William_B._Provine,_HSS_2008 (Wikimedia Commons)There are no gods, no purposes, no goal-directed forces of any kind. There is no life after death. When I die, I am absolutely certain that I am going to be dead. That’s the end for me. There is no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning to life, and no free will for humans, either – Professor Will Provine, Cornell University

When working with or talking with people like Will Provine, you may find yourself talking past them rather than with them if you do not understand their core assumption and whether it is true.  A person’s core assumption is the bedrock of how they think.  Everything he or she does, says, and thinks hangs on this assumption.  Here is an excerpt from my new book Transparent: How To See Through the Powerful Assumptions That Control You about core assumptions:

“Before we begin to talk about something, we assume something is there to talk about. If we try to talk about something that doesn’t really exist (the herd of pink unicorns that inhabit the trunk of your car, for example), we look and sound silly. Likewise, if we assume only certain things exist, then other things that may actually exist will never enter the discussion.

Our core assumption is the most critical thing we assume. It is our starting place for how every one of us thinks—yet only one core assumption is true. This is because each of the three core assumptions we will examine are mutually exclusive; they all contradict and exclude the others. You can’t adopt one core assumption and embrace another core assumption as well. The great thing about mutually exclusive core assumptions is that they allow us to say with confidence that one way of assuming is true and the others are not.”

The first core assumption that some people affirm is that everything that exists boils down to one characteristic.  Everything is physical—physical only.  Only the material, natural world is really real.  Everything is ultimately just matter and energy.  Non-material things like minds, souls, and spirits are not fully real or don’t exist at all.  I say “not fully real” because some people who start with this core assumption will say, for instance, that they have a mind— something that generally is non-physical.  However, they will say that their mind is the by-product of biochemical reactions in their brain.  Their thoughts are likewise the by-product of biochemistry.  Their senses detected something.  Their senses then stimulated their brain which created a biochemical reaction in their head which produced a thought.  It is the chemistry that is real.  Their mind is not.  There is but one reality, and that reality is physical only.

This way of assuming is what I call Type 1 assuming.  Since Type 1 assumers think that non-physical things like minds or spirits are not really real or at the very least are not important, these assumers are obviously atheists.  God is non-physical so He cannot exist.  Conversation on this point is difficult because Type 1 people assume non-physical things are not real.  They cannot prove this, so they have to assume this.  Other types of assumers who affirm that non-physical things are real will not be very persuasive with a Type 1 assumer because Type 1 assumers deny the existence of what other assumers know to be real.  Remember, it is not a matter of if we assume, but how we assume, and whether our assumptions are true.  Interestingly, as I will show you in latter posts, while Type 1 assumers are all atheists, most atheists are not Type 1.  I’m sure I have your curiosity piqued.  I’ll get to this next week, or if you can’t wait you can go to www.TheTransparentBook.com to get a print or electronic copy of Transparent: How To See Through The Powerful Assumptions That Control You which is now available.

Do you know people in your world who assume in this way?  Perhaps you can see now that if you do not understand their core assumption, your conversation could end up in places you did not intend.