You may have heard the term “Dianetics” before. What it is? This is the doctrine of the metaphysical relationship between mind and body, created by American science fiction writer Ronald Lafayette Hubbard.
In recent decades, this theory is not so popular in Russia. And in the days of the USSR, many famous statesmen and bright scientific minds professed it. But first things first.
Dianetics - what is it?
Nevertheless, one must begin to consider this doctrine with a theory proposed by Ronald Hubbard himself. Let us turn to his book Dianetics: The Modern Science of the Mind. It was written in three months and was published in 1950.
So, according to the founder, Dianetics is the science of how to think and live right. Using its methods and techniques, you can achieve healing from many physical ailments and the burdensome burden of past mistakes and, in addition, begin to think positively.
Dianetics divides the human mind into three conditional parts: consciousness (analytical mind), subconscious (reactive mind) and the so-called somatic mind. The goal of the practice of Hubbard's followers is to rid a person of the consequences of a reactive mind, which affects a person’s behavior, life and health. The influence is this: everything experienced is recorded in the human subconscious, and then in a similar situation it is experienced again. There is a so-called engram. For example, a man has a toothache, and at the time when he is tormented by pain, children run and make noise in his house. Time passes, and when the children begin to catch up again, this man may again have a toothache for no reason, even recently healed or absolutely healthy.
According to Hubbard, Dianetics is a modern science of mental health, which means that it can help a person achieve harmony and psychological comfort. In addition, following the canons and following certain guidelines proposed by the founder of the theory, you can supposedly live forever.
Dianetics about survival
Ronald Hubbard proposed a scale, the beginning of which was non-survival, and the end - eternal life. A man strives for immortality and overcomes on his way a huge number of levels of existence and four so-called dynamics:
- the first is a desire to survive for its own sake;
- the second is survival for the sake of your family and loved ones;
- the third is life for a group of people;
- the fourth is the existence of the individual for the benefit of all mankind.
To survive a person helps his mind. Only by getting rid of the adverse effects of engrams can one move on to a higher standard of living. And Dianetics involves a certain procedure, the purpose of which is to rid a person of engrams.
Work with engrams
Hubbard proposed an auditing procedure - active listening, as Dianetics presents it. What it is? The procedure is as follows. One person who has certain life problems, interpreted in Dianetics as the negative influence of engrams, tells in detail about his difficulties to another person, the auditor. The listener directs the thoughts of the narrator to the awareness of the pain he has experienced. He asks questions and applies special techniques of Dianetics to help get rid of the effects of engrams.
Thus, gradually the action of all engrams leaves the person’s life. But this is an ideal development. No one, and even Hubbard himself, who nevertheless died in 1986, did not succeed in getting rid of the reactive mind, and at the same time immortality.
However, many scientists, analyzing the theory of Dianetics, noticed that only a person like Hubbard could create such a teaching. Why is that?
From the history of Dianetics
As mentioned above, the book "Dianetics: the modern science of the mind" was written in a very short period of time. Hubbard and his followers attribute this to insight, but critics of Dianetics draw attention to completely different points.
Erich Fromm drew a parallel between Hubbard auditing and the once popular chakra cleansing and holotropic breathing. There is no scientific basis for these methods, more precisely, in some of them the need for some justification is simply ignored, while others take the teachings of recognized masters of psychology as the basis. Hubbard did the same.
And here is Freud?
Hubbard tried to tie his dianetics to the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud, modifying the teachings of the famous doctor and the method of free association, as well as the procedure for conducting a psychoanalytic session. Fromm notes that if Dianetics was a simple retelling of Freud’s teachings, it would not have any negative impact on the minds of ordinary people, its followers. But Hubbard misunderstood the psychoanalytic terms, as he also perverted the understanding of the value of the human person.
Dianetics - the science of the mind? May be. But if we allow this, as well as the scientific basis of the theory itself, we thereby acknowledge that a person does not have the ability to build his life through actions and logical choices, we recognize that a person does not have an individuality. Hubbard believed that you can program an individual to do things by saving him engrams. That is, by clicking on the necessary levers, you can get certain actions from a person.
Psychoanalysis seeks to help the individual, to identify the content of her psyche that remains unconscious and slows down development, remaining in the shadows. Dianetics of Ronald Hubbard deprives a person of the ability to think and realize, she teaches to reject engrams and “push leverage”. Dianetics thereby kills the personality in the personality.
Some Hubbard Biography Facts
Hubbard was a writer. First, he created science fiction stories that were published in some American magazines, then, according to his followers, collaborated with Hollywood and even wrote several scripts for the film company Columbia Pictures. Only now his name in the credits for some reason did not appear ...
During World War II, Hubbard commanded a ship, but because of the chase he organized for a seemingly non-existent submarine, and then the shelling of the Mexican island, he was removed from command and written off ashore.
At the end of the war, Hubbard was hospitalized with a wound. There are no documents and extracts from the medical file at the moment, as, however, did not exist before. Presumably, Ronald Hubbard himself injured himself to leave the fleet and get to land faster.
