Alright this post is here to address several things related to what I initially considered the most frequently implanted command in Scientology and Dianetics and now think is certainly one of the top two or three .

The logical fallacy ad hominem . First we will start with a definition of fallacy as this is the first fallacy file .

Okay , to be thorough I will use a bit from the Nikzor project ( website ) :

[h=Description of Fallacies]4[/h] In order to understand what a fallacy is, one must understand what an argument is. Very briefly, an argument consists of one or more premises and one conclusion. A premise is a statement (a sentence that is either true or false) that is offered in support of the claim being made, which is the conclusion (which is also a sentence that is either true or false).


There are two main types of arguments: deductive and inductive. A deductive argument is an argument such that the premises provide (or appear to provide) complete support for the conclusion. An inductive argument is an argument such that the premises provide (or appear to provide) some degree of support (but less than complete support) for the conclusion. If the premises actually provide the required degree of support for the conclusion, then the argument is a good one. A good deductive argument is known as a valid argument and is such that if all its premises are true, then its conclusion must be true. If all the argument is valid and actually has all true premises, then it is known as a sound argument. If it is invalid or has one or more false premises, it will be unsound. A good inductive argument is known as a strong (or "cogent") inductive argument. It is such that if the premises are true, the conclusion is likely to be true.


A fallacy is, very generally, an error in reasoning. This differs from a factual error, which is simply being wrong about the facts. To be more specific, a fallacy is an "argument" in which the premises given for the conclusion do not provide the needed degree of support. A deductive fallacy is a deductive argument that is invalid (it is such that it could have all true premises and still have a false conclusion). An inductive fallacy is less formal than a deductive fallacy. They are simply "arguments" which appear to be inductive arguments, but the premises do not provided enough support for the conclusion. In such cases, even if the premises were true, the conclusion would not be more likely to be true. End quote.

Okay , I will use another brief quote to show examples of fallacies .

[h=Examples of Fallacies]4[/h]
  1. Inductive Argument Premise 1: Most American cats are domestic house cats.
    Premise 2: Bill is an American cat.
    Conclusion: Bill is domestic house cat.
  2. Factual Error Columbus is the capital of the United States.
  3. Deductive Fallacy Premise 1: If Portland is the capital of Maine, then it is in Maine.
    Premise 2: Portland is in Maine.
    Conclusion: Portland is the capital of Maine.
    (Portland is in Maine, but Augusta is the capital. Portland is the largest city in Maine, though.)
  4. Inductive Fallacy Premise 1: Having just arrived in Ohio, I saw a white squirrel.
    Conclusion: All Ohio Squirrels are white.
    (While there are many, many squirrels in Ohio, the white ones are very rare).



Okay , the main thing to get from that is that fallacies are errors in reasoning that lead to poor thinking and invalid conclusions - whether in debate with another or just talking or thinking on your own .

They are patterns of errors that have been observed and recognized as leading to poor reason and illogical thinking - many for thousands of years.

In Scientology they are routinely implanted by Hub and can become permanently a part of a victim's thinking if not studied and looked for .


A lot of good debaters and rational people whether in person or online will automatically refuse to engage fallacies and ad hominem in particular , why ?


Because whether it is intended or not ad hominem ( and its relatives ) disrupt threads and discussions and are in fact the opposite of good reason .

So , many simply reply to ad hominem with - no ad hominem and NOTHING else to not waste time and energy and keep conversations and threads from being disrupted .

it is not personal - it is just good logic.

Now , I am going to go into ad hominem ITSELF a little so anyone who does not know will know what it is and can make an informed decision whether or not to use it.

Also form the Nikzor project :[h=Description of Ad Hominem]4[/h] Translated from Latin to English, "Ad Hominem" means "against the man" or "against the person."
An Ad Hominem is a general category of fallacies in which a claim or argument is rejected on the basis of some irrelevant fact about the author of or the person presenting the claim or argument. Typically, this fallacy involves two steps. First, an attack against the character of person making the claim, her circumstances, or her actions is made (or the character, circumstances, or actions of the person reporting the claim). Second, this attack is taken to be evidence against the claim or argument the person in question is making (or presenting). This type of "argument" has the following form:

  1. Person A makes claim X.
  2. Person B makes an attack on person A.
  3. Therefore A's claim is false.

The reason why an Ad Hominem (of any kind) is a fallacy is that the character, circumstances, or actions of a person do not (in most cases) have a bearing on the truth or falsity of the claim being made (or the quality of the argument being made).
[h=Example of Ad Hominem]4[/h]
  1. Bill: "I believe that abortion is morally wrong."
    Dave: "Of course you would say that, you're a priest."
    Bill: "What about the arguments I gave to support my position?"
    Dave: "Those don't count. Like I said, you're a priest, so you have to say that abortion is wrong. Further, you are just a lackey to the Pope, so I can't believe what you say." End quote.

