Title: Co$ & Totalitarianism----Technology 3a/4
Author: Anonymous <nobody@replay.com>
Date: Sat, 24 Jul 1999 06:28:14 +0200 (CEST)

Technology

"The E-Meter sees all, knows all. It is never wrong."

-L. Ron Hubbard, Electropsychometric Auditing Operator's Manual,
1953.78

The Hubbard Electro-psychometer, or E-Meter, has become an
indispensable part of Scientology. The E-meter is a device which
measures the changes in electrical conductivity of the skin that occur
at moments of even slight excitement or emotional stress.79 It is 
similar to the machine used in giving lie detector tests. The rather
crude device consists of two tin cans held by the subject or
"preclear."80 The cans are attached to an apparatus with several dials
and a small window in which a needle moves, indicating responses by
registering the change in electrical resistance of the subject's skin.
Scientologists claim the E-meter allows people to "see a thought."81
Originally invented by early Dianetics enthusiast and chiropractor,
Volney Mathison, Hubbard eventually patented the device, which proved
to be quite a profitable venture.82 Every Scientologist wanted to have
his own E-meter and the only place to buy them was from the Hubbard
Association of Scientologists. The little gadget would later prove to
be an essential tool in Scientology
processing.

Scientology processing, or auditing, is a central element of the
cult's practices. Auditing usually involves two people: an auditor and
a preclear. An auditor is someone trained in applying Scientology
techniques and has been through Dianetics processing themselves. The
preclear pays to be guided by the auditor through a series of
techniques involving the E-meter, which are used to uncover areas of
mental distress. The auditor asks questions of the subject, and the
movement of the meter's needle is apparently used as a check of the
emotional reaction to the questions. According to complex rules and
procedures set out in Scientology publications, the auditor can
interpret the movements of the needle after certain prescribed
questions are asked. These reactions are then used in diagnosing the
mental and spiritual condition of the subject.83

During the auditing session, only the auditor sees the movements of
the needle. The preclear's role is to answer questions and work to
remember painful experiences that have occurred in the past.
Interpreting the motions of the needle, the auditor then coaxes the
subject to view a mental picture of the supposed event. The idea is
that the same E-meter needle reaction will continue until the person
has faced up to whatever is being repressed. In this way, the E-meter
is essentially used to uncover buried thoughts or experiences on
behalf of the subject. The following is a simplified dialogue showing
how the E-meter is typically used in Scientology processing-Auditor:
"Have you ever stolen anything?" Preclear: "No." Auditor (looking at
needle moving): "That reads. What do you consider this could mean?"
Preclear (envisioning a past experience): "I'm not sure...Oh yeah, I
did steal a candy bar when I was eight years old."
Auditor (viewing needle): "That's clear." (moves onto next
question).84

Many Scientologists are initially impressed that the auditor can
apparently discover what they are thinking. The E-meter seems like
sheer magic in its ability to dredge up forgotten experiences.85 Some
members come to regard the instrument with a special, almost
supernatural awe. Hubbard claimed that the E-meter was infallible, and
as such was an invaluable tool in providing a scientific basis for the
methods prescribed in Dianetics.86 The machine revealed what was
beneath the surface of the human conscious in a precise and accurate
manner, said Hubbard. Above all, he stressed that the E-meter was
scientific proof of the workability of Scientology processing.87 For
Hubbard, the needle's movements reflected a scientific precision that
lent an air of credibility to the movement. The machine was the final
indicator of what was true- it did not lie.

The importance that Scientology places on the E-meter and how this
correlates with the ideology of totalitarianism is the subject of this
section. I argue that Scientology's relation toward its E-meter has
come to epitomize the movement's totalitarian leaning toward
technology and science. Referring to Hannah Arendt's writings, I will
discuss how totalitarian movements use the language of science to
propel their ideology. In addition to this, I will consider Hubbard's
emphasis on logic and axioms, as well as the mechanized processing it
entails. A discussion of the various ways the E-meter is used within
Scientology will also be included.

One of the major things that Hannah Arendt stressed about the nature
of totalitarianism was that once it has come into the world, it will
continue to arise in new ways that we have not considered.88 Arendt
was concerned with the many possible forms in which totalitarianism
could disguise itself. She particularly felt that science and
technology were areas where totalitarian movements would arise in the
future. The nature of the totalitarian guise demands that it be
difficult to recognize. In the case of science and technology, Arendt
wrote that totalitarianism is the last stage in a process where
"science has become an idol that will magically cure the evils of
existence and transform the nature of man."89 This faith in science,
which has become a dominant characteristic of American culture in the
twentieth century, is the guise in which Arendt felt totalitarianism
was most likely to emerge.

Totalitarian movements always accentuate the scientific aspects of
whatever they are asserting. As Arendt writes, "the obsession of
totalitarian movements with 'scientific' proofs" is a distinguishing
characteristic of their ideology.90 Scientology has exhibited this
trait from the very moment Hubbard conceived of Dianetics as "The New
Science of the Mind."91 Hubbard's initial approach in writing about
Dianetics was that of an engineer seeking practical, scientific
solutions to the mysteries of the human mind. Gone was Hubbard's
previously racy science fiction prose; it was replaced by a sober and
logical textbook style.92 The new scientific thesis rested upon a
system of axioms and mechanisms, giving Hubbard the appearance of a
respectable scientist laboring away for years to uncover the hidden
truth within nature. In reality, Hubbard never held a degree in
neither science nor engineering.93 However, this did little to
discourage him from writing in the scientific language he favored, as
it served to make Dianetics seem more credible and thus more
persuasive.

