From ???@??? Sun Mar 24 23:49:35 2002 On Mon, 25 Mar 2002 15:54:05 +1100, Emma wrote: >I have read on countless occasions that L Ron Hubbard copied, borrowed, >stole, plagiarized or rewrote much of the technology of Scientology. >Does anyone here have any solid proof of that? e.g. Names of textbooks >or journals that contain copied materials. I'm especially interested in >anything that contains reference to running recall processes, the >theta-MEST theory, the overt motivator sequence, engrams, ARC and the >theory of mental mass. >I appreciate you help. Most of this isn't "stealing" in the specific sense of directly plagiarizing the words of others. He was a lot more general--sort of a magpie of ideas, picking up anything that looked shiny to add to his "philosophy." This excerpt from Jon Atack gets into a few of the more specific "thefts" of L. Ron Hubbard. Most of Hubbard's borrowings, though, are more in the lines of taking credit for general ideas that are slightly reworked. One of his major sources for this kind of "borrowing" would be Korzybski's ideas of "General Semantics." --- WHAT IS TRUE FOR YOU IS TRUE Speaking of his childhood mentor Commander Thompson, Hubbard said "that's a very unusual thing to do, to take a 12-year-old boy and start doing something with the mind ... He used to tell me 'If it's not true for you, it's not true' ... and he got this from a fellow named Gautama Siddhartha." (48). While the original statement by the Buddha is not referenced, it may well have been this far more eloquent appeal, from the Kalama Sutta, "Believe nothing on the faith of traditions, even though they have been held in honour for many generations, in many places. Do not believe a thing because many people speak of it. Do not believe on the faith of the sages of the past. Do not believe what you yourself have imagined, persuading yourself that some god inspires you. Believe nothing on the sole authority of your masters or priests. After examination, believe what you yourself have tested and found to be rational, and conform your conduct thereto." Alexandra David-Neel (a possible source for much of Scientology) quotes from a Buddhist Sutra: "Be your own guide and your own torch" (49). "DIANETICS" The word 'dianetics' is a variant of 'dianoetic', the earliest recorded usage is given as 1677 by the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. A group called "Dianism" was started shortly before "Dianetics". The founder of this group was a U.S. Navy lieutenant who had studied the works of Aleister Crowley. Dianism centred upon the eighth ritual of Crowley's OTO - the "magical masturbation". Curiously, this was the ceremony performed by Hubbard with OTO leader Jack Parsons in 1946. It seems eminently possible that "dian" refers to "Diana", the Roman goddess, who in turn was seen by Crowley as the "dark goddess" - the Empress, Hathor, Artemis, Shakti, or the Babylon, or "Scarlet Woman", of the Book of Revelation. Hubbard's ceremonies with Parsons were intended to incarnate this very force. Hubbard called his first daughter by Mary Sue Hubbard, Diana. He also renamed one of the Sea Org vessels the "Diana". (50) "SCIENTOLOGY" The name Scientology is borrowed. It was first used by philologist Allen Upward in The New World (which was published in 1910 in the U.S.). Upward used the word to mean "pseudo-science". Nordenholz, an Aryan race theorist, adopted the word "Scientologie" as the title of a 1934 book. Nordenholz's book was translated into English and published in the 1960s by former Scientologist Woodward McPheeters, who claimed many parallels between Nordenholz's work and that of Hubbard. Nordenholz used the word "Scientologie" to mean "the science of the constitution and usefulness of knowledge and knowing" or the "science of consciousness". Hubbard claimed both to have coined the term himself prior to the inception of Dianetics (in 1950) ("In 1938 I codified certain axioms and phenomena into what I called SCIENTOLOGY" (51)), yet also claimed that Mary Sue Hubbard had coined it (52). He did not meet Mary Sue until 1951. CYCLE OF ACTION Hubbard himself credited the "cycle of action" to Vedic literature: "These were religious hymns and they are our earliest debt in Scientology ... because the very early hymns contain much that we know today and which checks against what we have rediscovered ... and this material included such a common thing as the cycle of the physical universe, known to you in Scientology as the Cycle of Action ... all this information is in there." (The Phoenix Lectures, pp.7-8). THE TONE SCALE The original tone scale, as given in Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, seems to derive from Ivan Pavlov's work on "conditioned reflexes". Pavlov asserted that he had