Mostly informative, "Dianetics: the Original Thesis" is a summary of content in recent translations of science and philosophy around the 1950s, as the introduction states. Bias, strong conclusions and interpretive assistance are missing. It is written for an average reader who wants basic summaries and themes about the topic.
A works cited page is not included in the book. There are advertisements to read more books by L. Ron Hubbard. There are more than thirty books for Dianetics and Scientology. The titles suggests each book relates to another translation. Some original Authors are the same though Dianetics books are primarily reference materials for conclusions in Scientology books.
Identifying some principal philosophies in "Dianetics: the Original Thesis," it appears to make reference to Heidegger, Jung, Pavlov and Himmler. Not as familiar with Himmler, I wonder if "Dianetice" is a summary translation of Himmler who makes reference to Heidegger, Jung and Pavlov to support their thesis.
Historically, it is interesting to think about how people thought about life. There were many unproven scientific facts. Time has shown a reductive path in some of ideas that are mostly factual rather than appropriate. An instance of this is how negative reinforcement causes an "aberration" or dysfunctional logic during treatment. It is also impossible to prove someone suffers from prenatal injury; instead of, having a memory blockage because of insignificance or other interference from simultaneous events.
Understanding there is a connection between Scientology and Dianetics, as someone who is not a part of the religion, I am unsure how to interpret religious aspect. Dianetics might provide questionable information or Scientology's practicing religion only sites this as philosophy in practice. Similar to Christian making personal sacrifices, not sacrificing animals. Having a few acquaintances that are members of Scientology, there are extraneous rituals around prenatal care and a desire to eliminate any controversial language or conduct from life, even when the controversy is a better method of coping with a particular issue. I believe this is to, "Avoid developing aberrations during an abree."
As a thesis, without the thesis statement, frequently content provides it's own argument. This is normal when establishing parameters on findings during experimentation to develop a mathematical hypothesis. Most of the books contents have been found incorrect at some level during following years; however, provides a necessary step in drawing better conclusions. This system of learning through pain is normal. Social criticism provides societal rules a person would not understand or conclude on their own and when finding the correct morals and ethics feel free from past deficits. During a time before the emphasis on health in relation to cognitive logic was unavailable, these methods of enforcing order might assist in treating untreatable addiction, depression, criminal activity and psychosis. Heinrich Himmler committed suicide shortly after World War II. This might be why the primary focus is on developing a nonprescription treatment for depression.
Hubbard's wording is confusing. The book also lacks a sense of unity. There were several contradictions. A person has to assume a meaning. Finding the book interesting, I believe young people studying psychology will find it interesting. It summarizes a lot of information, so when reading about related topics, to increase comprehension between topics. People who are History Buffs might find it topically intriguing. The overenthusiastic tone is misleading.
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