Papers on this page relate to particular applications of the anthropic principle in biology.
All entries are available online with open access; if two links are given, then the first is the canonical link and the second an open-access or preprint link.
"Large number coincidences and the anthropic principle in cosmology", Brandon Carter, in Confrontation of Cosmological Theories with Data: 291-8, Longair, M.S., 1974, Dordrecht: Reidel.
The anthropic principle, which asserts that what we can expect to observe must be restricted by the conditions necessary for our presence as observers, is discussed in relation to several large number coincidences. An illustration is given of the use of the 'strong' anthropic principle, which states that the Universe must be such as to admit the creation of observers within it at some stage, to predict a priori the weakness of the gravitational coupling constant.
"Must Early Life Be Easy? The Rhythm of Major Evolutionary Transitions", Robin Hanson, 1998.
Uses anthropic considerations to estimate the number of hard steps in human evolution, following an ingenious argument by Brandon Carter.
"Anthropic Shadow: Observation Selection Effects and Human Extinction Risks", Milan Çirkoviç, Anders Sandberg & Nick Bostrom, 2010.
"Anthropic shadow" is an observation selection effect that prevent observers from observing certain kinds of catastrophes in their recent geological and evolutionary past. We risk underestimating the risk of catastrophe types that lie in this shadow.
Bostrom, Nick, "Where are they? Why I hope the search for extraterrestrial life finds nothing", MIT Technology Review, May/June: 72-77, 2008.
Discusses the Fermi paradox, and explains why I hope we find no signs of life, whether extinct or still active, on Mars or anywhere else we may look.
"The Height of a Giraffe", Don N. Page, Foundations of Physics 39(10), 2009.
Estimates the height of the tallest running, breathing organism on a habitable planet.