The Anderson Report

CHAPTER 3
SCIENTOLOGY AND CLAIMS MADE FOR IT

Although no adequate definition of scientology is found in Hubbard's millions of written and spoken words, many extravagant claims for it have been made, some of which may appropriately be considered at this stage.

"Scientology," writes Hubbard in Scientology: 8-80, "is a new word which names a new science. It is formed from a Latin word, 'scio', which means know, or distinguish, being related to the word 'scindo' which means cleave. (Thus, the idea of differentiation is strongly implied). It is formed from the Greek word 'logos', which means the word, or outward form by which the inward thought is expressed and made known: also, the inward thought or reason itself. Thus, scientology means knowing about knowing, or science of knowledge."

Such is the arrogance of Hubbard that he assumes that, having explained with some pomp that "scientology" is a hybrid term formed of the misalliance of two classical words, scientology is actually that which he says it means.

Scientology, says Hubbard, thus means "the study of knowledge"; it is the "science of knowing how to know; it is a route to knowledge, it is not knowledge itself"; it is a "gnostic faith in that it knows it knows"; "the science of scientology is an engineering science"; it is "a precision science"; it is "the common people's science of life and betterment". In 1965 it claims to be the science of "learning how to learn".

From Hubbard's writings and lectures comes an almost inexhaustible flow of pretentious claims. Scientology is "the first major breakthrough by the exact sciences in the field of the humanities - dedicated in the finest tradition of human dignity and freedom espoused by brilliant men in all periods of man's ascendancy over his relationship to the animal"; it is "the only successfully validated psycho-therapy in the world"; it is "the first precision science in the field of the humanities". It lays claim to a great number of other "firsts", which need not be enumerated.

Scientology is claimed to be "that branch of psychology that treats of human ability". It is said to do "things for people where nothing has been done before. It makes people well from illnesses which were once considered hopeless. It increases their intelligence. It changes their competence and betters their behaviour. In addition to those it brings them a better understanding of life".

"Scientology, the science of knowing, came out of the same crucible as the atom bomb. It is developed for good, not evil. For that reason Scientology has been called that branch of atomic science which deals with human ability. As its founder has been trained as one of the first nuclear physicists it can been seen why."

"Scientology is a system of organized axioms resolving problems of the spirit, life and thought, developed through the application of the methodology of the exact sciences to the humanities by L. Ron Hubbard, an American engineer and philosopher."

"The science of scientology is a broad well articulated science in the fullest sense of the word, which covers the mind, spirit, livingness and beingness of man. Scientology is the first and only Anglo-American development in the field of the human mind."

"Scientology covers livingness as a complete subject. Dianetics covers only that part of livingness which applies immediately and directly to the human mind."

"Scientology brings order and knowingness out of confusion and chaos. Scientology is an exact science of the human mind and spirit. It used the methodology of mathematics and nuclear physics to create precise knowingness in a hitherto unknown field. Scientology and Dianetics are the only Anglo-American developments in the field of the mind."

"Scientology is psychology in a different form, or rather a step further ahead. The scientologist unlike the psychoanalyst needs to know nothing about you. Your problem is everybody's problem. His work is not primarily directed towards the mentally ill, but rather for those who are able in that they may become more able. After 14 hours processing the average normal person's IQ can be raised by anything up to 20 points."

"Scientology is used on life, and its forms and products. The chief uses of scientology are in the fields of education, organization, mental disability, social order and religion. Scientology is the first to give scientific meaning to these." "A Scientologist is a first cousin to the Buddhist, a distant relative to the Taoist, a feudal enemy of the enslaving priest and a bitter foe of the German, Viennese and Russian defamers of Man."

Evidence given before the Board has shown that these claims are not justified. However, the constant repetition of these assumed qualities and virtues has been so effective that the gullible have accepted their validity without reservation, question or criticism.

Two of Hubbard's books are Scientology: 8-80 and Scientology: 8-8008; the "8-8", explains Hubbard, stands for "Infinity-Infinity" written upright, and the "0" represents the static, theta, 8.

