Scientology terminology
Encyclopedia
Scientology terminology consists of a complex assortment of jargon
used by Scientologists in conjunction with the practice of Scientology
and in their everyday lives. It is difficult if not impossible to understand Scientology without understanding its terminology the way Hubbard defines it.
L. Ron Hubbard
, the founder of the Church of Scientology
, created a large number of jargon terms or Scientologese to refer to various concepts in Scientology and the related practice of Dianetics
. By the time he died in 1986, he had devised a thicket of language or nomenclature by means of which one and all are indoctrinated in Scientology religious lore.
Hubbard's Scientology terminology consists of two types of terms:
Scientology terminology is defined in the Dianetics and Scientology Technical Dictionary (ISBN 0-88404-037-2) and Modern Management Technology Defined (ISBN 0-88404-040-2). The latter is known colloquially within Scientology as the "Admin Dictionary". Between them, the two volumes reportedly define over 3,000 Scientology terms in over 1,100 pages of definitions.
The early approach is apparent in Hubbard's use of the suffix "-ness" to turn arbitrary concepts into qualities: "havingness," "livingness," "reelingness," "as-is-ness."
Hubbard's terminology is used so thoroughly in Scientology as to render many church materials incomprehensible under a standard English reading using only an English dictionary as reference. Scientologists will study hard to learn all this terminology, since one of Hubbard's teachings is that "...the only reason a person gives up a study or becomes confused or unable to learn is because he or she has gone past a word that was not understood." It is also used extensively in offshoots of Scientology, such as the Narconon
drug rehabilitation program or the Applied Scholastics
education program. Scientologists often use Scientology terminology in non-Scientology contexts as well, such as in social or office situations. This can actually wreak havoc for a member of the public hears the word "communication" coming from a Scientologist and he thinks he understands what "communication" means but the word "communication" in Scientology is a highly "technical" term which has very little to do with what is generally considered communication. "Communication" is not the only word that has a special meaning in Scientology but it is the most important one. There are other words such as "technology", "administration", "logic", "ethics", "control", etc. that have a specially unique meaning in Scientology.
Some critics of Scientology, such as Bent Corydon, assert that the use of loaded language
, e. g. "criticizing Scientology = hidden crimes", is a manipulation tool. Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton
defines "loaded language" as a technique used in brainwashing. The structured language places more requirements on the student to learn concepts and words, shifting responsibility away from the top administration and the creator of Scientology as well as inhibiting the student's own personal power of choice in thinking since he cannot make his own personal interpretations of the meaning. Only Hubbard's meaning is valid. Period! So the indoctrination boils down to: "Do what Ron says!"
and some adjectives as nouns to obviate the necessity of having to explain the old in order to understand the new. With the exception of the Biology definition of the word engram
, a definition long ago debunked by science, he is rather successful with the nomenclature used in Book One
where he avoids the use of medical terms. The word "percept" exists in the English language but the word "perceptic" seems to be unique to Scientology as in the Super Power "Perceptics Rundown
", a series of procedures designed to enhance a person's ability to perceive as a spiritual being while exterior to the physical body. O.B.E.
It is in developing the nomenclature of Scientology that he is inclined to use the same words used by the general public e. g. "affinity", "reality". "communication", "knowledge", responsibility", "control", etc., with a new definition and a meaning which is peculiar and exclusively Scientology.
The British philosopher and logician Bertrand Russell
asserts, "...provided our use of words is consistent it matters little how we define them." However, L. Susan Stebbing declares, "...but the use of a word already familiar in a certain sense to express a sense different from its original meaning and liable to be confused with it is apt to lead to unfortunate consequences. It is difficult not to slip back to the original meaning, and thus to perplex oneself and others with apparent paradoxes, and even to fall into obvious falsities."
Jargon
Jargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. The philosophe Condillac observed in 1782 that "Every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas." As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment he...
used by Scientologists in conjunction with the practice of Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
and in their everyday lives. It is difficult if not impossible to understand Scientology without understanding its terminology the way Hubbard defines it.
L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
, the founder of the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
, created a large number of jargon terms or Scientologese to refer to various concepts in Scientology and the related practice of Dianetics
Dianetics
Dianetics is a set of ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body that was invented by the science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard and is practiced by followers of Scientology...
. By the time he died in 1986, he had devised a thicket of language or nomenclature by means of which one and all are indoctrinated in Scientology religious lore.
Hubbard's Scientology terminology consists of two types of terms:
- Existing EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
terms given an additional Scientology definition. For instance, the word valence has various existing meanings in chemistryChemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, linguisticsLinguisticsLinguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, psychologyPsychologyPsychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and mathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, generally referring to the capacity or value of something. Hubbard redefines it to mean "an identity complete with bank mass or mental image picture mass of somebody other than the identity selected by oneself." Thus the new member is immersed in the new doctrine and gradually placed under control with the help of a new vocabulary in which the terms are exactly defined with no shades of grey allowed or personal interpretations as is usual in ordinary language.
- Neologisms. Hubbard invented many wholly new terms, such as thetanThetanIn Scientology, the concept of thetan is similar to the concept of spirit or soul found in other belief systems. The term is derived from the Greek letter theta, which in Scientology represents "the source of life, or life itself." In Scientology it is believed that it is the Thetan, not the...
to refer to his conception of a spiritual being.
