Thursday, March 30, 2006

Scientology as a Philosophy (2)

In "The Story of Philosophy", Will Durant lists the branches of philosophy as logic (study of methods of thinking or reasoning), epistemology (study of the nature, origin, and scope of knowledge.), ethics (study of right and wrong), aesthetics (study of art and beauty), and metaphysics (study of the nature of reality). Students of philosophy may argue over this and the definitions I've given, but I'm trying to keep this simple.

Most philosophies are closely associated with a particular philosopher and so in Ancient Greek philosophy we have the pre-Socratic and post-Socratic periods, named after the great philosopher Socrates, who (along with his pupil Plato) revolutionized philosophy with the "Socratic Method". Similarly the philosophy of Scientology was developed by L. Ron Hubbard, American author, educator and humanitarian.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Scientology as a Philosophy (1)

Few people have an good understanding of the word "Philosophy", so when someone says that Scientology is an Applied Religious Philosophy it doesn't really mean much to the average person. So in my next few blog entries, I'd like to explain what philosophy means and how Scientology fits into the definition.

Philosophy is commonly defined as "the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence" or "the rational investigation of questions about existence, knowledge and ethics" or "the use of reason in understanding such things as the nature of reality and existence, the use and limits of knowledge and the principles that govern and influence moral judgment."

You can probably see that something which attempts to study, understand and explain the nature of reality and existence is going to end up in the field of religion.

Friday, March 24, 2006

L. Ron Hubbard Birthday Celebration

March 13 is the birthday of the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard. It is celebrated all over the world by Scientologists and non-Scientologists who have benefited from the discoveries he made. It starts with a huge event in Clearwater, Florida which is then replayed at events all over the world in the following weeks. These events are spectacular, and this year was no exception. You can read more about it here: L. Ron Hubbard Birthday Celebration