Robert Kurland, PhD

Our Goldilocks Universe:
The Anthropic Coincidences

Dr. Robert Kurland, a convert to Catholicism in 1995, is a retired physicist who has applied magnetic resonance to problems of biological interest in his research (web search: “Kurland-McGarvey Equation”). Dr. Kurland is a graduate of Caltech (BS, 1951, “with honor”) and Harvard (PhD, 1956). His scientific career at Carnegie-Mellon, SUNY/AB, Cleveland Clinic, Geisinger Medical Center, has focused on biological applications of magnetic resonance, including MRI. Since his conversion to Catholicism, he has tried to spread the message that there’s no war between Catholic teaching and science.

Abstract

The universe in which we live and came to be is not ordinary, but unusual. As the Church Lady in Saturday Night Live of old would say, “Now, isn’t that special!” Or is it? Some scientists would agree with Roger Penrose – that if it weren’t special, we wouldn’t be here to remark on it. Many other scientists and philosophers would agree with Thomas Nagel that an explanation giving only the result is not an explanation. (And, of course, if it is special, then there is the implicit conclusion that this is so because of a Creating Intelligence, which we Catholics recognize as the Trinitarian God.)

In my presentation I will discuss some of the so-called “anthropic coincidences” necessary for carbon-based life. Although some examples from cosmology and particle physics will be included, I’m going to focus on the wonderful parts of chemistry and molecular biology, processes that point to the hand of a Creating Intelligence. And of course the prophets of the Old Testament and saints of the early Church knew this all along, without the benefit of science.