»Cogito ergo mundus talis est«

Abstract

The main topic of this article is a reflection on the »anthropic principle« in modern cosmology, especially in relation with the hypothesis of the plurality of worlds on the one hand, and in connection with Descartes' cogito on the other. The article outlines the distinction between causal and »anthropic« (epistemic) explanations of the »well-tunedness« of the universe for our existence as observers, then it analyses the intuitive background and the cosmo-logical conception of the plurality of worlds, and it concludes with constatation that new cosmological explanations should be sought beyond traditional dichotonomies.