confirmed the existence of the four mediaeval "humours". Hubbard referred to Pavlov's work several times (e.g., Dianetics, p.142). "If a person is happy mentally, the survival level can be placed in Zone 4 ... Very unprecise but nonetheless descriptive names have been assigned to these zones. Zone 3 is one of general happiness and well-being. Zone 2 is level of bearable existence. Zone 1 is one of anger. Zone 0 is the zone of apathy." (Dianetics, p.22 (53)). In 1951, in Science of Survival, Hubbard devised a system of physiological diagnosis based upon emotional tone. The four cardinal humours - attributed to Hippocrates - were the basis of virtually all mediaeval medical diagnosis. The humours are: phlegmatic (corresponding to Hubbard's "apathy"); melancholic (Hubbard's "grief"); choleric (Hubbard's "anger"); and sanguine (Hubbard's "cheerfulness"). GREATEST GOOD The phrase "the greatest good for the greatest number" derives from Jeremy Bentham, the Utilitarian philospher. TRAINING ROUTINE ZERO Training Routine Zero (TR-0) both with eyes closed and eyes open both derive from meditational techniques. L. Ron Hubbard jnr. claimed that he introduced the form with open eyes after a discussion with a Buddhist monk. Hindus call meditation in which one faces another person "tratak". THE MISUNDERSTOOD WORD The notion of the misunderstood word derives from Korzybski: "General Semantics was of use to Dianetics. I started going back looking for the first time a word had appeared ... There might be some misdefinitions ... General Semantics is definitely of use in the definition of a word." (54). The philosopher Thomas Hobbes was greatly concerned at adequacy of definition (as Jacobsen points out), as have been all lexicographers from Samuel Johnson to this day. Aleister Crowley also advocated the clarification of words (55). AUTHORSHIP OF DIANETIC AND SCIENTOLOGY TEXTS The first editions of several Hubbard books show that they were compiled or edited from his lectures or indeed written by others. In later editions, the work is attributed simply to Hubbard. The first edition of How to Live Though an Executive carries the statement "The manuscript of this book was prepared by Richard deMille who helped in the development of the communications system herein set forth". Latter editions simply delete this statement and ascribe the work to Hubbard. Child Dianetics was the work of a team, but again the current edition is attributed solely to Hubbard. The Phoenix Lectures were compiled into book form by members of the Hubbard Association of Scientologists in South Africa, but only the first edition (called Notes on the Lectures given by L. Ron Hubbard at Phoenix 1954) acknowledges this fact. Dianetics the Original Thesis was prepared for publication by Donald Rogers, to whom no acknowledgment is given. Science of Survival was prepared for publication by Richard de Mille, to whom no acknowledgment is given. Dianetics: the Modern Science of Mental Health Hubbard's first supposed therapy book, was also a collaborative effort. Joseph Winter, M.D., has left his own account of this in the book A Doctor's Report on Dianetics (56) (e.g. pp.16-19). This is corroborated by my own correspondence with former Hubbard associate Donald Rogers, the letters of John Campbell, jnr. and Bent Corydon's interview with Hubbard's second wife, Sara Hollister. Winter, Rogers, Campbell and Sara Hubbard were among the original seven board members of the Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation. These four discussed the terminology with Hubbard, and the changes made by them are obvious when comparing Hubbard's first article on Dianetics (Terra Incognita: the Mind) and the book Dianetics the Original Thesis with other works. For example, by the time Dianetics: the Modern Science of Mental Health was published, in May 1950, Hubbard accepted an existing medical term, "engram", for the memory of a period of pain or unconsciousness. Hubbard said that he had previously used the terms "norn", "comanome" or "impediment". According to Joseph Winter, M.D., the term "engram" was taken from the 1936 edition of Dorland's Medical Dictionary (it is attributed to psychologist Richard Semon). As far as I know, this is nowhere admitted in the literature of Dianetics and Scientology. Professional Auditor's Bulletins (PABs) Many of the PABs were written by Johann Tempelhoff. However, since the late 1970s, Tempelhoff's name has been removed from all PABs. PAB 149 originally carried the legend "Compiled from the research material and tape lectures of L.RON HUBBARD by Johann Tempelhoff." Technically, this is plagiarism in that the written work was still that of Tempelhoff, whatever the source of the ideas. The Book Introducing the E-Meter This booklet is currently