Fundamentals of Thought - Alterations
It is noted that “Fundamentals of Thought” was first published in 1956 and a later edition released in 1972 and then in 1973 (the 1972 and 1973 editions are basically the same). The copyright disclaimer in 2007 “L. Ron Hubbard Library” version includes only two years: 1956 and 2007. What happened to the 1972 and 1973 editions which were already updated by the author, L. Ron Hubbard, himself?
Nearly all direct references to Scientology being a SCIENCE have been removed and in some instances replaced with a word RELIGION. Except for a standard declaimer at the beginning of the book defining Scientology as “an applied religious philosophy,” there is no single mention of Scientology defined as a “religion” in the original text of “The Fundamentals of Thought,” 1973 edition. On the other hand, Ron Hubbard used the word “religion” many times throughout the book to refer to traditional religions as it is commonly understood. Examples:
“There is no argument whatsoever with the tenets of faith since it is not precisely stated, uniformly, by religions that one immediately goes to a heaven or hell.” (page 66 in 1973 edition or altered version of this sentence on page 77 in 2007 edition)
“One protests against the physical universe only when he feels that he can have no part of it or does not belong in it or, as in religion, is not looked upon kindly by what he conceives to be the Creator of the physical universe.” (page 74 in 1973 edition or page 88 in 2007 edition)
Examples of alterations cited below are by no means a list of ALL alterations that can be found in 2007 “Fundamentals of Thought.” Alterations not included in the list below include BREAKING DOWN or COMBINING PARAGRAPHS and CHANGING PUNCTUATION which result in a loss of conceptual concentration and disrupt the thought flow1. an impulse or direction of energy particles or thought or masses between terminals. (HCOB 3 Feb 69)...more
of the original author who is and always will be L. Ron Hubbard, not any other individual or a corporate entity. Such alterations diffuse the thought and lead to a significant reduction in conceptual understanding, not its improvement.
Example of alterations in punctuation:
1973 (Chapter Seven, page 70): “There is no effort in Scientology to out-create each and every thetan1. the living unit we call, in Scn, a thetan, that being taken from the Greek letter theta, the mathematic symbol used in Scn to indicate the source of life and life itself. (Abil Ma 1) 2. the awareness of awareness unit which has all potentialities but no mass, no wave-length and no location. (HCOB 3 Jul 59) 3. the being who is the individual and who handles and lives in the body. (HCOB 23 Apr 69)...more that comes along. It is, of course, possible to conceive Scientology as a creation, and to conceive that it is overwhelming. It should be viewed otherwise, for it is intended as an assistance to life at large, to enable life to make a better civilization and a better game.”
2007 (Chapter Seven, page 80): “There is no effort in Scientology to out-create each and every thetan1. the living unit we call, in Scn, a thetan, that being taken from the Greek letter theta, the mathematic symbol used in Scn to indicate the source of life and life itself. (Abil Ma 1) 2. the awareness of awareness unit which has all potentialities but no mass, no wave-length and no location. (HCOB 3 Jul 59) 3. the being who is the individual and who handles and lives in the body. (HCOB 23 Apr 69)...more that comes along. It is, of course, possible to conceive Scientology as a creation and to conceive that it is overwhelming. It should be viewed otherwise. For it is intended as an assistance to life at large, to enable life to make a better civilization and a better game.”
