Anthropics Versus Determinism in Quantum Gravity

Abstract

Recently the multitude of vacua in string theory have led some authors to advocate the anthropic principle as a possible resolution for the contrived set of parameters that seem to govern our universe. I suggest that string theories should be viewed as effective theories, and hence of limited utility rather than as ``theories of everything''. I propose that quantum gravity should admit a form of determinism and that the self-dual points under phase-space duality should play a prominent role in the vacuum selection principle.

9 pages. Standard Latex & ws-procs9x6. Typos corrected. To appear in the proceedings of String Phenomenology 2003 conference, Durham, UK 29 July - 4 August 2003. Dedicated to the memory of Ian Kogan