sold as an L. Ron Hubbard work. The first edition carried this legend: "Photographed and compiled by Reg Sharpe from the lectures and demonstrations by L.RON HUBBARD." Subsequent editions simply remove Sharpe's name: "Photographed and compiled from the lectures and emonstrations by L.RON HUBBARD." Sharpe's photographs have been recredited to Hubbard along with his text. Rocky Mountain News In February 1983, the Rocky Mountain News published what purported to be a long interview with L.Ron Hubbard. In fact, Hubbard's replies were compiled by his ghost writer, Vaughn Young, a member of the Hubbard biography project at that time. Mission Earth The ten volumes of this book were rewritten prior to publication by Vaughn Young. Ron's Technical Research and Compilations (RTRC) For many years, Hubbard recorded his thoughts in taped lectures. These were used as the source for printed issues (Bulletins, Policy Letters, Executive Directives and so forth). Hubbard gave his last public lecture in 1966. He continued to lecture occasionally to specific Scientologist audiences until 1975. From that time on, Hubbard continued to record his utterances on tape, and some time in the early 1970s a unit initially called "Ron's Technical Compilations" came into being to compile printed issues based upon Hubbard "advice" tapes. With the incorporation of the Religious Technology Center in 1981, a new acronym was needed, so the compilations unit became Ron's Technical Research and Compilations. Ken Rose, in Los Angeles, was a member of this highly restricted unit until November 1988. No specific acknowledgment is given to members of this unit, although the wording of issues is probably often their own. Several people were given the right to publish issues on Hubbard's behalf and using his name (the name after all has been owned by Scientology since the 1960s - technically, the Board of Directors of the Church of Scientology of California could up to 1981, when the Church of Scientology International took over, issue work purportedly from Hubbard which Hubbard had never seen.) David Gaiman, acting as Scientology's head of Public Relations told a British government Enquiry "Any staff member can propose and have published a policy document ... Most policy is put out under Mr. Hubbard's name, no matter whom the writer." (57). Laurel Sullivan is probably most notable among these ghost authors, as she was Hubbard's personal Public Relations Officer for some 17 years. FELLOWSHIPS There have been many unacknowledged contributors. Prior to his claim that he was the "Source", "fellowships" were awarded to Scientologists who had made a major contribution (58). Of course, David Mayo was such a contributor with the "NOTs" or "OT 5" materials, but while the court has ruled that Mayo was the co-author, the Church of Scientology still hides this fact from its members. Otto Roos was also a major contributor, working on the 1960s rehash of Dianetics and the "List processes" or "Ls" in 1971 (At a thousand dollars per hour, L10, L11 and L12 are the most expensive "processing" given by Scientology). Evans Farber claims to have first suggested the need for an acknowledgment in the "cycle of communication", and therefore was the originator of Training Routine 2 (TR-2). John McMaster was responsible for keeping Hubbard informed of any interesting ideas or procedures brought forward by Saint Hill students. The "Search and Discovery" procedure is based upon McMaster's own work. McMaster also claimed that the "Power" or "Grade V" materials were a gift to Hubbard from a Scientologist called Walter Hubbard who lived in Hawaii. Ray and Pam Kemp have claimed that they suggested the "Drug Rundown" to Hubbard. Jim Dincalci seems to have been responsible for the use of "Cal-Mag" (a calcium magnesium mixture otherwise used only as a tranquilliser for sheep). Bill and Connie Hamilton have claimed to be the originators of the "Data Series". Former Scientologist Ruth Minshull wrote several books about Scientology, all of which are copyrighted to Hubbard. The original version of What is Scientology? was copyrighted to Hubbard, although it was written by Harvey Haber. The "Key to Life Course" currently sold by Scientology organizations was developed by Donna Haber. It is in fact the Policy of Scientology to ascribe all copyrights to Hubbard. See HCOPL Outstanding Copyrights and Marks, 15 November 1958. THE OXFORD CAPACITY ANALYSIS The current "OCA" personality test is credited to Hubbard. Formerly it was credited to Mary Sue Hubbard. This happened after Ray Kemp had refused to assign the copyright to Hubbard - his test was changed very slightly to become Mary Sue Hubbard's. However, Kemp had plagiarised the test from Julia Salman's American Capacity Analysis, which in turn