in a deterministic universe where events are pre-determined by its initial conditions relates to the anthropic principle. Assuming a random initial state and using the weak anthropic principle, it's argued that our observable universe's orderliness reflects the necessary conditions for our existence as intelligent observers. The existence of humans is said to be reliant on particular conditions being "just right" in the universe, and it's this observation that suggests a specificity to the physical laws at play.

The speculation around a multiverse suggests that our world is one among many possible universes, some of which might not have developed the complexity needed for intelligent life to reflect on its intricacies. Therefore, while many disorderly universes could exist according to the same universal laws, they may not necessarily facilitate the emergence of highly complex cultural artifacts such as poetry, music, literature, mathematics, and science as we know them. Whether we live in a particularly "sensible" or orderly universe is hard to evaluate given the lack of empirical methods to compare our universe with others that might exist within a hypothetical multiverse.

Ultimately, it might be impossible to confirm if the specific orderliness we observe is statistically probable or an inevitable outcome of the given cosmic initial conditions. This introduces philosophical and metaphysical elements to the question of determinism. In essence, while the causal closure of the physical world supports the deterministic view under which our universe operates, there exists a debate around its likelihood, considering the anthropic principle and observations suggesting the existence of a multiverse.