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| Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health | 
 enlarge | Author: L. Ron Hubbard
Publisher: Bridge Publications, Inc.
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (290 reviews)
Sales Rank: 138477
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 702
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.5
ISBN: 088404632X
Dewey Decimal Number: 158.9
EAN: 9780884046325
ASIN: 088404632X
Publication Date: September 1, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Fraudulent and Dangerous Text:: If Taken Seriously May 6, 2008
27 out of 29 found this review helpful
To compare this book to Mein Kampf wouldn't be too far of a stretch. Read it. For if one were to actually take this text as any more than a philosophical discussion of what MAY be and tries to interpret it as fact, they will be sorely mistaken, not to mention misdirected. In fact, if someone were to be so inspired by this mish-mash of already well documented philosophical arguments (from Kant to Plato) then they might be confused enough to think Hubbard were some sort of prophet. But here are the facts, from someone who has read the entire text.
And no, I didn't need that "oh so helpful" glossary the author provided. In fact, it's so full of INCORRECTLY DEFINED words that I am amazed no one has called any attention to it after all these years. If one is to go around calling a tree "that thing one wears on his head" then the reader of said text, 400 pages in, will begin to question what a 'hat' trully is, and why they never noticed all the 'trees' around them before.
For the unread reader who never bothers to cross-reference Webster's or Oxford: ABBERRATION does not mean a "mental illness" nor does it mean "insane". The author misuses this word repeatedly, and so often that by the end of the text, you will begin to think that every "aberration" is some sort of insanity and "unstableness", when in reality, they are just "deviations from the norm or average" which is the TRUE definition of this term. For example, a person with Down's Sydrome is suffering from a mental imbalance caused by aberrant DNA construction (sometimes 3 sets of chromosomes like XYX or XXY). Now this does not make the person "insane" or "imbalanced". In fact, it simply affects their ability to learn at the average rate, therefore, it is simply an aberration and nothing more. Nor is it "curable" through Dianteics.
So, going back to my earlier comparrison, why is this book as dangerous as Mein Kampf? Simply this: when the reader is constantly convinced and then re-enforced to believe that one type of person (those who are not "clear" in this case) is the cause of all mankind's struggles, then they are more likely to assume that everyone who disagrees with their way of thinking is an aberrant being, i.e. one who is mentally ill or unstable. Obvioulsy, this is a misleading and dangerous way of thinking especially when coupled with the idea that people who are "clear" are the perfect beings and that it is their job to "clear the planet". Sound familiar yet?
Getting back to the word "fraudulent" used in my opener. Look it up if you feel like, in an approved dictionary. I am using this word to call out a psuedo scientific principal being set forth in this text under the pretense of REAL science. I.e. a sham. Every single piece of "study" and "testing" mentioned in this text has zero, repeat ZERO proof of it's existence. For "years of study and debate" there is not one single shred of scientific evidence to back up the claims made by the author. For such an extensive glossary and a 13 page appendix. Where are the references? Who were these scientists who performed these studies? What were the test subjects' names? How do they prove/disprove the text and it's theories? Even the simplest "self-help" books garner proof through customer testimony or "try-it-yourself" tests. If Dianetics is to be taken seriously, then why is it lacking in these key departments?
Lastly, and then I will leave you to your own interpretation, I have heard much debate over whether this book should be classified as "self" help in the first place. It shouldn't. One cannot truly HELP THEMSELVES to any of the techniques painstakingly drawn out in this text. In fact, to really "use" this book as it repeatedly instructs the reader to do, the curious must contact their local Church of Scientology.
Let me repeat that. In case you got a copy which WASN'T stuffed with 12 postcards for Scientology related videos, texts and auditing sessions, then you are in for a suprise. If you want to find out first hand how these techniques really work in person, then you have to go to a licensed auditor. And who licenses auditors? The Church of Scientology, that's who.
So, sure, try it for yourself. But keep an open mind. Otherwise, you may find yourself actually believing some of the "aberrant" proposals and claims made in this text. For starters, get a real dictionary. THEN read the book.
Strange, and Possibly Dangerous April 19, 2008
248 out of 253 found this review helpful
I found this book to be filled with jargon, half baked theories and bizarre assertions. Hubbard seems to only be guessing; he gives no clue as to how he arrives at any of his fantastic claims- that one can raise one's IQ, avoid accidents, pretty much eradicate any and all issues in one's life, by clearing away "engrams" created by bad experiences, including *prenatal* experiences.
In short, one will become more or less superhuman- and if not, it's because you're not doing it right- and it's this weird circular logic that makes the book impossible to take seriously. He seems to have started with some interesting borrowed ideas (regression therapy, ritual magick, etc.) and gotten extraordinarily carried away. In short, he combines older forms of psychotherapy with magical techniques and his own version of Buddhist mindfulness meditation.
This could be of limited usefulness, but I am very concerned that the book makes claims that homosexuality, infertility, etc., are 'perversions,' actual physical illnesses that can be 'cured' by Dianetics, and that ulcers and other diseases are caused by unsuccessful attempts at abortion. These are just two of the many odd medical assertions hubbard makes which could cause serious harm were one to prefer Hubbard's advice over proper medical or pychological care. Most disturbing of all, critics of Hubbard's methods are, of course, ill themselves, criminals, or worse, a frighteningly convenient idea.
Scientifically Wrong and Morally Unacceptable April 18, 2008
115 out of 122 found this review helpful
"The sexual pervert (and by this term, Dianetics, to be brief, includes any and all forms of deviation in dynamic two such as homosexuality, lesbianism, sexual sadism, etc., and all down the catalog of Ellis and Kraft-Ebbing) is actually quite ill physically. Perversion, as an illness, has so many manifestations that it must be spread over the entire gamut of classes from 1 to 5 above. Overdevelopment of the sexual organs, underdevelopment, seminal inhibition or magnification, etc., are found some in one pervert, some in another."
(pages 149-150 1992 edition)
This book claims homosexuality and lesbianism are perversions associated with shriveled or over-sized genitalia. To make such a claim is demonstrably incorrect and morally abhorrent. If readers want self-help that is compatible with modern science and basic standards of human decency, they will not find it in this book.
Dianetics Is Purely a Ploy to Control the Weak Minded Person April 17, 2008
82 out of 85 found this review helpful
After reading this book, I have to say that I was truly impressed by Mr. Hubbard being a Science Fiction writer....but not, by any means a writer of a new religion / cult / "Way To Happiness" ...
If you read between the lines here, this book sounds like a way to get people to sign off on their Christian values and submit to the "Cult" of Scientology.
Buyer Beware!!! This is dangerous reading, you would be better of reading "Battlefield Earth" if you want some peace of mind.
Final Note, if you are going to buy this book, make sure you buy it from the used book bin at your local book fair....that way the so called Church of Scientology will not reap the rewards of your "fresh purchase" which goes straight into the pockets of the Church Leaders....
A cult March 17, 2008
72 out of 74 found this review helpful
This book is the basis for the religion L. Ron Hubbard created called Scientology. The religion is a cult and this book will lead you down that path. The book itself seems very useful...almost like a self-help book, however it is meant to pave the way for your induction into the cult.
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