Editing Scientology (section)

=== Influences ===
The general orientation of Hubbard's philosophy owes much to [[Will Durant]], author of the popular 1926 classic ''[[The Story of Philosophy]]''; ''Dianetics'' is dedicated to Durant.<ref name=Willms248-9 /> Hubbard's view of a mechanically functioning mind in particular finds close parallels in Durant's work on [[Spinoza]].<ref name="Willms248-9">{{harvnb|Willms|2009|pp=248–249}}</ref> According to Hubbard himself, Scientology is "the Western anglicized continuance of many early forms of wisdom".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ankerberg |first1=John |last2=Weldon|first2=John |title=Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs|publisher=Harvest House Publishers |date=1996 }}</ref> Ankerberg and Weldon mention the sources of Scientology to include "the [[Vedas]], Buddhism, Judaism, Gnosticism, Taoism, early Greek civilization and the teachings of Jesus, [[Nietzsche]] and Freud".<ref>{{Cite journal | title = The concept "salvation" in the Church of Scientology | journal = HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies | year = 2006 | first = S.P. | last = Pretorius | volume = 62 | issue = 1 | pages = 313–327| doi=10.4102/hts.v62i1.353| doi-access = free | hdl = 2263/14050 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> Hubbard had an inaccurate and superficial understanding of the major Eastern religious traditions, despite his claims of similarities to Scientology. His self-proclaimed association with Buddhism's Maitreya was an attempt on his part to enhance his image and add respectability to his organisation's beliefs. Aside from superficial similarities between Scientology and Hinayana Buddhism that might have motivated him to draw spurious associations between the two belief systems, Hubbard may have written about Eastern faiths because his Western members were unlikely to have sufficient knowledge of them to assess the validity of his claims.{{sfn|Kent|1996|pp=29–30|loc="Hubbard had only a rudimentary, and largely inaccurate, understanding of major Eastern religious traditions - traditions about which he claimed similarities to the faith that he had constructed. His self-proclaimed association, for example, with Buddhism's Maitreya seems to have been an effort on his part to enhance his image with his followers, as well as add respectability to his organisation's beliefs by associating them with a major religious tradition. Aside from superficial similarities between scientology and Hinayana Buddhism that might have motivated him to draw spurious associations between the two belief systems, Hubbard may have written about Eastern faiths because his Western members were unlikely to have sufficient background in them to make informed assessments about his claims"}}

Hubbard asserted that Freudian thought was a "major precursor" to Scientology. W. Vaughn Mccall, Professor and Chairman of the Georgia Regents University writes, "Both Freudian theory and Hubbard assume that there are unconscious mental processes that may be shaped by early life experiences, and that these influence later behavior and thought." Both schools of thought propose a "tripartite structure of the mind".<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Psychiatry and Psychology in the Writings of L. Ron Hubbard |journal=Journal of Religion and Health |year=2007 |last=Mccall |first=W. Vaughn|volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=437–47 |doi=10.1007/s10943-006-9079-9|s2cid=10629230 }}</ref> [[Sigmund Freud]]'s psychology, popularized in the 1930s and 1940s, was a key contributor to the Dianetics therapy model, and was acknowledged unreservedly as such by Hubbard in his early works.<ref name=Willms2005-54-60 /> Hubbard never forgot, when he was 12 years old, meeting Cmdr. [[Joseph Cheesman Thompson]], a U.S. Navy officer who had studied with Freud<ref>{{Cite book |last=Christensen |first=Dorthe Refslund |title=Controversial New Religions |title-link=Controversial New Religions |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-19-515682-9 |editor-last=Lewis |editor-first=James R. |editor-link=James R. Lewis (scholar) |edition=1st |location=New York |language=en |chapter=Inventing L. Ron Hubbard: On the Construction and Maintenance of the Hagiographic Mythology of Scientology’s Founder |editor-last2=Petersen |editor-first2=Jesper Aagaard |page=238}}</ref> and when writing to the [[American Psychological Association]] in 1949, he stated that he was conducting research based on the "early work of Freud".<ref name="GA171">{{harvnb|Cowan|Bromley|2006|p=171}}</ref>

In ''Dianetics'', Hubbard cites [[Hegel]] as a negative influence&nbsp;– an object lesson in "confusing" writing.<ref>Hubbard, L Ron. 'Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health'. Los Angeles, California: Bridge Publications, 2007: 3. {{ISBN|978-1-4031-4484-3}}</ref> According to Mary A. Mann, Scientology is considered nondenominational, accepting all people regardless of their religions background, ethnicity, or educational attainment.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mann |first1=Mary A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m-pit1X2O6UC&q=scientology |title=Science and Spirituality |year=2004 |publisher=Mary A. Mann |access-date=December 14, 2015 |isbn=978-1-4184-9294-6 }}</ref> Another influence was [[Alfred Korzybski]]'s [[General Semantics]].<ref name=Willms2005-54-60 /> Hubbard was friends with fellow science fiction writers [[A. E. van Vogt]] and [[Robert Heinlein]], who both wrote science-fiction inspired by Korzybski's writings, such as Vogt's ''[[The World of Null-A]]''. Hubbard's view of the ''reactive mind'' has acknowledged parallels with Korzybski's thought; in fact, Korzybski's "anthropometer" may have been what inspired Hubbard's invention of the E-meter.<ref name=Willms2005-54-60 />

Beyond that, Hubbard himself named a great many other influences in his own writing&nbsp;– in ''Scientology 8-8008'', for example, these include philosophers from [[Anaxagoras]] and [[Aristotle]] to [[Herbert Spencer]] and [[Voltaire]], physicists and mathematicians like [[Euclid]] and [[Isaac Newton]], as well as founders of religions such as Buddha, Confucius, Jesus and Mohammed—but there is little evidence in Hubbard's writings that he studied these figures to any great depth.<ref name="Willms2005-54-60">{{harvnb|Willms|2005|pp=54–60}}</ref>

As noted, elements of the Eastern religions are evident in Scientology,<ref name="GA171" /> in particular the concept of [[karma]] found [[Karma in Hinduism|in Hinduism]] and [[Karma in Jainism|Jainism]].<ref>{{Cite book |first=Bryan |last=Wilson |year=1995 |title=Religious Toleration & Religious Diversity |url=http://www.neuereligion.de/ENG/collection/diversity/point33.htm |publisher=The Institute for the Study of American Religion |archive-date=October 31, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131031204601/http://www.neuereligion.de/ENG/collection/diversity/point33.htm}}</ref><ref>James R. Lewis ''The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements'', p. 429, Oxford University Press US, 2004 {{ISBN|978-0-19-514986-9}}</ref> According to the ''Encyclopedia of Community'', Scientology "shows affinities with Buddhism and a remarkable similarity to first-century Gnosticism".<ref>Karen Christensen, David Levinson (2003): ''Encyclopedia of Community'', SAGE, p. 1210: "Scientology shows affinities with Buddhism and a remarkable similarity to first-century [[Gnosticism]]."</ref><ref>[[John A. Saliba]] (1996): ''Signs of the Times'', Médiaspaul, p. 51</ref>