Work

Simulations All the Way Up! An Atheist's Response to the Fine‐Tuning Argument

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT So the Fine‐tuning Argument goes, because it is so unlikely for the physical constants of the laws of nature to have taken the values that they in fact take, we should significantly raise our credence that God exists. Simulation Arguments argue that our world might be (or, in stronger versions, that it probably is) a mere computer simulation. This paper argues that, in light of a Simulation Argument with a particularly weak conclusion, fine‐tuning reasoning instead motivates atheists to believe that we live in a computer simulation.

Source: Analytic Philosophy

DOI: 10.1111/phib.70007

Author: Nikk Effingham

Institutions: University of Johannesburg, University of Birmingham

Language: English

Topic: Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics

Subfield: Philosophy

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,900

Funders: John Templeton Foundation, University of York, University of Birmingham