Scientology was founded by Hubbard in 1951, though the word " scientology" was used by him probably as early as 1935. One claim made for Hubbard by Jack Horner in Summary of Scientology was that as early as 1935 Hubbard had already formulated some of the basic axioms of scientology. Hubbard himself in an article entitled "Scientology: A New Science", published in Scientology, issue 28-G about 1954, writes, "The basic science was named 'Scientology' in 1938. In 1947 L. Ron Hubbard changed its name to 'Dianetics' in order to make a social test of publication and popularity. The test completed, in 1952 he changed the science back to its original name, scientology. This was done to inhibit its being "monopolized for private purposes." There are several inconsistencies in references which the Board was given as to the early history of scientology and dianetics. The foregoing quotation from Hubbard himself clearly shows that dianetics and scientology are inseparably interwoven parts of the same subject. Whatever be the precise date on which names were changed, scientology from 1951 onwards developed out of what dianetics was at the time, and the two have remained inseparable and, as to substantial parts, indistinguishable. It will be necessary to consider at length various aspects of dianetics. At this stage it is perhaps sufficient to mention that fundamental to both dianetics and scientology is the proposition that a person has at least two minds, the conscious or analytical mind, and the reactive or irrational or subconscious mind. (Reference is sometimes made to a third, the somatic mind). It was Hubbard's contention both in dianetics and scientology that at the seat of every aberration was a basic cause, a basic-basic. In dianetics, this was said to be the engram, most frequently experienced in the prenatal period; in scientology, it has been said at various times to be an engram in an earlier lifetime, facsimile one, an implant, a non-cellular engram, the goals-problems-mass, on the last-named of which newly discovered basic-basic Hubbard seems currently to be working. These various causes were advanced in succession as being the new basic cause of aberrations and, as each such basic cause was discovered, it was proclaimed as the "ultimate" or a "breakthrough" or some other last word. Around aberrations of the mind and the causes which Hubbard says he has discovered for such aberrations, he has built a fantastic body of theory and has developed numerous practices or techniques for the resolving of such aberrations. In scientology, Hubbard claims to have found that the aberrative cause might have existed long before the prenatal period, that it could have occurred in some previous existence; and to explain how the past could be linked with the present he introduced the thetan.

The essence of scientology was said by Williams to be "the stating of an objective or goal along the lines of increased efficiency or well being, and the process used to obtain that object". By a process was meant a mental exercise designed to delete aberration from the human mind and to improve the performance of the innate faculties of the human mind. The "mental exercises" of scientology take many forms which, despite vehement protests to the contrary by scientologists, are, in a great number of cases, evidently hypnotic or based on hypnotic techniques. Some Of these "mental exercises" are of a repetitive nature, involving sustained questioning of the individual over many hours and even days on many topics, often of the most intimate kind. This processing frequently produces in the subject mental pictures which are in reality of a hallucinatory nature, but which are treated by the scientologist as being recollections of actual experiences of the thetan and as conclusive evidence of past lives and other scientology theories. These hallucinations frequently persist with the individual as realities and expert medical evidence makes it clear that they are potentially harmful.

The processes are conducted by scientologists who are called "auditors", and the individua1 who is undergoing processing is called the "preclear". There are numerous processes which are developed and changed from time to time, but whatever process is run in an "auditing session", the procedure "in session" is carried out on unvarying lines. Each session commences with a strict ritual and ends with a strict ritual. On occasions, an electrical instrument which is called the "E-meter" is used. Almost magical powers are attributed to the E-meter which is held in great reverence by scientologists and regarded with awe by preclears as being infallible in its determination of the truth or otherwise of statements made by them.

Extravagant and unjustified claims are made for scientology processing. Many of the processes are potentially detrimental to the mental health of the persons processed. In some cases harmful results are produced, and such apparent success as scientology processing may superficially appear to achieve is generally illusory. It is clear from the evidence that scientology involves the wholesale use of potentially harmful hypnotic procedures conducted by ignorant and sometimes mentally ill persons who are quite unaware of the potential dangers of the practices

and the great harm which they may be doing. This Report deals with numerous features of scientology and its practices. These introductory remarks are designed to indicate broadly the general picture to be presented.

One difficulty which faces anyone concerned to obtain a comprehensive picture of scientology is that since 1956 no attempt has been made to produce a comprehensive and unified thesis a the theories and practices of scientology. From about 1956 the dissemination of scientology theory and practice has been by means of small books, periodical magazines, pamphlets, system of communications called variously bulletins, policy letters, &e., and tape recordings t Hubbard. Such publications as merit the description of books, as distinct from pamphlets, hat dealt only with limited aspects of scientology. In the result, there exists in an uncodified & unclassified form tape-recordings which are said to contain 30,000,000 words spoken by Hubbard and writings by Hubbard which run into tens of thousands of pages. The Herculean task reducing to manageable size the content of these Hubbardian emanations must await the labour of a dedicated scientologist with the time, money, capacity, and compulsion to undertake such a useless exercise.