Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id RAA05406 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Wed, 9 Jan 2002 17:42:06 GMT Message-ID: <003701c19934$7d75b620$a424f4d8@teddace> From: "Dace" <edace@earthlink.net> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20020106210126.02c1cec0@pop.cogeco.ca> <5.1.0.14.0.20020108133155.02c316f0@pop.cogeco.ca> Subject: Re: Scientology Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 09:38:43 -0800 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4133.2400 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4133.2400 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> At 10:11 AM 08/01/02 -0800, you wrote:
>
> >Keith Henson
> >(practical memetics at)
> >www.operatingthetan.com
> >
> >
> >Keith,
> >
> >I notice you're an apostate of the "Church of Scientology."
>
> Not at all.
>
> "Apostate" means former member. I have never done anything that would
> make me a scientologist.
Fair enough. But why is your website entitled operating thetan? Surely you
realize that anyone who knows anything about Scientology will think you're a
member. After looking over your site, I could only assume that you're one
of those legendary, persecuted ex-members.
> >I've always felt L. Ron Hubbard provides an excellent example of the
> >tactical use of memes. Fifty years ago, he introduced his self-help
> >concepts under the term, Dianetics. This word sounds enough like
> >"dialectics" that it takes on a sheen of philosophical
> >respectability. But it didn't work well enough for Hubbard, so he
> >introduced the term, Scientology. In this case, he was playing on our
> >desire for religious authority. Since the only modern institution that
> >can fulfill our desire for an absolute authority is science, from a
> >memetic point of view, the term makes perfect sense. What he
> >demonstrated is that memes that exploit our religious impulse
> >succeed over ones that play on our philosophical pretensions.
> >
> >Ted Dace
>
> The story of Hubbard, scientology and the incredible soap opera on the net
> is far weirder than anything you mention here.
Of course. So what?
> The only point I can agree
> on is that scientology is a type case for memetic studies.
And that's the only point I was making. Do I detect a note of hostility?
Ted
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