Multiverse Musings: An Updated Summary

Multiverse Musings: An Updated Summary

I started writing about multiverse related topics back in May 2007. I summarized some of these ideas in early 2008, but I have written numerous other articles since and thought it time for a more up-to-date summary. So here it is.

Discussions about the multiverse often center on whether or not a multiverse even exists. The actual evidence related to this issue is rather sparse. However, a few intriguing measurements do indicate the possible existence of a multiverse. One research group claims that our whole observable universe moves through space toward a specific location in the sky. The simplest way of explaining this motion involves influences during the epoch of inflation that tugged on our observable universe but that were moved beyond our observational reach as inflation progressed. Another group argues that a particular signature in the cosmic microwave background provides a glimpse of events before the big bang.

Rather than focus on the existence of a multiverse, I like to explore whether the multiverse helps the naturalist in their cause to remove any need for a divine Creator. The cosmological and teleological arguments are two of the strongest arguments for God’s existence. Multiverse research buttresses both. Some have argued that there are only two explanations that can possibly account for the fine-tuning seen in this universe: God or the multiverse. I think this is a false dichotomy and that the multiverse fits most comfortably within a theistic worldview. In fact, the multiverse poses unique challenges for the nontheistic models and for models that incorporate some form of theistic evolution.

I also describe how inflationary big bang models and quantum mechanics impact the case for a multiverse.

My booklet Who’s Afraid of the Multiverse? includes much of the discussion mentioned above.

If you would like to see a question about the multiverse addressed in this forum, send it to [email protected].