An assumption is a thing that is taken to be true but is not proven to be true. Fundamental things (stuff, knowledge, cognition, existence) are very difficult to define because there are no simpler words to use. So we begin by accepting some statements about them and seeing where the acceptance leads.
Macroscopic chemistry rests on two assumptions of this kind. First: there is a condition or state of being called existence, and both knowledge and stuff are part of it. To exist is to be in that state. Second: knowledge and stuff exist independent of the human mind, and will continue to exist after we are gone. Stuff and the knowledge about stuff are two separate things.
Does existence exist without anything in it? An interesting question, for which no time or space will be given to its answer. Naming an assumption does not weaken what follows from it. Contrary to popular opinion, science is not absolute and unquestionable; it is based on some of the same assumptions made by theologians in their quest for knowledge. The honest move is to say so.
One additional assumption is made here. A learner, one who is seeking not only more chemical knowledge but also a better understanding of their chemical knowledge, already has a significant amount of chemical knowledge. This may have come, in part, from formal education and a part from just living. Life may be the best teacher.
Question
What is the difference between an assumption and a fact?
Reveal Merrill's answer →Hide answer
An assumption is a thing taken to be true but not proven. A fact is a description of something that is, on observation, the case. We accept assumptions because we have to begin somewhere; facts we accept because we can observe them. Both belong in chemistry, but at different layers: assumptions underwrite the work, observations fill it in.