Scientology Logics - Part 4

Logic 4 - A datum is a symbol of matter, energy, space or time, or any combination thereof, in any universe, or the matter, energy, space or time itself, or any combination thereof, in any universe.

You'll remember from Logic 1 - "Knowledge is a whole group or subdivision of a group of data or speculations or conclusions on data or methods of gaining data.". Logic 4 now gives us the definition of data and you'll notice that it is not speculation or conclusions. Data is real, concrete, objective or a symbol for something real, concrete and objective. So once again Mr. Hubbard points out the difference between facts (data) and opinions (speculations or conclusions on data), which is an important distinction as I pointed out in the first part of this series of articles.

Logic 4 also clarifies what is meant by "methods of gaining data". These must be methods that deal with symbols of matter, energy, space or time, or any combination thereof, in any universe, or the matter, energy, space or time itself, or any combination thereof, in any universe. So simple observation would fit into this as would a technique that assisted memory (your memories are symbols of matter, energy, space and time). So whatever technique the philosopher Hegel used to determine that there could only be 7 planets going around the sun (this was at a time when an astronomer had just observed the 8th planet) can be thrown out as not a valid method of gaining data. His theory was perfectly acceptable under the definition of "knowledge" as it was "speculation" or maybe "conclusions", but it is important if you want to be able to think straight to realize that it was not "data."

Mathematics can now be seen to be a valid method of gaining data, and indeed has been used for centuries for just that. However, it must be said that it is only valid when its symbol are symbols of matter, energy, space or time, or any combination thereof, in any universe. If it starts getting into the area of speculation and conclusions then it may be knowledge but it may or may not be data.

This Logic also demonstrates that although the field of psychiatry is a body of knowledge, that knowledge is not "data" but "speculation" or "conclusions", in other words, "opinion". An example of this is the theory used to justify the use of highly profitable mind altering drugs. "There is a chemical imbalance in the brain that these drugs correct." is the theory. However, there are no actual objective tests to back this up. When brains are tested for the mythical "chemical imbalance" it is never found and people are prescribed these drugs without any objective physical test being done. The fraud of ADHD is a prime example of this.

One of the few objective tests ever done to show differences between "hyperactive brains" and "normal brains" only succeeded in showing that the brains of hyperactive patients who had been on psych drugs (like Ritalin) for some years had shrunk. The moral of this story is be very wary of bodies of knowledge that contains little or no "data" and a preponderance of "speculations and conclusions on data".

Scientology Logics - Part 3

Logic 3 - Any knowledge which can be sensed, measured or experienced by any entity is capable of influencing that entity.

COROLLARY: That knowledge which cannot be sensed, measured or experienced by any entity or type of entity cannot influence that entity or type of entity.

With Logic 3 we get into the first of the intensely workable rules of logic. The corollary is rather a slap in the face for transcendental philosophy which puts forth the idea that something exists "independent of human experience of phenomena but within the range of knowledge." What I'd like to know is if it exists independent of human experience then how do the transcendentalists know it exists at all? The corollary to Logic 3 demonstrates the irrelevance of transcendentalism.

On a more practical basis let's say I look after the computer system that handles payroll (PR) at a large company. There is going to be an upgrade to the Accounts Receivable (AR) system. Will I need to make any changes to the PR system because of this? An easy way to answer this is to see if the PR system can sense, measure or experience the AR system in any way. Let's say that it cannot. Then the AR system can be changed without any impact on PR.

Now here is an example that impacts anyone living in the USA. When the Patriot Act was passed by Congress, "everyone knew" it was only going to be used to fight terrorism so of course ordinary citizens didn't have to worry about the curtailing of civil rights contained in it. But just yesterday I came across this article: reviewjournal.com -- News: PATRIOT ACT: Law's use causing concerns. Now you could say, "Well, it was used to catch criminals and I'm not a criminal so I'm okay." But the question you really have to answer is: "Can I sense, measure or experience the powers the Patriot Act gives to government agencies?" And if the answer is "yes" then it really doesn't matter if you are a criminal or an upstanding member of society, the act can be used against you.

