Wednesday, March 07, 2007

The Nefarious Cult of Scientology

Scientology is a cult whose primary concerns are money and power, power inasmuch as it advances monetary income. I have long despised Scientology after having read Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’s views on psychology and psychiatry and after having become acquainted with the entire demagogic aspect of the pseudo-psychological and space-age religious cult.

There are several theories which attempt to explain Hubbard’s and thus Scientology’s irrational and vitriolic campaign against psychiatry. One theory posits that after Hubbard had been diagnosed as psychologically unsound by Naval psychiatrists and thus discharged from the Navy he nurtured a desire for revenge. Another conceives that Hubbard developed a dislike of psychiatry after the APA rejected his book Dianetics essentially calling it a hoax and a potentially dangerous fraud; the Scientific American review being a perfect example.
Both of these events actually occurred, however, it remains unknown whether either are the cause for Hubbard’s latter vilification of psychiatry. I will not now go into the debates surrounding these theories.

What is important is that, like all religions, Scientology has conjured up it’s own illusory scapegoat upon which to cast it’s “sins of all humanity” and around which to organize a demagogic assembly of religious fanatics, Tom Cruise being an illustrative case in point.

Throughout the entirety of human history religions have incorporated scapegoat’s, in ancient Greece – as elsewhere and even before – a shamanistic priestly class protected the ancient society from plagues, famines and virtually anything that would serve detriment to the society by performing certain religious ceremonies, chiefly among them, human or animal sacrifice or the expelling of a pharmakos, which translates to scapegoat. Such a ceremonial ritual has been part and parcel of religions over the centuries and is still firmly established in modernity, fundamentalist Christians demonizing homosexuals and abortion doctors, Muslim extremists vilifying Jews and Scientologists fashioning psychiatry and psychiatrists as their own personal pharmakos.

It is informative to read the pamphlets and, essentially, the screeds Scientology offers regarding their views on psychiatry. It is most remarkable in light of the fact that it is indisputable, and generally conceded by any serious Scientologist that Hubbard was, at the very least, influenced by the psychiatry of his day, Freudian psychoanalysis. In my analysis Hubbard was not merely influenced by Freud, in fact, he completely usurped an elementary conception of the Freudian theory of the mind; the elementary conception being a testament to the general ignorance of Hubbard, a science fiction author by trade. I will not go into great detail regarding Hubbard’s expropriation of Freudian theory, although I could further elucidate the general points which follow.

Hubbard writes that “the mind has three major divisions,” which are the analytical, the reactive and the somatic mind. Without going into great detail this conception is in effect a spurious conception of the Freudian theory of the mental apparatus which is composed of what is unconscious, preconscious and conscious, otherwise know as the Id, Super-ego and Ego. The Scientology somatic mind is a poor counterfeit of the Freudian id, they both consist of basic impulses, the basis of the psyche and the lowest manifestation of the mind. Dianetics, Hubbard’s book which laid the foundation for the cult, is essentially pseudo-psychology based on a tenuous understanding of Freudian theory and occult, science fiction voodoo (the latter being Hubbard’s area of expertise).

After Dianetics had been rejected from all respectable psychiatric and medical associations Hubbard began to write negatively about psychiatry. In his short book Scientology The Fundamentals of Thought Hubbard begins the book by attacking psychology, in particular Wilhelm Wundt, on the second page of the first chapter. Hubbard writes: “This man conceived that man was an animal without soul and based all of this work on the principle that there is no psyche.” He then writes of Wundtian psychology by saying: “It taught that man was an animal. It taught that man could not be bettered.” Hubbard is correct on one ground, that Wundt and Wundtian psychology views “man” – the human species – as an animal; specifically, as a highly cognitively developed and socially evolved animal, and correctly so.

It may or may not be true that Wundt himself objected to the supernatural notion of souls, although, if he did he did so with logical validity and parsimony. However, it is certainly true that, while psychology may not outright reject the conception of a soul, the field of psychology does not even consider the soul and, again, rightly so. Psychology is a science and science is guided by scientific naturalism, the supernatural has no place within a legitimate scientific field. However, Hubbard’s claim that Wundtian psychology “taught that man could not be bettered” is simply diametrically opposed to reality. One need only open a psychology text book or visit with any psychologist to know this is a blatant and nefarious lie, demonstrably so. One of the major components of psychology, clinical psychology, is literally built upon the premise that “man” can be “bettered.” Clinical psychology’s explicit intent and pursuit is the remediation of psychological disorders; that is why it exists.

Hubbard writes far more disturbing falsifications and ad hominems regarding psychiatry and psychiatrists, in fact, Scientology has an entire website and magazine dedicated to the sole purpose of fashioning psychiatry as its pharmakos. Hubbard, when he later incorporated into the self-help, pseudo-psychological voodoo that is Dianetics the space-age religious aspect, he fashioned into his dogma - among other tenets which include intergalactic space aliens (Xenu, not to be confused with Xena), UFO’s, volcanoes wired with thetans (souls) and nuclear bombs, etcetera - intergalactic psychiatrists who were themselves the source of great evil and mischief, essentially, the Christian equivalent of Satan or the Norse equivalent of Loki.