derives largely from the 1940s Johnson Temperament Analysis. THE TWO TERMINAL UNIVERSE Hubbard credited this fundamental Scientology idea to Buckminster Fuller in HCOPL Positioning, Philosophic Theory, 30 January 1979. POSITIONING & 'SURVEY TECHNOLOGY' Occasionally, Hubbard was willing to admit that his work derived from other sources. So for example, his ideas about "positioning" in marketing are in fact a gauche interpretation of the ideas of Reis and Trout (69). The "survey technology" clearly derives from motivational research, and Hubbard makes this clear by referencing Vance Packard's Hidden Persuaders, which was actually an attack upon the techniques that Hubbard borrowed. SOURCES FOR SCIENTOLOGY During the late 1930s and the 1940s, Hubbard corresponded with and visited fellow adventure writer Arthur J. Burks. Burks own work shares much of the philosophical basis of Hubbard's. Hubbard got into print before Burks, but the Hubbard Archive contains many copies of letters exchanged by Burks and Hubbard. These letters if produced would show the extent of Hubbard's plagiarism of Burks. MAGIC SYMBOLS - RITUAL MAGIC Many of the symbols of Scientology were taken from ritual magic. Hubbard was a member of the AMORC Rosicrucians in 1940 and performed sexual "magick" ceremonies with Jack Parsons, a follower of Aleister Crowley, in 1946. The Scientology cross is very similar to the Rosicrucian and Crowley crosses. Hubbard also used the "daleth" triangle of the Egyptian destroyer god Set as the Dianetic symbol. The theta symbol used by Scientology is the central symbol of Crowley's Ordo Templi Orientis, where it denotes "thelema" or the will. It is the symbol of "Babalon", the antichrist that Hubbard and Parsons tried to incarnate. The "S and double triangle" motif of Scientology probably derives from the black magic use of the snake symbol (the "wise serpent" or Satan) combined with a deconstruction into two triangles of the Star of David (rather like hanging the Christian cross upside down to signify devil worship). This symbol - the magical hexagram - was used by Hubbard and Parsons during their attempts at incarnating the anti-Christ in human form. Again, Hubbard shares the double triangle with Crowley, where the triangles stood for the "Argentinum Astrum" or "Silver Star", a name for Crowley's organization prior to his take-over of the Ordo Templi Orientis. Crowley's order - the OTO - had a common origin with the Thule group to which several members of the Nazi hierarchy belonged (including deputy party chairman Rudolph Hess). The sig rune - used by the Nazis - appears on the Scientology International Managment Organization's symbol - a red square enclosing a white disc and set off by four such sig runes. The swastika of the Nazi flag has been replaced by the Scientology "S and double triangle". The symbol of the Religious Technology Center is surrounded by sig runes. As far as I can ascertain, the sig rune is otherwise peculiar to the Nazis. (60) Crowley's notion of "the will": "The original definition of Scientology 8-8008 was the attainment of infinity by the reduction of the apparent infinity and power of the MEST [Matter, Energy, Space, Time] universe to a zero for himself, and the increase of the apparent zero of one's own universe to an infinity for oneself ... It can be seen that [the] infinity [symbol] stood upright makes the number eight" (61). Which is to say, the essential idea of Scientology is to raise the power of the individual's will or intention to "an infinity". This aim is held in common with all magical systems (Cavendish quotes Crowley "the Great Work is the raising of the whole man in perfect balance to the power of Infinity", The Magical Arts, p.5). The exercises used in the attempt to achieve this - especially those in The Creation fo Human Ability (some of which were on the original "OT 5" course) - are ritual magic disguised as therapy. (62) DEMON POSSESSION The current "OT" levels deal almost exclusively with "body thetans". The idea that human beings can be infested with spirits is common to most religions. As examples, such "attached spirits" are called "demons" in Christian literature, "dibbuks" in Jewish literature, "jinn" in Islamic literature and "gDons" in Tibetan literature. In the gospel of Luke, for example, we find the following: "For Jesus was ordering the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many a time it had seized him ... Jesus asked him, 'What is your name?' 