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Current Trends in Intelligent Design-Themed Body Art

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A colleague sends along a formidably learned blog post by a young pro-ID philosopher and doctoral student, Max Andrews, who writes on the theme of cosmic fine-tuning and asks “Do Multiverse Scenarios Solve the Problem of Fine-Tuning?” Answer: no. He begins,

The multiverse hypothesis is the leading alternative to the competing fine-tuning hypothesis. The multiverse dispels many aspects of the fine-tuning argument by suggesting that there are different initial conditions in each universe, varying constants of physics, and the laws of nature lose their known arbitrary values; thus, making the previous single-universe argument from fine-tuning incredibly weak. There are four options for why a fine-tuning is either unnecessary to invoke or illusory if the multiverse hypothesis is used as an alternative explanans. Fine-tuning might be (1) illusory if life could adapt to very different conditions or if values of constants could compensate each other. Additionally, (2) it might be a result of chance or (3) it might be nonexistent because nature could not have been otherwise. With hopes of discovering a fundamental theory of everything all states of affairs in nature may perhaps be tautologous. Finally, (4) it may be a product of cosmic Darwinism, or cosmic natural selection, making the measured values quite likely within a multiverse of many different values. In this paper I contend that multiverse scenarios are insufficient in accounting for the fine-tuning of the laws of nature and that physicists and cosmologists must either accept it as a metaphysical brute fact or seriously entertain the hypothesis of a fine-tuner.

Turning from the text, my eye fell on the photo of the author (above left). What’s that on his arm? Look closely. It turns out Mr. Andrews sports an equally formidable tattoo depicting, among other things, a DNA double helix. He offers a closeup of an ID-themed tattoo here, apparently his own, which seems to combine elements of Signature in the Cell and Privileged Planet. Elsewhere on the blog he ruminates on the acceptability of tattoos for Christians, a subject of interest for him “since I’m covered in tattoos.”
Well! A while back we featured a photo (above right) of a gentleman who showed off his own ID-inspired body art at a screening of Metamorphosis. It seems like they’re popping up all over. For the record, Evolution News & Views does not endorse tattooing, but this sure is…interesting.

David Klinghoffer

Senior Fellow and Editor, Evolution News
David Klinghoffer is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute and the editor of Evolution News & Science Today, the daily voice of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, reporting on intelligent design, evolution, and the intersection of science and culture. Klinghoffer is also the author of six books, a former senior editor and literary editor at National Review magazine, and has written for the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Seattle Times, Commentary, and other publications. Born in Santa Monica, California, he graduated from Brown University in 1987 with an A.B. magna cum laude in comparative literature and religious studies. David lives near Seattle, Washington, with his wife and children.

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