Scientology terminology is defined in the Dianetics and Scientology Technical Dictionary (ISBN 0-88404-037-2) and Modern Management Technology Defined (ISBN 0-88404-040-2). The latter is known colloquially within Scientology as the "Admin Dictionary". Between them, the two volumes reportedly define over 3,000 Scientology terms in over 1,100 pages of definitions.
Objectives and usage
Hubbard explained the purpose of creating new terms in the foreword to the Dianetics and Scientology Technical Dictionary:- "Philosophy has always had the liability of gathering to itself a great many new words and labels. The reason for this is that the philosopher finds phenomena in the physical universe or in the mind or humanities which have not hitherto been observed or properly identified. Each one of these tends to require a new word for its description. In actual fact this cycle of new observations requiring new labels is probably the growth of language itself. Language is obviously the product of unsung observers who then popularized a word to describe what had been observed."
- "The system which has been followed in Dianetics and Scientology in labeling phenomena or observed things was originally to make verbs into nouns or vice versa. The practice of developing new nomenclature was actually held to a minimum. However, it was found that many old words in the field of philosophy, when used, conveyed to people an entirely new idea. The exactness of Dianetics and Scientology required a more precise approach. This approach was achieved by special naming with an eye to minimal confusion with already supposed or known phenomena."
The early approach is apparent in Hubbard's use of the suffix "-ness" to turn arbitrary concepts into qualities: "havingness," "livingness," "reelingness," "as-is-ness."
Hubbard's terminology is used so thoroughly in Scientology as to render many church materials incomprehensible under a standard English reading using only an English dictionary as reference. Scientologists will study hard to learn all this terminology, since one of Hubbard's teachings is that "...the only reason a person gives up a study or becomes confused or unable to learn is because he or she has gone past a word that was not understood." It is also used extensively in offshoots of Scientology, such as the Narconon
Narconon
Narconon is a residential program aimed at substance abusers, headquartered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It operates through several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and Western Europe. Each Narconon center is independently owned and operated under a license...
drug rehabilitation program or the Applied Scholastics
Applied Scholastics
Applied Scholastics is a non-profit corporation founded in 1972 to promote the use of study techniques created by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction author and the founder of the Church of Scientology...
education program. Scientologists often use Scientology terminology in non-Scientology contexts as well, such as in social or office situations. This can actually wreak havoc for a member of the public hears the word "communication" coming from a Scientologist and he thinks he understands what "communication" means but the word "communication" in Scientology is a highly "technical" term which has very little to do with what is generally considered communication. "Communication" is not the only word that has a special meaning in Scientology but it is the most important one. There are other words such as "technology", "administration", "logic", "ethics", "control", etc. that have a specially unique meaning in Scientology.
Some critics of Scientology, such as Bent Corydon, assert that the use of loaded language
Loaded language
In rhetoric, loaded language is wording that attempts to influence the certain audience by using to emotion....
, e. g. "criticizing Scientology = hidden crimes", is a manipulation tool. Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton
Robert Jay Lifton
Robert Jay Lifton is an American psychiatrist and author, chiefly known for his studies of the psychological causes and effects of war and political violence and for his theory of thought reform...
defines "loaded language" as a technique used in brainwashing. The structured language places more requirements on the student to learn concepts and words, shifting responsibility away from the top administration and the creator of Scientology as well as inhibiting the student's own personal power of choice in thinking since he cannot make his own personal interpretations of the meaning. Only Hubbard's meaning is valid. Period! So the indoctrination boils down to: "Do what Ron says!"
Scientology Nomenclature
The problem begins with Dianetics where Hubbard uses basic englishBasic English
Basic English, also known as Simple English, is an English-based controlled language created by linguist and philosopher Charles Kay Ogden as an international auxiliary language, and as an aid for teaching English as a Second Language...
and some adjectives as nouns to obviate the necessity of having to explain the old in order to understand the new. With the exception of the Biology definition of the word engram
Engram
Engram may refer to:*Engram , a hypothetical means by which memory traces are stored*Engram , a term used in Scientology and Dianetics for a "recording" of a past painful event not normally accessible to the conscious mind...
, a definition long ago debunked by science, he is rather successful with the nomenclature used in Book One
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is a book by L. Ron Hubbard which sets out self-improvement techniques he developed, called Dianetics. The book is also one of the canonical texts of Scientology. It is colloquially referred to as Book One...
where he avoids the use of medical terms. The word "percept" exists in the English language but the word "perceptic" seems to be unique to Scientology as in the Super Power "Perceptics Rundown
Rundown (Scientology)
In Scientology, a "Rundown" is the term created by L. Ron Hubbard to apply to a series of Scientology and/or Dianetics procedures designed to address a specific area in depth.-Cause Resurgence Rundown:...
", a series of procedures designed to enhance a person's ability to perceive as a spiritual being while exterior to the physical body. O.B.E.
Out-of-body experience
An out-of-body experience is an experience that typically involves a sensation of floating outside of one's body and, in some cases, perceiving one's physical body from a place outside one's body ....
It is in developing the nomenclature of Scientology that he is inclined to use the same words used by the general public e. g. "affinity", "reality". "communication", "knowledge", responsibility", "control", etc., with a new definition and a meaning which is peculiar and exclusively Scientology.
The British philosopher and logician Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
asserts, "...provided our use of words is consistent it matters little how we define them." However, L. Susan Stebbing declares, "...but the use of a word already familiar in a certain sense to express a sense different from its original meaning and liable to be confused with it is apt to lead to unfortunate consequences. It is difficult not to slip back to the original meaning, and thus to perplex oneself and others with apparent paradoxes, and even to fall into obvious falsities."