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I think the anthropic principle should only be applied the other way around: We're here due to this environment, so other places with similar environments might

I think the anthropic principle should only be applied the other way around: We're here due to this environment, so other places with similar environments might harbor life too. But this doesn't say anything about whether different environments may enable life too. The second claim seems much more sense to me (like horses vs. zebras). However, actively searching for organic compounds in search of life would lead to circular reasoning. After all, organic life is probably the easiest one to search for because it's the only one we know so far.

Cyphase 10y ago
You're right about the anthropic principle; I wasn't clear. I've edited that sentence to clarify what I meant. As for none of this saying "anything about whether different environments may enable life", I agree; as I said at the beginning of the comment, this doesn't prove anything. Anyway, I was more talking about the likelihood of similar-to-Earth life as opposed to whether other types of life are possible at all.