'Legion', he replied. This was because so many devils had taken possession of him." (63). (64) The method used to deal with these "body thetans" on the "new OT 5 course" is surprisingly similar to that employed by Chicago University professor Eugene Gendlin in his "focusing". The "OT 5" materials were published with a very limited distribution starting in September 1978. Gendlin's book was also published that year. E-METER The Scientologists rely on a machine which they call "the Hubbard Electropsychometer" or "E-meter". The title is misleading as the machine was not developed by Hubbard. Indeed, Scientology literature admits that the first such machine for use in Dianetics was built by Volney Mathison (What is Scientology?, Ist edition, 1978). Later machines were designed by others, particularly Don Breeding, and E-Meter Essentials contains the following dedication: "To all those who have helped to develop the modern Electrometer". Some form of "E-meter" has actually been in use since before WWI, and in a rare early publication Hubbard admitted that it was pretty much a lie detector as used in police polygraphs (Electropyschometric Auditing, 1952). To quote from Barbara Brown's Supermind: "Nothing perhaps, is a more poignant testimonial to the disregard of science for creative insights into the nature of man than the blindness of psychophysiology to the original observations by C.G. Jung about the body's ability to reveal the unconscious mind. It was in 1904 that Jung reported his experiments with recordings of the skin's electrical activity, while conducting psychological interviews. Using an old-fashioned galvanometer, he found the electrical activity in the skin changed specifically and dramatically when he asked questions that penetrated the hidden emotions of his patients. He is reported to have exclaimed 'Aha, a looking glass into the unconscious!'" Gregory Mitchell's "History of the E-Meter" goes into considerable detail on this subject ("Outward Bound - the magazine of the Dianasis Data Network". No issue number or date given). DISCONNECTION The practice of "disconnection", whereby one individual ceases all communication with another, has been found in fundamentalist sects for many years. Indeed, the practice has been enshrined in the English language with the phrase "sending to Coventry". The Amish call the practice "shunning"; the Exclusive Brethren call the practice "withdrawal". However, Hubbard probably took the practice from Christian Science. CHRISTIAN SCIENCE & THE SUPPRESSIVE PERSON Roy Wallis, PhD, in his Road to Total Freedom pointed out a number of similarities between Scientology and Christian Science. The most alarming of these is Mary Baker Eddie's "malicious animal magnetism", which has great similarity to Hubbard's teachings on Suppressive Persons and his adoption of the Fair Game law and disconnection. Hubbard referred to Christian Science in a 1952 lecture (Philadelphia Doctorate Course, lecture 37). He recalled writing a story ridiculing the fundamental belief of Christian Science - that the mind generates the physical world. The story, "One was stubborn", appeared in Astounding Science Fiction in November 1940. Of course, Scientology too has as fundamental premiss "considerations take rank over the mechanics of matter, energy, space and time", which is the very idea he was ridiculing in Christian Science. FAIR GAME The invidious practice of "Fair Game" is based in mediaeval English law, where an individual was marked as an "outlaw" or person beyond the protection of the law. Such mediaeval practices have long been abandoned in the civilized world, along with branding and trial by ordeal. OVERT-MOTIVATOR SEQUENCE This quite obviously derives from Hindu and Buddhist idea about "karma-vipaka" or action and reaction. It is also a Christian belief: you reap as you have sown. SPLINTER PUBLICATIONS Since the release of Dianetics in 1950, many Dianetic and Scientology splinter groups have formed. These have further spread Hubbard's ideas creating a considerable literature. Such subjects as Synergetic therapy, E-therapy, Humanics, Dianology, Amprinistics, Eductivism, Abilitism, the Enlightenment Intensive, Re-evaluation Co-counselling, Sciognostics, Dianasis, Avatar, est (the Forum, now Landmark Trust), Kenja, Primal Therapy and Eckancar all derive from Dianetics and Scientology. Many texts rivalling those of Hubbard have been produced in the last 40 years. To this extent, Hubbard's ideas have entered the public domain. U.S. NAVY Hubbard also borrowed lavishly from the US Navy, with uniforms and campaign ribbons, Boards of Fitness and a slew of military jargon. Security guards in the U.S. have taken to an imitation of the uniform of state troopers. CREATIVE PROCESSING The "creative processing" of Hubbard's 1952 Philadelphia Doctorate Course derives from the work of black magician Aleister Crowley. Crowley is mentioned three times during the course of the lectures, one of his books is recommended and Hubbard calls him "my very good friend" (which was not in fact true - they