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| {{otheruses4|the concept of the engram in Dianetics and Scientology|the concept of the engram in mainstream neuropsychology|Engram (neuropsychology)}} | |||
| In ], the secular predecessor of ], an '''engram''' is defined as a painful memory containing unconsciousness stored in the stimulus-response unconscious (the ]). This use of the term was coined by author ] in his writings on the subject, although the term had previously been used prior to the inception of Dianetics and continues to be used in other contexts. | In ], the secular predecessor of ], an '''engram''' is defined as a painful memory containing unconsciousness stored in the stimulus-response unconscious (the ]). This use of the term was coined by author ] in his writings on the subject, although the term had previously been used prior to the inception of Dianetics and continues to be used in other contexts. | ||
Revision as of 17:00, 24 February 2006
This article is about the concept of the engram in Dianetics and Scientology. For the concept of the engram in mainstream neuropsychology, see Engram (neuropsychology).In Dianetics, the secular predecessor of Scientology, an engram is defined as a painful memory containing unconsciousness stored in the stimulus-response unconscious (the reactive mind). This use of the term was coined by author L. Ron Hubbard in his writings on the subject, although the term had previously been used prior to the inception of Dianetics and continues to be used in other contexts.
Principle of the engram
Engrams are said to contain all sensory perceptions, but are not directly available to the conscious mind, which is termed the analytical mind; engrams are considered to be formed when the analytical mind is not fully functional, in moments of physical pain and painful emotion. Dianetics holds the engram to be the single source of all psychosomatic illness and aberrations of the human mind via the literal content of these engrams being imposed on to the analytical mind when similar sensory perceptions unconsciously recall the engram; this process is referred to as "keying-in the engram". As a consequence these memories are ascribed by Dianetics to cause stimulus-response behaviour to occur unconsciously in an individual, which may be pro-survival or contra-survival depending on the content of the engram (Hubbard, 1958, pp.59) - indeed, 70% of all health ailments are attributed by Hubbard to the harmful effects of engrams (Hubbard, 1958, pp.5).
Pseudoscientific use of the term engram
Engrams are a central concept in L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics which is a practice and trademark of the Church of Scientology. Dianetics defines an engram as "a moment of unconsciousness containing physical pain or painful emotion." Engrams are said to contain all of the perception and experience of any memory but are not so available to an individual's consciousness because they are overlaid with some kind of pain. A goal of Dianetics is to convert engrams into consciously available memory.
The pseudoscientific use of the engram concept within Dianetics has given rise to many other pseudoscientific subjects such as NLP (Derks and Hollander 1998;Derks and Goldblatt 1985;Sinclair 1992;Drenth 2003) and EST, which also use the term erroneously in relation to the subconscious, extraordinary claims, past lives therapy, and unlimited human potential.
References
- Derks and Hollander (1998) Systemic Voodoo ISBN 1907388896
- Derks, L. & Goldblatt, R.,(1985) The Feedforward Conception of Consciousness: A Bridge between Therapeutic Practice and Experimental Psychology The William James Foundation, Amsterdam.
- Drenth, J.D. (2003) Growing anti-intellectualism in Europe; a menace to science Studia Psychologica, 2003, 45, 5-13
- Hubbard, L. R. (1958). Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (Rev. ed.) London: The Hubbard Association of Scientologists Limited.
- Sinclair. J. (1992) An ABC of NLP Publisher: ASPEN ISBN 0951366017
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