Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
Cover of the first edition
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| Author | Lafayette Ronald Hubbard |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Dianetics |
| Publisher | Hermitage House |
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Publication date
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May 9, 1950 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Pages | 452 |
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (sometimes abbreviated as DMSMH) is a book by L. Ron Hubbard about Dianetics, a system of psychotherapy he developed from a combination of personal experience, basic principles of Eastern philosophy, and the work of psychoanalysts such as Freud. The book is a canonical text of Scientology. It is colloquially referred to as Book One. The book launched the movement, which later defined itself as a religion, in 1950. As of 2013, New Era Publications, the international publishing company of Hubbard's works, sells this book in English and in fifty other languages.
In this best-selling book, Hubbard wrote that he had isolated the "dynamic principle of existence," which he states as "Survive," and presents his description of the human mind. He identifies the source of "human aberration" as the "reactive mind," a normally hidden but always conscious area of the mind, and certain traumatic memories ("engrams") stored in it. Dianetics describes counselling (or "auditing") techniques which Hubbard claimed would get rid of engrams and bring major therapeutic benefits.
Hubbard was criticized by scientists and medical professionals, who charge that he presents these claims in superficially scientific language but without evidence. Despite this, Dianetics proved a major commercial success on its publication, although B. Dalton employees have stated that these figures were inflated by Hubbard's Scientologist-controlled publisher, who had groups of Scientologists each purchase dozens or even hundreds of copies of Hubbard's books, and who sold these back to the same retailers.
Before the publication of Dianetics, L. Ron Hubbard was a prolific writer for pulp magazines. He attended George Washington University Engineering School, but did not graduate.
According to Hubbard, the ideas in Dianetics were developed over twelve years of research, although many of his friends at the time said this was entirely mythical. The first public outline of those ideas was an article in the pulp magazine Astounding Science Fiction, titled "Dianetics: A new science of the mind" appearing a few weeks before the publication of the book but published in the May 1950 issue of the magazine, the same month the book was published; the book-length article was later published as the book Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science. This advance publicity generated so much interest that in April 1950, Hubbard and Astounding editor John W. Campbell with other interested parties established the Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation. Hubbard claimed to have written Dianetics in three weeks. His writing speed was assisted by a special typewriter which accepted paper on a continuous roll and which had dedicated keys for common words like the or but. It is called the Remington typewriter, which is on display in the Bay Head, New Jersey Scientology pilgrimage site. An early version of the book Abnormal Dianetics, intended for the medical profession, was rejected by numerous publishers as well as the medical profession but was passed in mimeograph form from hand to hand and was later sold under the name Dianetics: The Original Thesis; the same book is published at present as The Dynamics of Life. Like other works by L. Ron Hubbard, Dianetics: the modern science of mental health has been subject to continuous editing since its inception so that at present it hardly resembles the original 1950 edition.
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