Is the Universe Fine-Tuned?

Ernan McMullin, John Cardinal O’Hara professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, will speak on “Is the Universe Fine-Tuned?” 3:30 p.m. Nov. 5 in Porter Theatre. The event, sponsored by the Pascal Society, is free and open to the public.

According to McMullin, two developments in the first half of the 20th made possible the construction of a cosmology, that is, a theoretical account of our universe. One was Einstein’s general relativity theory and the other was Hubble’s discovery that all galaxies seem to be moving away from each other. The result was the “Big Bang” theory, proposing that our universe began from an unimaginably energetic dot some 13.8 billion years ago.

 “Looking at this scenario more closely,” McMullin said, “cosmologists noted that the initial energy state from which the cosmic expansion began would have had to be ‘fine-tuned’ to an extraordinarily precise value in order that a life-bearing universe could have later come to be. Could it have been planned that way?”  McMullin will discuss four different responses to this question.

McMullin is the former director of the history and philosophy of science program at the University of Notre Dame. His areas of interest are contemporary philosophy of science, the history of the philosophy of science, and the relationships of religious belief and the natural sciences.

He has held the office of president in four major American philosophical associations and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the International Academy of the History of Science and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He holds honorary doctorates from five universities. He is the author of numerous books on science and philosophy.

For more information, contact the public affairs office at (805) 565-7057 or e-mail pubaffairs@westmont.edu. For directions to campus, visit the college Web site at www.westmont.edu.