At the hospital, he claimed that he was developing special techniques that could help cure hopelessly ill patients. After the war, he created widely known works, and on the covers of his books it read "Hubbard L. Ron: Dianetics."
Dianetics and Scientology
These teachings are interconnected. However, if Dianetics was originally positioned by the author as a science, then Scientology was immediately elevated by him to the category of religion. Scientology and Dianetics use very similar terms, but some differences in content do exist.
Both Dianetics and Scientology proclaim survival as the sole purpose of man. Both teachings divide the mind into analytical and reactive, and postulate auditing as the main way to get rid of all problems and diseases. However, Scientology proclaims man to be good by default, and his own identity as the eternal and indestructible foundation of life, calling it the new word "thetan."
Scientology is directly related to Purification, whose founder was also R. Hubbard. Dianetics, by the way, by that time (60s of the last century) was already criticized by the American scientific community, which, quite possibly, was the impetus for the emergence of all new concepts developed by Hubbard. His beginnings seemed to be becoming good: the Cleansing company was developed for the rehabilitation of drug-addicted people and former criminals. However, behind these good intentions were again commercial organizations - Narconon and Criminon.
Criticism of the teachings of Ronald Hubbard
Dianetics was initially criticized. The feedback from the American scientific community boiled down to one thing: Hubbard does not have permission for psychoanalysts to conduct their own medical practice. The postulates of his theory did not receive due theoretical justification and were recognized as unscientific.
In the 1950s, Hubbard gave an interview for The New York Times, in which he stated that he had conducted a phenomenal study - a psychometric test, in which more than 80 people with various pathologies participated. According to Hubbard, most of them showed improvement after they underwent therapy in the framework of Dianetics, and his patients got rid of bronchial asthma, ulcerative colitis, arthritis, manic-depressive psychosis and severe homosexuality. There was no evidence of this.
Following Dianetics, Scientology has also been criticized. At first it was about the very definition of it as a religion. Scientology takes theory from both Christianity and philosophy, psychology and other humanities. In fact, it does not apply to any of these areas of knowledge.
Scientists and the media later expressed the view that Scientology is a commercial organization through which Hubbard takes refuge from the prosecution of a medical service that he illegally provides. Thus, she served him as a kind of facade, allowing him to remain in the status of leader and founder of the whole teaching, as well as to earn money.
Scientology and Dianetics were not only criticized at one time, but they were subjected to real persecution under the law.
Fatal Stories
There are several such cases. The most famous is the death of Lisa Macpherson. The girl came to Scientology early. She was already an adept when she had an accident, an accident, after which Lisa got to the hospital. Like-minded believers took the girl to the existing center of Dianetics and Scientology to prevent interference with the fate of doctors and psychotherapists. Two and a half weeks later, Lisa died.
Another girl, Susan Meister, shot herself on board a ship belonging to the Church of Scientology. More precisely, the suicide version was proposed by the Hubbard followers themselves, but in fact it was found that Susan was killed. Perhaps her death has become part of some Scientology rite.
Two men, Patrick Vick and Richard Collins, jumped out of the window. True, the reasons for each of them were diametrically opposite: Patrick did not have enough money to pay for the next theoretical course of Dianetics, and Richard wanted to leave the Scientologists sect, but they did not let go. He received regular letters of threat from his former church mates, and the man, driven to extreme desperation, could not find another way for himself.
Scientology is associated with some other cases of suicide committed by former members of the organization. As a rule, the cause was a bitter disappointment in the religion and personality of the teacher - Ronald Hubbard.
According to Hubbard himself, his teaching should heal, but, as we see, the cause of the collapse of human destinies was precisely dianetics. Reviews about her, of course, were completely unflattering. However, this was the case in the United States. How did Hubbard’s teachings on the other side of the earth relate to?
Dianetics and Scientology in the USSR
Ronald Hubbard Dianetics came to the USSR in the 70s of the last century. It got to our country after it was criticized in the USA, and gained quite wide popularity here.
Hubbard's teachings were admired by many people of science of that time, and lecture courses were given to students of educational institutions by the most inspired professors. Scientology was perceived as a "science of science", its categories and postulates tried to deeply study and rethink, as well as put into practice.
In Russia, the centers of Dianetics and Scientology existed in the 90s. Later, in the post-Soviet space, the teachings of Ronald Hubbard were forbidden as contrary to scientific canons and bearing destruction. However, some postulates of Dianetics were borrowed by the founders of the destructive sect "Synton".
Conclusions about Dianetics
So, the theories of Ronald Hubbard were recognized as destructive, unscientific and practically quack. However, Scientology still exists, and its church reserves all copyrights to Hubbard's Dianetics. Many people still consider themselves Scientology adherents, among them there are even very famous media personalities: John Travolta, Tom Cruise, and Elvis Presley Priscilla's ex-wife.
Such is Ronald Hubbard’s strange, incomprehensible and largely absurd theory - Dianetics. What is it really? Another page in the life of all mankind, not entirely rosy and pleasant, but which is still possible to turn over.