133. Graham Oppy | Fine-Tuning and Grim Reapers

If you'd like to support the series and get early access (plus other perks), you can join on Patreon or become a paid Substack subscriber:   / friction   https://fric.substack.com/subscribe My links: https://linktr.ee/frictionphilosophy. Graham Oppy is Professor of Philosophy at Monash University, and specializes in Philosophy of Religion. For more on my approach to fine-tuning, see my post here: https://fric.substack.com/p/cosmologi... 00:00 - Preview 00:43 - Introduction 02:01 - Bayesian fine-tuning argument 03:13 - Design vs. non-design hypotheses 04:35 - Two probability constraints 06:00 - Oppy’s first reaction 08:07 - Conditional probabilities questioned 10:54 - Does design predict life? 11:59 - Purely a priori reasoning 15:59 - Causation vs. design 17:19 - Probability 20:37 - Background 23:16 - Simplicity 28:24 - Skeptical theism and fine-tuning 29:05 - Life-permitting vs. fine-tuned 32:22 - Comparing specific hypotheses 38:38 - Simplicity and divine complexity 40:11 - Necessary beings and the universe 44:13 - Intuitions and priors 47:35 - Stalking-horse objection 50:35 - Background knowledge and updating 52:17 - Double-dipping concern 56:27 - Grim reapers 1:02:24 - Patchwork principle 1:11:37 - Thomson’s lamp analogy 1:15:16 - Toe-regrowing variant 1:22:55 - Lewis and patchwork 1:24:24 - Intrinsic powers 1:27:10 - Conclusion