Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, a Handbook of Dianetic Therapy

Dianetics is a set of ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body created by L. Ron Hubbard; Dianetics is practiced by followers of Scientology and separate independent Dianeticist groups. Hubbard coined Dianetics from the Greek stems dia, meaning "through," and nous, meaning "mind." Dianetics has achieved no acceptance as a scientific theory and is a widely accepted example of a pseudoscience. Dianetics divides the mind into three parts: the conscious "analytical mind," the subconscious "reactive mind," and the somatic mind. The goal of Dianetics is to remove the "reactive mind," which Scientologists believe prevents people from becoming more ethical, more aware, happier and saner. The Dianetics procedure to achieve this is called "auditing." Auditing is a process whereby a series of questions is asked by the Dianetic auditor to help a person locate and deal with painful experiences of the past, which Scientologists believe to be the content of the "reactive mind." Practitioners of Dianetics believe that "the basic principle of existence is to survive"[8] and that the basic personality of humans is sincere, intelligent, and good.[8] The drive for goodness and survival is distorted and inhibited by aberrations[8] "ranging from simple neuroses to different psychotic states to various kinds of sociopathic behavior patterns." Hubbard developed Dianetics, claiming that it could eradicate these aberrations