(Illustration generated by Google Gemini)

This work introduces a novel, observer-neutral explanation for why advanced adaptive systems tend to perceive the universe as ordered and stable. By integrating principles from adaptive dynamics and information theory, we argue that this perception does not arise from external fine-tuning or anthropic necessity in the global environment. Instead, it emerges as a statistical consequence of the system’s own adaptive trajectory and informational growth. Specifically, systems that develop complex internal information models do so in environments whose local probabilistic structure allows for persistent adaptation and incremental informational accumulation. In contrast, systems facing chaotic or terminally disruptive environments fail to develop such ordered worldviews, as their adaptive trajectories are suppressed before complex modeling can emerge.

This perspective shifts the explanatory focus from global assumptions about the universe’s structure to the empirically observable statistical and probabilistic properties of the local environment. These properties enable the emergence and long-term persistence of advanced observers. Our argument underscores the limits of extrapolating locally derived constraints as global features of the universe, as such claims cannot be empirically warranted beyond the observer’s interactive domain.

Our findings challenge strong forms of the anthropic argument, which posit that the existence of advanced observers implies globally fine-tuned conditions. Instead, we demonstrate that what we term adaptive-niche bias emerges from local, sufficiently non-chaotic regions that allow adaptive systems to accumulate stable informational structures over time. This outcome is observer-neutral and substrate-independent, arising whenever an environment supports trajectories toward increasingly stable and predictive internal models—without requiring assumptions about the global configuration of the universe.

In modern physics, the apparent "fine-tuning" of fundamental constants—such as the gravitational constant or particle masses—often sparks debate about whether the universe is uniquely calibrated to permit complexity and life. However, this perspective risks conflating local adaptive constraints with global cosmic design. The Adaptive-View Framework offers a reframing: the perception of a finely tuned universe may not reflect inherent cosmic order, but rather the statistical necessity of adaptive systems evolving in environments that allow stable, predictive internal information models to emerge.

Historically, scientific revolutions, from the shift from Aristotelian to Copernican cosmology demonstrate how observational frameworks, though empirically valid in their time, are often later revised as our "interactive shell" of knowledge expands. Similarly, contemporary cosmology’s reliance on principles like large-scale homogeneity, while productive, faces challenges from emerging data (e.g., cosmic web anisotropies) that reveal the provisional nature of extrapolating local regularities to universal truths.

The Adaptive-View Framework clarifies this dynamic: what appears as fine-tuning is often a reflection of the observer’s limited empirical domain. For instance, claims that physical constants are "life-permitting" only demonstrate that our specific form of life arises under certain local conditions—not that the universe as a whole is constrained by these parameters. Such extrapolations, while compelling within current models, lack epistemic grounding beyond the observer’s interactive scope.

This perspective aligns with broader critiques of anthropic reasoning, such as the Effective Observation Principle, which restricts inferences to the domain of empirically validated theories. By distinguishing between local model-dependent constraints and global physical structure, the Adaptive-View Framework underscores a critical insight: the universe’s perceived order is not a cosmic imperative, but a byproduct of adaptive systems operating within their interactive niche. As our observational and theoretical tools evolve, so too may our understanding of what is truly fundamental - and what is merely a transient artifact of our current models.

Our argument thus supports the point that advanced adaptive observers can only logically constrain the local probabilistic structure of their immediate adaptive environment. This insight opens new avenues for research, including the formal classification of environments that can or cannot support the emergence of complex adaptive systems. Ultimately, our perspective refines the classical anthropic argument, replacing claims of universal fine-tuning with an empirically grounded understanding of the adaptive processes that shape an observer’s perception of order and their place in the interactive environment.

The Adaptive Niche Bias: an Adaptive Dynamics Perspective on the Anthropic Principle

In: Foundations of Science by Springer Nature