The basic assumptions are the general guidelines that colour every ideas you have about your reality.
- Is life fair?
- Is there a benevolent force that will make things fair at some point? (reward the good and punish the bad)
- Are humans the jewel of creation or rather a fortunate accident?
- Are people basically good?
- Is science obscure and evil?
- Is magic and the supernatural real?
- Is anything possible, even the most fantastic claims?
- Are there powerful but secretive groups with evil agenda?
- Is what you see on TV or read in newspaper truthful?
- Can you get a good grasp on reality based on your senses and your intellect?
- Is reality limited to what you can measure, analyse and reproduce?
Answers to questions like these will determine how people interpret the world based on the same facts, but arrive to totally different conclusions.