Scientology can be criticized on a plethora of grounds, some more compelling and more demanding of direct action than their views and castigation of psychiatry. However, this particular subject has long been for me a source of exasperation. Clearly Scientology is a demagogic assembly of religious fanatics propagating a campaign of distortion and vindictiveness. Scientology is a cult of aggressive greed and avarice and belligerent, even violent, psychological terrorism.

12 comments:

Bob Appleyard said...

Reading Wikipedia's article on the composition of Hubbard's works leads me to conclude that much of it was the result of drug-induced psychotic episodes in which his sci-fi became revelation.

If it weren't such an insidious and abusive cult, then Scientology would be hilarious.

JDHURF said...

I have read Wikipedia's article and found it to be pretty accurate. A really great source of information on scientology can be found at: www.altreligionscientology.org

I also agree that if Scientology were not the negligent and criminal cult that it truly is, it might make for hilarious comedy.

One of their more diabolical aspects is certainly their “purification rundown.” They feed those in the program full of vitamins – conspicuously niacin (a filthy little bastard that will break you out in rashes and make you itch) – get the individual to run on a treadmill for half an hour or so to ensure that all the vitamins and nonsense are pumping through ones veins, they then send the individual into a sauna for twenty minute time blocks to “sweat out the toxins” – they claim that 9-11 firefighters who received the rundown were sweating out debris, they claim that one can sweat out nuclear radiation and even goddamn bullets! If one has ever been shot and the bullet was not removed, Scientology can help you “sweat it out” of your body – after spending half a day in the sauna they feed the individuals undergoing the rundown a cup full of oil, a slew of vitamins, what they call “calmag” (a concoction of calcium, magnesium, water and vinegar, yum!) and then hope that nobody is adversely affected.
I live in Tulsa OK and the flagship Narconon center is in Canadian OK and I have read in the paper and elsewhere numerous occasions when someone was sent to the hospital because the “purification rundown” had induced either a severe heat stroke or a heart attack. I cannot believe Scientologists get away with this pseudo-medical and negligent behavior, it really is criminal.

Anonymous said...

To find out what it is you need to look in www.scientology.org and make up your own opinion.

JDHURF said...

anonymous:

Scientology.org is pure propaganda, the site to go to for serious and legitimate information is www.altreligionscientology.org. Furthermore, not a word on the official Scientology site is contrary to what I argued, hence you having not countered a single claim of mine.
For their views on psychiatry, if my direct quotes from L Ron Hubbard’s own books were not enough, their offensive and nefarious propagandist site here suffices: http://www.cchr.org/
For their negligent and criminal program of the “purification rundown,” again, their own site is adequate: http://www.purification.org/ but, it is generally a good idea, when an issue involves scientific and medical claims, to also consider the scientific and medical conclusions: http://www.xenu.net/archive/oca/narconon/medical.html
http://www.xenu.net/archive/techniques/hj170889b.html and http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/detox.htm.

Krystalline Apostate said...

Good show. I rail against Scienmythology on a semi-regular basis. They're a daft lot indeed.
A bunch of Thetan thugs.

JDHURF said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JDHURF said...

I believe that a significant number of Scientologists have simply been mislead and deceived; they are genuinely concerned and moral people who wish to work towards the remediation of the world ills, they have simply been deceptively led to believe that Scientology has any legitimate role in such an endeavor, and many then become victims of the nefarious cult. Some are driven into bankruptcy, some suffer psychological terrorism and, worst case scenario, some suffer physically and even die.

http://www.lisamcpherson.org/

http://www.whyaretheydead.net/room174.html

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/JeremyPerkins/

I could go on, but, these are among the most severe cases; the points made generalize.

Thank you for stopping by and commenting krystalline apostate.

Rikertron said...

If I had to identify one aspect of Scientology its most dangerous, it would be its youth. More directly said: it was developed very recently, by a resourceful and motivated thief who used all the modern tools available to simultaneously spread and quickly refine his message.

To draw the obvious parallel to the Christian faith, it took decades for the ideology to spread, and it went through revisions over centuries before that ideology was really refined enough to captivate the masses it does today.

The art of persuasion, however, has evolved over 2 millennia.

Scientology became a viable entity and a real threat in record time due to the great speed at which information travels in this century, and due to the brilliantly effective gradual conditioning that takes place via the auditing process. Christianity takes decades (preferably starting from the impressionable childhood years) to foster the same devotion that Scientologists can muster out of their followers in just a couple years. And they make a lot more money doing it.

Makes me shudder.

rmacapobre said...

> Scientology is a cult whose primary concerns are money and power

ey just like the vatican ...

Anonymous said...

In the area of coercive persuasion and mass delusion, here is a writing for your consideration about the cults stress test and e-meter, from a first person narrative:

Imagine a Letter
From L Ron Hubbard

http://www.lermanet.com/exit/hubbard-the-hypnotist9.htm

How do these hunters fixate or capture their prey?

JDHURF said...

lermanet.com:

Fantastic contribution. Your site contains a vast wealth of information regarding the cult of Scientology and it is to your credit that it exists.

Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

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