The principle, also known as the Goldilocks Enigma, may be expressed in different forms depending on the context; in essence it states that all the features of the universe necessary for the evolution and sustainance of intelligent life on Earth appear fine-tuned (just right, as in the bed Goldilocks found in the home of the bears) for that purpose.
The Earth is one of the most cosmologically interesting and biologically complex and wonderful objects in the universe. Research in the last four decades strongly supports what astronomers call the Anthropic Principle which states that "all the features of the universe appear fine-tuned for the benefit of human life on Earth." The location in the universe where Earth first took shape, its subsequent movement to its current location in our galaxy, its order, place and size (and the size of the other bodies) in the our solar system, all prepared it for the possibility not only of life, but for advanced life on earth. As a bonus, our current location in the galaxy provides us with a view of the universe that makes it possible for us to explore and map out the details of the universe and its history. Physicist Freeman Dyson says in his book, Disturbing the Universe (Basic Books, 1979), "The more I examine the universe and study the details of its architecture, the more evidence I find that the universe in some sense must have known we are coming."
Further Reading & Resources:
☰ John Polkinghorne, "The Anthropic Principle and the Science and Religion Debate," Faraday Paper No 4 (Apr 2007). 4pp. pdf
Paul Davies, The Goldilocks Enigma: Why Is the Universe Just Right for Life. London: Penguin, 2006.
For an engaging examination of the Earth, see Hugh Ross, Improbable Planet: How Earth Became Humanity's Home. Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 2017.
☰View video by Hugh Ross on the Anthropic Principle
☰Andrew J. Kirby, "Quantum Concepts and the Anthropic Principle," Faith and Thought 108.3 (1981): 145-150.
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