So , to stop thread disruption ( intentional or not ) I won't be taking up comments that include ad hominem or its variants .

If I see a lot of ad hominem from the same person I will just use add to ignore as I want to talk to others in a ...logical fashion if possible .



Now I want to address the function and effect of the ad hominem implant in Scientology.

It is a series of commands that include the attack the attacker and critics always have hidden crimes and society should remove quietly and without sorrow and a majority of society's ills are caused by and SPs are fighting a battle long over and hypercritical people are covertly hostile and...you get the idea I may do a more full write up at another time .


The point is thousands of commands are expressly in the doctrine to stop thought , specifically consideration of critical information and also to channel negative emotions externally by cult members ( without their knowledge ) to critics and scapegoats.

This serves a totalist ( controlloing every aspect of thought , emotion and behavior in an undue influence relationship of absolute hypnotic dominance ) group in a special way .

Totalist groups always follow a simple pattern with certain problems .

They DEMAND total submission and promise perfection of self and group in return for absolute unquestioning obedience and slavery .

Okay , now they get compliance from some but immediately have a set of problems : they - like Scientology - have no workable technology to deliver on the false promises and counterfeit dreams and MUST stop critical and independent thought by members - or lose them AND must stop criticism from getting in from outsiders AND hide that the technology only produces bad results and no results !


So , what is a poor cult leader to do ? Hub saw what earlier cults ( like OTO and the Nazi inner circle ) did and followed their example from day one but - in my opinion- had a better understanding of confusion and hypnosis than most and so knew to use a dirty trick BETTER than his forerunners.

He repeatedly planted the seeds to make his slaves AUTOMATICALLY unthinkingly reject ALL criticism of him and his tech and to attack with extreme prejudice blindly ALL critics and scapegoats .

So the slaves shift their minds from wanting gains ( that can NEVER be except as temporary hypnotic euphoric delusions that fade ) to attacking and hating " others " that actually CAN be ruined utterly !

See , this implant does SO many jobs at once - it stops and channels thought , emotion and behavior of victims and hides crimes and failurs of the cult !

It is a great bait and switch to make people who came for improvement and to help others into slaves who unthinkingly CANNOT examine critical info and attack critics and stop trying to be good and are turned into terrified , confused agents of intolerance !

Needless to say the level of reason they use is quite poor regarding the implanted topics. They just turn to authority for direction and lessening of cognitive dissonance - whether Hub or DM matters little - they are slaves either way .

Actually habitually acting this way PRESERVES the dissonance but is turned to to lessen it - ineffectively !

Hub made it to be a self strengthening mental trap that grows over time .




Even out of Scientology I have discovered ad hominem and its cousin or twin really prejudice to be TERRIBLE for reason and critical and independent thought on topics and people .


In the US billions are seen by millions with longstanding prejudices that make them absolutely idiotic and certainly far from rational when looking at many issues.

Many do not EVER look at income declines or the immense growth of the ultra rich AT ALL as they just see minorities and others as the beginning and end of what they need to know about the external source of ALL their and the country's problems !

I am not pretending everyone should have MY political views but many have NO ability or understanding of how to examine issues outside the " the country's going to hell thanks to them damned ..." .

I see ad hominem and prejudice as narrowing the mind and narrowing the attention to ONLY see certain things as evil and to project one's OWN fears and uncertainties and inadequacies onto - to AVOID facing confusion and dissonance over complex and difficult issues.

It can FEEL stable to " know " you and your kind , race , gender , country etc. are automatically right or superioir - just a couple problems here .

It is in my opinion ALWAYS wrong to assume greater importance and rightness and worth AUTOMATICALLY when dealing with others - whether as an individual or group .

It shuts down reason and ends learning and good thinking .

I think THIS is a practical reason to avoid disdain ( hate based on feelings of superiority ) as it makes the person who hates this way WRONG ( how can you really be superior to another ? ) AND close minded and to use diminished capacity in thinking hurting their OWN MIND !

Look I will not preach love everybody and we will have rainbows and unicorns - cause not everyone will love you and you will get fucked over if you blindly trust and act as a doormat .

But I can say try to diminish hate and not make it permanent - because hate and its companions prejudice, close mindedness , projection and ad hominem make YOU fucking sloppy in YOUR thinking and frankly none of us benefit from sloppy thinking .