Helps make sense of topics that are complex or obscure in isolation. The first set concerns science in general. The universe is regular enough to allow useful predictions. We are not at the mercy of elves and spirits or arbitrary gods. But we can trust the results of our research.
Controlled experiments are essential for scientific inquiry.
Modern science began when scholars decided that reasoning based on observation was more useful than reasoning based on metaphysical principles. Francis Bacon gets credit for selling this idea, along with a way to implement it through controlled experiments. Description of scientific method includes observation , formulating a question , writing an hypothesis , testing through experimentation . Progress in science requires freedom of inquiry . This idea is not often included in a list of scientific assumptions, but it is a major cornerstone of the scientific enterprise.