Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "A SCIENCE OF MIND is a goal which has engrossed thousands of generations of man..." (more)
Key Phrases: prenatal area, repeater technique, reactive bank, Tone Scale, Auditor's Code, Preventive Dianetics (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Review
Dianetics can remove the aberrations which make man a selfish and anti-social creature.... It holds hope that man may at last dispense with the ugly institution of war, because wars are the end product of social aberrations at the national level... Dianetics can rectify the mental short circuits which bring accidental death, can increase longevity, minimize the pain of child-bearing and present Mankind with vast new intellectual vistas..."
Los Angeles Daily News
</div> Review

"...the wave of interest in the subject of Dianetics which has swept the country." Publisher's Weekly
</div> --Bridge Publications, Inc.

[Dianetics is] A new science which works with the invariability of physical science in the field of the mind. -- Walter Winchell, Daily Mirror

[Dianetics is] a new science which works with the invariability of physical science in the field of the human mind. -- Walter Winchell, Daily Mirror

Review

  Review




"Dianetics can remove the aberrations which make man a selfish and anti-social creature.... It holds hope that man may at last dispense with the ugly institution of war, because wars are the end product of social aberrations at the national level... Dianetics can rectify the mental short circuits which bring accidental death, can increase longevity, minimize the pain of child-bearing and present Mankind with vast new intellectual vistas..."

Los Angeles Daily News

  Review




"...the wave of interest in the subject Dianetics which has swept the country." Publisher's Weekly

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 702 pages
• Publisher: Bridge Publications, Inc. (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 088404632X
• ISBN-13: 978-0884046325
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (276 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #335,188 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

394 of 408 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Possibly Dangerous, April 18, 2008

By	Glory, Marcabia! "is disgusted with Amazon.com" (CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dianetics: The Modern Science Of Mental Health (English) (Paperback)

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.

287 of 313 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dianetics, February 25, 2008

By	James Choma - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (Hardcover)

L. Ron Hubbard has been grossly underestimated as a writer of Science Fiction. He is possibly one of the greatest fiction writers of the 20th century. With "Dianetics," Hubbard has been able to weave a complex, believable tale of the science of the mind, essentially forming the basis for what would come to be taken to be a religion. How many other Science Fiction writers have done something of that magnitude with such far reaching effects? Darn few.

"Dianetics" made an early appearance in the magazine "Astounding Science Fiction" back in May of 1950. It garnered a lot of press and created a buzz that eventually garnered the attention of a wider audience.

Hubbard created a whole mythology around himself. It is said he was a bronco buster at the age of three, a teenage explorer, a blood brother of the Blackfeet Indians of Montana, a Nuclear Physicist, and a World War II hero, among other things. But above all, he was a writer of pulp Science Fiction.

Interestingly enough, there's plenty of documention that many of the ideas put forth in this book are not original. Many may not be aware that at the root of Dianetics are the discoveries of Dr. William Sargant (a psychiatrist). Sargant's research observed post traumatic stress syndrome in World War II soldiers, leading to a cure known as Abnormal Reaction Therapy. This entailed re-experiencing traumatic events (Hubbard called these "engrams") utilizing a hypnotic (or drugged) state to confront these real or imagined items with the aid of a facilitator. If you are interested in exploring Sargant's work, his book is called "Battle for the Mind: A Physiology of Conversion and Brainwashing." There are many very close similarities between the two texts.

The key is to become "Clear." Getting to the state of clear comes via "auditing" (a confessional) to remove engrams, thus destroying one's reactive mind. This is the portion of the mind that Dianetics states is the cause of mental and physical ailments. A Dianetics auditor questions the "pre-clear" with the use of an e-meter (a simple lie detector) to assist with this process.

It's been debated that either George Orwell or Ron Hubbard said: "Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion." Well, Hubbard did just that. And he did indeed make millions. And here is the book that started it all, compliments of the extremely imaginative mind of Science Fiction writer, L. Ron Hubbard, and a few uncredited Psychiatrists.

103 of 111 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Literary train wreck, February 3, 2008

By	Justin A. Knapp "koavf" (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health: A Handbook of Dianetics Procedure (Paperback)

Hubbard is attempting to introduce a new system of therapy in this book and as such, it is necessary that he take pains to write in a particularly lucid and precise style; this is not the case. This book rambles on for far too long in many places, introduces concepts out-of-step with their field in a brash manner that is not thoughtful, and does not sufficiently refute its interlocutors. It is also hard to tell how seriously the author himself takes these theses in the course of his writing. As a piece of rhetoric, self-help, or literature, this is a failure. Also, I can only speculate on why there is a bursting volcano on the cover; this makes the book less credible and more sensational in my opinion.

-JAK