Scientology Logics - Part 2

Logic 2 - A body of knowledge is a body of data, aligned or unaligned, or methods of gaining data.

Logic 2, like Logic 1, is a basic that simply defines what a body of knowledge is. The fact that the knowledge can be aligned or unaligned doesn't prevent it from being knowledge. For example, physics is an area where the data is aligned and people recognize it as a body of knowledge, but what about some relatively unaligned field such as art? There is a body of knowledge there, it contains some data, many, many speculations and many conclusions. Understanding this can be to your advantage if you want to invest in the area. If you realize that the value of a painting is almost purely based on opinion and you know whose opinion is the most valuable then you can determine which picture to buy and for how much.

Contrast that to buying a house where the body of knowledge (physics) is aligned. You will check known principles and laws to make sure the house is a sound investment: Does it follow the building codes? Is it structurally sound? You will use little or no opinion in deciding to buy the house because the body of knowledge is aligned.

You can also look at an apparently unaligned body of knowledge and look to see if it is aligned. For example the subject of psychiatry seems completely unaligned. It contains no science and even determines if a "mental illness" exists by vote of it's members - that's how their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, which lists all the official mental illnesses, keeps getting bigger and bigger. In court case after court case psychiatrist A, working for the defense, says the accused is insane while psychiatrist B, working for the prosecution, says he's sane.

However if you realize that psychiatry is aligned around money then their practices make complete sense. Psychiatrist A says the guy is insane because the defense is paying him, psychiatrist B says he's sane because the prosecution is paying him.

Why do psychiatrists still use Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT) when it has been proven time and time again that it causes brain damage and that the majority of people who receive it die within a couple of years. If you are operating on the idea that psychiatry is aligned around the benefiting of mankind then it makes no sense, but if you realize that ECT is a big money maker then all is explained.

Again in this Logic we have "methods of gaining data" as being a body of knowledge in itself and, again, this makes knowledge a living, breathing, evolving entity.

The Scientology Logics

The Scientology Logics are a favorite of mine, probably because they are so useful in my job and I get to use them every day. You could call them "how to think" or "how to solve problems", things that we all need to be able to do effectively to succeed in life.

So I'm going to examine them one-by-one over the next several days.

Logic 1: Knowledge is a whole group or subdivision of a group of data or speculations or conclusions on data or methods of gaining data.

This is the first of the Logics because it is a basic to all logic. You are dealing with knowledge in thinking and problem solving so you have to know what it is. The fact that knowledge contains "data" and "speculations" is important to know because a fact (data) can lead to a solution whereas an opinion (speculation) usually only leads to more opinions and often to an impasse (argument).

So when you are examining a body of knowledge you should divide it up into data (facts), speculations (opinions) and conclusions (always evaluating how correct or incorrect the conclusion is and how it was evolved). Now you can think with it.

The inclusion of "methods of gaining data" in the definition of knowledge greatly expands the entire concept of knowledge and makes it into a living, breathing entity. So often we think of knowledge as something in dried up old books written down centuries ago by some mysterious savant. There are even philosophies founded on the idea that all worthwhile knowledge is beyond human comprehension. Well, if you have a method of gaining data you no longer have to blindly believe what was written by "authorities", because you can find out for yourself.

To me, a method of gaining data is of more value than the data itself, because if you forget some piece of data you can always find it again, but if you forget the method, you're back to accepting what "authority" tells you.

The simplest, but for many most difficult, method of gaining data is observation. The article "Personal Integrity" by L. Ron Hubbard contains vital data on how to observe.

Second hand observation adds the complexity of the reliability and accuracy of the source. Some of the later Logics provide methods for evaluating such.

The Logics themselves contain methods of gaining data so stay tuned. I'll be back with more tomorrow.