neither met nor corresponded). Crowley's work also provided Hubbard with the notion of "past lives" (which was Crowley's expression for reincarnation). "Creative processing" is in fact a form of positive hallucination which is currently disguised under the term "guided visualization" and is more traditionally called "astral projection". Reference to the use of such techniques can also be found in the works of Alexandra David-Neele - books which were popular in the 1930s. PHRASES Hubbard also borrowed from George Washington, taking the phrase "The price of freedom is constant vigilance, constant willingness to fight back", and simply changing the word "vigilance" to "alertness" (see Dianetics the Modern Science of Mental Health, definition "price of freedom"). Hubbard also adopted the British slogan "the empire on which the sun never sets" and turned it into "the sun never sets on Scientology" (The Aims of Scientology). GRADIENT SCALES Defendant's exhibit 9, Scientology 0-8, shows the "Gradient Scale of the Relative Value of Data", this was first published by Hubbard in 1951 as an appendix to Science of Survival. It derives from Korzybski. STUDY TECHNOLOGY I have an unconfirmed report that the "Study Technology" was lifted whole from a photography course that Hubbard was taking. I will research this further. Buckskin Brigades Hubbard was to create a mystique around his supposed association with the Blackfoot or Pikune Indians. He claimed to have been a "bloodbrother" at the age of two. However, prior to creating this fiction, Hubbard admitted that his information about the Blackfoot Indians came from a man he met in the 1930s (see Hubbard's article "Search for Research"). Heinlein Robert Heinlein's ideas are also very similar to Hubbard's in places. Thankfully, Heinlein put the ideas into a fictional context. Hubbard claimed a close relationship with Heinlein, and I believe they did meet during the War. GESTALT Hubbard also seems to have borrowed ideas from Fritz Perls' Gestalt Therapy -though I haven't looked into this in any depth yet. DYNAMICS Hubbard's 'dynamics' have an origin in the work of a turn of the century mystic (whose name escapes me at the moment). I'm making enquiries on this. THE REHABILITATION PROJECT FORCE The Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF) appears to derive from a study of Chinese Communist "thought reform" techniques. There are a number of parallels between the RPF (introduced by Hubbard aboard the "Apollo" in 1973) and such techniques (first described in detail by psychiatrist Robert Lifton in 1961). The repeated questions of Scientology "processing" are similar to the Zen ko-an, except that the individual does not repeatedly ask the question of himself. TIBETAN SOURCES In the 1930s, Alexandra David-Neel's books about Tibet were popular in the United States. As Hubbard was inclined towards mysticism and magical practices, and as only a tiny amount of literature was available at the time, it seems likely that Hubbard read David-Neel's books. He was later to claim (with no foundation in fact) that he had studied in Tibet (65). Scientology is supposedly rooted in Hubbard's combination of eastern mysticism and western science. The parallels between Hubbard's ideas and those of the Tibetans are irresistible. David-Neel's first book, Magic and Mystery in Tibet, was published in the U.S. in 1932. This was followed by Initiations and Initiates in Tibet, first published in French in 1931, and Buddhism - its doctrines and methods, first published in English in 1939. SUMMARY Scientology holds much in common with popular books about Tibetan mysticism published in the 1930s by Alexandra David-Neel. The following ideas are held in common: Escape from the "cycle of birth and death" The definition of the spirit "Exteriorization" or "astral travel" Reincarnation The "between-lives area" or "bardo" "Implanting" in the bardo That the individual is actually a "composite being" Visualization techniques Belief in telepathy The use of techniques to bring about telepathic control of others The use of the triangle as a symbol The "process" of "clearing" The capacity of the spirit to emit energy beams The notion that reality is a halluciantion held in common "Serenity" as the highest human state The assertion that belief is self-created That "being" is senior to "doing" The distinction between "being" and "becoming" Ideas about "absolute" and "relative" truth The recollection of experiences in former lives The notion of surrounding oneself with like-minded individuals The significance of the interplay between the static and the kinetic "Postulates" or "wishes" That neither good nor evil exist The "overt-motivator sequence" - a simplified version of the "karma-vipaka" concept of Buddhism.