This emphasis on the scientific has followed Scientology throughout
its brief history. Hubbard based Scientology on the premise that the
human mind is predictable according to certain axiomatic laws of
mechanics. He drew elaborate maps of how the human mind works,
entitling the sketches "Mind Schematic" and "Analyzer Schematic."94
These maps were the equivalent of linear computer models, complete
with Hubbard's wordy and often incomprehensible language.95 Having
conceived the notion of a mechanized human mentality, Hubbard then
declared that the mind was now subject to a "science of certainty."96

Hubbard's complicated, mechanical outlines are an excellent example of
how Scientology exploits society's faith in science and technology to
establish a system of unverified scientific proofs as fact. As Arendt
notes, every totalitarian movement "asserts that all happenings are
scientifically predictable according to the laws of nature."97 In the
case of Scientology, Hubbard said that mental behavior was
scientifically predictable within the laws of engineering and physics
and could be measured accurately with the assistance of an E-meter.
Thus, utilizing the E-meter as a source of scientific evidence for its
theories, Scientology can continue to spread the fantasy it is based
upon. The result is a movement where "ideological lies are supposed to
be believed like sacred untouchable truths," each surrounded by a
carefully elaborated system of "scientific proofs."98

Another correlation between Scientology's relationship to science and
the totalitarian ideology is the revealing name that Hubbard chose to
call his religion. "Scientology" is derived from the Latin scio
(knowing in the fullest sense) and the Greek logos (study)99. An exact
definition of the word would be "knowing how to know," a phrase which
Scientologists always refer to when discussing the origins of the
word.100 Hearing the word "Scientology," one is reminded of science;
that is, science with an -logy stuck onto the end of it. This
combination of word connotations produces a meaning which seems to be
half scientific and half philosophical- in short, scientific
philosophy.101 Interestingly, Hannah Arendt wrote that ideologies
themselves are "known for their scientific character: they combine the
scientific approach with results of philosophical relevance and
pretend to be scientific philosophy." This is exactly what Scientology
does, as its name testifies. Scientology functions as an ideology, for
it orders ideas under the subject matter of a science. Arendt states
that the suffix -logy in ideology, and, I would add, in the word
Scientology, "indicate nothing but the logoi, the scientific
statements made on it."102 Such ideological thinking within
Scientology is significant because it characterizes the totalitarian
desire to build a fictitious world. The application of a scientific
model functions merely as a justification for that desire. Hubbard's
logical procedures, which are the foundation of Dianetics and
Scientology, begin with an axiomatically accepted premise which
"deduces everything else from it,
proceeding with a consistency that exists nowhere in the realm of
reality."103

Returning to the subject of the E-meter, it is critical to examine the
various ways Scientologists have used this technological apparatus
over the years. In 1959, Hubbard introduced "security checking," known
as "sec checks," whereby Scientologists are interrogated, having to
answer long, prepared lists of questions about their moral
transgressions.104 The E-meter is used as a lie detector throughout
these "sessions." Scientology defends sec checks as a way of handling
hidden "overts", i.e., harmful acts.105 Apparently, one of these
"harmful acts" is addressed with the question "Have you ever had any
unkind thoughts about L. Ron Hubbard?"106 A careful record is kept of
all confessions, which has proved to be a highly effective means of
silencing dissidents. Due to strong criticism, the procedure was later
renamed "integrity processing," using the exact same list of questions
as the earlier "security checks."107 Scientology presumes that any of
its members might become a security risk at any time, and the
"accuracy of the E-meter" is used to blackmail those who turn against
the movement.108

Many people also view the E-meter largely as a biofeedback device. In
biofeedback, the subject learns how to control his or her own
unconscious physical responses by manipulating them with conscious
mental control.109 These people argue that while the E-meter may help
people, there is little if any real measurement of repressed
experiences occurring during auditing. Instead, subjects experience a
heightened self-confidence as they learn how to pass the E-meter's
tests by controlling their own thoughts. The more familiar a
Scientologist becomes with the E-meter, the easier it can be tricked,
much like a lie detector. The biofeedback viewpoint contradicts
Scientology's official position that processing "discharges the
harmful energy connected with the preclear's reactive mind."110
Nonetheless, it is another way of viewing the E-meter which has gained
a following within factions of dissident Scientologists.

While ways of understanding the E-meter vary, it is crucial to
recognize how the device reflects Scientology's totalitarian attitude
toward science and technology. Scientology insists that the E-meter is
the final indicator of the truth, consistently relying on the
"scientific proof" of this machine to further its ideology. Hubbard's
overwhelming vision of mechanical processing, leading to his "science
of certainty," was based on the notion of a scientifically predictable
human mind that obeys axiomatic laws of logic. In addition to this,
Scientology uses the E-meter as a lie detector, gradually building a
state of fear and paranoia for its members. All the while, the
movement continues to rely on a `pseudo-scientific philosophy that has
proven itself to be a defining characteristic of the totalitarian
ideology. It is only when such an ideology aims to obliterate all
opposition, as I will discuss in the following section, that it begins
to reveal the absolute terror that forms the basis of totalitarian
domination.

Copyright (c) 1999 Laura Kay Fuller

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