Reference: Hubbard 1950: Dianetics TMSMH
These are some comments on Book One, Chapter 4, “The Four Dynamics” from DIANETICS: THE MODERN SCIENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH.
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Comments on
The Four Dynamics
KEY WORDS: Dynamic, The dynamics
Man’s behavior can be explained fully only in terms of his brotherhood with the Universe. Man is the result of the evolution of the universe, and now he is acting as a catalyst to further evolution. Man’s behavior cannot be explained by focusing just on self, sex, group or even mankind.
Hubbard asks, “Exactly for what is man surviving?” He then comes up with four dynamics [NOTE: Hubbard’s earlier writing on these Dynamics appears at The Dynamics. DYNAMIC = “innate impulse or urge”. SYMBIOTE = “any or all life or energy forms which are mutually dependent for survival.”]
“DYNAMIC ONE is the urge toward ultimate survival on the part of the individual and for himself. It includes his immediate symbiotes, the extension of culture for his own benefit, and name immortality.
“DYNAMIC TWO is the urge of the individual toward ultimate survival via the sex act, the creation of and the rearing of children. It includes their symbiotes, the extension of culture for them, and their future provision.
“DYNAMIC THREE is the urge of the individual toward ultimate survival for the group. It includes the symbiotes of the group and the extension of its culture.
“DYNAMIC FOUR includes the urge of the individual toward ultimate survival for all Mankind. It includes the symbiotes of Mankind and the extension of its culture.”
As explained in the previous chapter, this “ultimate survival” is not immortality but attainment of a STATIC viewpoint from which further evolution of the universe may be catalyzed.
Attainment of STATIC viewpoint requires Man to expand his viewpoint from self to families, to groups, to species, and to all mutually dependent entities.
As a person grows up, his viewpoint naturally expands from dynamic one to dynamic two, three and four. A higher dynamic is naturally inclusive of the lower dynamics. Any exception would only mean fixation on a dynamic to the exclusion of other dynamics. A fixation would simply amount to the aberration defined as a “narrow viewpoint.” A rational person shall be operating harmoniously on all dynamics.
Any competition among dynamics, if not harmonious, would constitute an anomaly that needs to be resolved. An anomaly, if considered to be something normal, shall be an aberration.
Any solution must resolve the anomaly completely, and that would bring about an optimum scene. The categorization into four dynamics is for the sake of dealing with the complexity of a situation only.
Hubbard says, “The case of a sailor giving his own life to save his ship answers the group dynamic. Such an action is a valid solution to a problem. But it violates the optimum solution because it did not answer for Dynamic One: self.”
Of course, it would be optimum to save oneself while also saving the group, but the safety of the group comes first, and the group must be saved even at the expense of self, depending on its value to mankind.
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