he first principle of my own philosophy," wrote L. Ron Hubbard, "is that wisdom is meant for anyone who wishes to reach for it. It is the servant of commoner and king alike and should never be regarded with awe."
With this simply worded, revolutionary statement, Ron distinguished his own philosophy from the incomprehensible, esoteric study modern philosophy had become.
Ron also pointed out a fatal flaw inherent in the subject: it had no yardstick to measure the effectiveness of its many theories. No one was asking the vital question -- did a philosophic principle actually improve life?
This then became Ron’s second principle of philosophy: "it must be capable of being applied." Without this, he concluded, any "learning is of little use." Without workability and application to existing conditions, philosophy is simply an exercise in logic, a perpetual search for knowledge, without any meaningful discovery.
For more than half of a century, Ron successfully engaged in an investigation of the fundamentals of life. His unique accomplishment was to actually develop a road for all men to travel, one leading from ignorance to freedom. His goal was not another these, but the discovery and application of workable truths that improved man’s condition.
"Such an adventure," he wrote, "leads one down many highways, through many byroads, into many back alleys of uncertainty, through many strata of life, through many personal vicissitudes, into the teeth of vested interest, across the rim of hell and into the very arms of heaven."
Welcome to Ron The Philosopher: The Quest for Truth. In this issue of the magazine that explores the life and accomplishments of L. Ron Hubbard, we will follow Ron on an extraordinary journey many others have begun, but no one else has been able to complete.
From this journey came Dianetics® -- the first and only workable science of the mind, a science that resolves all the problems of human behavior. And in his continued research and quest for the answers about life, Ron validated man’s basic spiritual nature, discovering a means to help us realize our full spiritual potential. His discoveries are available for all to study in a codified, practical religious philosophy -- Scientology®. A philosophy based on the axioms of life, Scientology has helped millions of people better understand themselves and their fellow men, and improve conditions in this troubled world.
