Table 1.
The statements (items) in the Core Metaphysical Beliefs (CMB) and the metaphysical constructs that they were intended to tap onto, as well as item names. Items marked with asterisk (*) were intended as inverted items.
| Item | |
|---|---|
| 1. Ultimate nature | |
| Ultimate1 | There is a fundamental nature of reality beyond what can be perceived |
| Ultimate2 | The perceivable world is merely a reflection of a deeper reality |
| Ultimate3 | There is nothing besides what can be observed* |
| 2. Positive ultimate nature | |
| Pos_Ultimate1 | The fundamental nature of reality is something sacred |
| Pos_Ultimate2 | Ultimately, everything is some kind of energy or light |
| Pos_Ultimate3 | Love is the fundamental nature of reality |
| 3. Materialism | |
| Materialism1 | There is nothing but the physical |
| Materialism2 | Consciousness is just neurons firing |
| Materialism3 | Ultimately, everything consists of the entities or processes that physics describes |
| 4. Dualism | |
| Dualism1 | Mental phenomena are not physical |
| Dualism2 | The mind can exist independently of the physical |
| Dualism3 | Mind and matter are distinct aspects of reality |
| 5. Scientism | |
| Scientism1 | Science is the only way to know reality |
| Scientism2 | Nothing exists unless it can be scientifically proven |
| Scientism3 | Science can reveal all there is to know about reality |
| 6. Moral realism | |
| Moral_realism1 | Nothing is absolutely good or bad* |
| Moral_realism2 | Some things are valuable independently of people’s conceptions |
| Moral_realism3 | Some actions are objectively good or bad |
| 7. Monism | |
| Monism1 | All is One |
| Monism2 | Everything is interconnected |
| Monism3 | All that exists are forms of one single kind of stuff |
| 8. Idealism | |
| Idealism1 | The mental is more fundamental than the physical |
| Idealism2 | Nothing exists outside mind |
| Idealism3 | All there exists is forms of consciousness |
| 9. Panpsychism | |
| Panpsychism1 | All entities are to some extent sentient or conscious |
| Panpsychism2 | Consciousness is a fundamental aspect of the universe |
| Panpsychism3 | All matter also has a mental aspect |
| 10. Process/relational ontology | |
| Process1 | Relationships are more fundamental than things |
| Process2 | The reality is fundamentally a constant flux |
| Process3 | Ultimately there are no things but processes |
| 11. Simulationism | |
| Simulationism1 | The world we perceive with the senses is illusory |
| Simulationism2 | The observable reality is like a hallucination |
| Simulationism3 | We create reality in our minds |
| 12. Free will vs determinism | |
| Free_will1 | We can freely decide how to act |
| Free_will2 | All our actions are completely determined by physical causes* |
| Free_will3 | We can actively choose how to act in a given situation |
| 13. Teleology | |
| Teleology1 | Everything happens for a purpose |
| Teleology2 | Life has an ultimate meaning |
| Teleology3 | The Universe unfolds towards a goal |
| 14. Multi / single perspectivism | |
| Multi_persp1 | There is a single true worldview and others are false* |
| Multi_persp2 | There are many valid views of the same world |
| Multi_persp3 | Multiple conflicting worldviews can be true at same time |