Does this represent an actual sighting of Lord Russell\u2019s teapot?
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bertrand Russell came up with the analogy of a celestial teapot \u2014 now, in his honor, often called \u201cRussell\u2019s teapot\u201d \u2014 as a way of disparaging what he regarded as the irrationality of religious belief.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I cite a summary of it from the distinguished British\u00a0journalist, author, and academic John Cornwell, who directs\u00a0the Science and Human Dimension Project at\u00a0the University of Cambridge:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
If one were to claim that between Earth and Mars there is a teapot in orbit, nobody could disprove the assertion, especially if one were to claim that the teapot is too small to be seen by any telescope. \u00a0Yet if one were to insist that it would be an \u201cintolerable presumption\u201d on the part of anyone to doubt it, this would be taken as nonsense. \u00a0Russell goes on to add, however: \u00a0\u201cIf the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of a psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisition in an earlier time.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
A few pages later, in the same chapter, Cornwell cites the distinguished Anglo-American mathematical physicist Freeman Dyson, of Princeton\u2019s Institute for Advanced Studies:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The strength of the attractive nuclear forces is just sufficient to overcome the electrical repulsion between the positive charges in the nuclei of ordinary atoms such as oxygen or iron. \u00a0But the nuclear forces are not quite strong enough to bind together two protons (hydrogen nuclei) into a bound system which would be called a diproton if it existed. \u00a0If the nuclear forces had been slightly stronger than they are, the diproton would exist and almost all the hydrogen in the universe would have been combined into diprotons and heavier nuclei. \u00a0Hydrogen would be a rare element, and stars like the sun, which live for a long time, by the slow burning of hydrogen in their cores, could not exist.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thus far, Professor Dyson. \u00a0Now, back to Cornwell:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dyson goes on. \u00a0If the nuclear forces had been substantially weaker than they are, hydrogen could not burn at all and there would be no heavy elements. \u00a0\u201cIf, as seems likely, the evolution of life requires a star like the sun, supplying energy at a constant rate for billions of years, then the strength of nuclear forces had to lie within a rather narrow range to make life possible.\u201d \u00a0And this is not all. \u00a0The facts of astronomy, he points out, include other numerical accidents that worked to the advantage of the existence of life, not least the distance between stars. \u00a0And the rich diversity of organic chemistry, he argues, depends on a delicate balance between electrical and quantum-mechanical forces. \u00a0\u201cThere are many other lucky accidents in atomic physics,\u201d he writes. \u00a0\u201cWithout such accidents, water could not exist as a liquid, chains of carbon atoms could not form complex organic molecules, and hydrogen atoms could not form a breakable bridge between molecules.\u201d \u00a0Dyson felt obliged to raise questions about how so many of these \u201cfinely tuned\u201d conditions should have come about by pure chance, and calculated that it is a mathematical impossibility. \u00a0\u201cBeing a scientist, trained in the habits of thought and language of the twentieth century rather than the eighteenth, I do not claim that the architecture of the universe proves the existence of God. \u00a0I claim only that the architecture of the universe is consistent with the hypothesis that mind plays an essential role in its functioning.\u201d \u00a0As the distinguished cosmologist and science expositor James Jeans once wrote: \u00a0\u201cThe universe begins to look more like a great thought than a great machine.\u201d \u00a0For most philosophers of religion this constitutes a theistic position.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course, Richard Dawkins and other atheists respond to these facts with the suggestion\u00a0of a \u201cmultiverse,\u201d an infinite or essentially infinite assemblage of universes in which at least one is inevitably bound to meet the requirements for life. \u00a0And we few, we happy few, happen to live in that universe. \u00a0(After all, we could hardly live in one not<\/em> fit for life.)<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cornwell isn\u2019t exactly blown away by the hypothesis. \u00a0This is how he concludes his chapter:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
In fact, there are no more observable data for this \u201csuggestion\u201d than the positing of a miniature teapot circumnavigating the Earth.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
See John Cornwell, Darwin\u2019s Angel: An Angelic Riposte to <\/em>The God Delusion (London: Profile Books, 2008), 53-58.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Posted from Jerusalem, Israel<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Bertrand Russell came up with the analogy of a celestial teapot \u2014 now, in his honor, often called \u201cRussell\u2019s teapot\u201d \u2014 as a way of disparaging what he regarded as the irrationality of religious belief. \u00a0 I cite a summary of it from the distinguished British\u00a0journalist, author, and academic John Cornwell, who directs\u00a0the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
The Multiverse, Fine-Tuning, and Russell's Teapot<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\" Bertrand Russell came up with the analogy of a celestial teapot -- now, in his honor, often called "Russell's teapot" -- as a way of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/06\/the-multiverse-fine-tuning-and-russells-teapot.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Multiverse, Fine-Tuning, and Russell's Teapot\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" Bertrand Russell came up with the analogy of a celestial teapot -- now, in his honor, often called "Russell's teapot" -- as a way of\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/06\/the-multiverse-fine-tuning-and-russells-teapot.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-06T21:05:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/12\/587px-Leonid_Meteor.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/06\/the-multiverse-fine-tuning-and-russells-teapot.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/06\/the-multiverse-fine-tuning-and-russells-teapot.html\",\"name\":\"The Multiverse, Fine-Tuning, and Russell's Teapot\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-06T21:05:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-06T21:05:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\" Bertrand Russell came up with the analogy of a celestial teapot -- now, in his honor, often called \\\"Russell's teapot\\\" -- as a way of\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/06\/the-multiverse-fine-tuning-and-russells-teapot.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/06\/the-multiverse-fine-tuning-and-russells-teapot.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/06\/the-multiverse-fine-tuning-and-russells-teapot.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Multiverse, Fine-Tuning, and Russell’s Teapot\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Multiverse, Fine-Tuning, and Russell's Teapot","description":" Bertrand Russell came up with the analogy of a celestial teapot -- now, in his honor, often called \"Russell's teapot\" -- as a way of","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/06\/the-multiverse-fine-tuning-and-russells-teapot.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Multiverse, Fine-Tuning, and Russell's Teapot","og_description":" Bertrand Russell came up with the analogy of a celestial teapot -- now, in his honor, often called \"Russell's teapot\" -- as a way of","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/06\/the-multiverse-fine-tuning-and-russells-teapot.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2019-06-06T21:05:45+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/12\/587px-Leonid_Meteor.jpg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/06\/the-multiverse-fine-tuning-and-russells-teapot.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/06\/the-multiverse-fine-tuning-and-russells-teapot.html","name":"The Multiverse, Fine-Tuning, and Russell's Teapot","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-06-06T21:05:45+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-06T21:05:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":" Bertrand Russell came up with the analogy of a celestial teapot -- now, in his honor, often called \"Russell's teapot\" -- as a way of","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/06\/the-multiverse-fine-tuning-and-russells-teapot.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/06\/the-multiverse-fine-tuning-and-russells-teapot.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/06\/the-multiverse-fine-tuning-and-russells-teapot.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Multiverse, Fine-Tuning, and Russell’s Teapot"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74772\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"A](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/12\/587px-Leonid_Meteor.jpg\")
<\/a>