1. Pertaining to humans or the period of their existence on earth: The anthropic principle consists of theories that the universe is constrained by the need to allow for man's existence in it as an observer.
2. A reference to belonging to a human being; of a human sort: An anthropic condition is concerned with or relating to human beings; for example, in geology, applied to the period of the deposits in which human remains are found.

The anthropic principle is the assertion that the presence of intelligent life on earth places limits on the many ways the universe could have developed and could have caused the conditions of temperature that prevail today.