title: [The beginning of the first principles: the anthropic principle].
abstract: The nowadays classical Anthropic Principle is put both in the historical perspective of the traditional problem of "the place of man in the Universe', and in the confluence of several scientific "border" issues, some of which, due to their problematical nature, are also subject of philosophical analysis. On the one hand, the scientific uses of the Principle, related to the initial and constitutional conditions of "our Universe", are enumerated, as they are supposedly necessary for the appearance and consequent development of Life--up to Man--. On the other, an organized collection of the principles of today's Physics is synthetically exhibited. The object of this work is to determine the intrinsic scientific nature of the Anthropic Principle, and the role it plays in the global frame of the principles of Physics (Astrophysics, Astrobiology and Cosmology).
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: González de Posada
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000883:Anthropology; D015186:Hominidae; D010684:Philosophy; D055585:Physical Phenomena; D010825:Physics