Hoping not to re-ignite a previous debate, I don't take Penrose too seriously on this subject. Of all those who have made their extra-observational speculations accessible, I have found Rees the most entertaining. However, I think it remains, not a boundary condition, but an untethered speculation that the evidence for the anthropic principle really is there. It has not been demonstrated to my satisfaction that simple beginnnings, such as the singularity that apparently started up the whole shebang, do not manifest themselves in simple, symmetric natural laws and, in however complex a manner, balanced forces.
Likewise, when a question wanders to the boundary of what can be observed, the materialist shrugs it off as either an item for the anthropic principle or an anomaly which will be resolved by future generations. A physicalist prefers a material explanation but not being willing to quit, pushes the boundaries further out – looking for new kinds of science or theory.
Hmm. Well, I think I'm a standard-brand materialist, but I don't have a problem with the notion that there are explanations for things that are beyond both my grasp for all time. I, in fact, think it quite likely. Perhaps I'm ignorant of fine philosophical distinctions, but I have been under the impression for some time that a traditional materialist is simply addressing the sensible allocation of finite scientific resources, in eschewing metaphysical explanations--not making a claim one way or another about metaphysical explanations.
I haven’t done exhaustive research into the foreign policy of administrations prior to Clinton, so I’m not qualified to debate the subject at this time.
You may be like some other Freepers here who are epistemologically materialist but not metaphysically materialist. The differences I mentioned above (between physicalist and materialist) apply to the philosophy - not the epistemology.
Materialism as a philosophy states that the natural realm is all that there is, i.e. the philosophy excludes all spiritual possibilities. Materialism as epistemology excludes metaphysics in scientific endeavors.