Scientology believes man to be basically good, not evil. It is man’s experiences that have led him to commit evil deeds, not his nature. Often, he mistakenly seeks to solve his problems by considering only his own interests, which then causes trouble for both himself and others. Scientology believes that man advances to the degree he preserves his spiritual integrity and values, and remains honest and decent. Indeed, he deteriorates to the degree he abandons these qualities.

But because man is basically good he is capable of spiritual betterment, and it is the goal of Scientology to bring him to a point where he is capable of sorting out the factors in his own life and solving his own problems. Other efforts to help man have tried to solve his problems for him and in this respect Scientology is different. Scientology believes that an individual placed in a position where he can increase his abilities, where he can confront life better, where he can identify the factors in his life more easily, is also in a position to solve his own problems and so better his own life.

Dianetics constituted L. Ron Hubbard’s first breakthrough, and it was his initial discoveries in this area which led to further researches and the exact isolation of the source of life itself. Man does not have a spirit. He is a spirit. He has a mind and he has a body. Dianetics addresses and handles the effects of the spirit on the body. Dianetics thus helps provide relief from unwanted sensations and emotions, accidents and psychosomatic illnesses (ailments caused or aggravated by mental stress).

The word Scientology is taken from the Latin scio, which means "knowing in the fullest sense of the word," and the Greek word logos, meaning "study of." It literally means "knowing how to know." Scientology itself is defined as "The study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself, universes and other life."

Scientology addresses the spiritual being. It directly raises his awareness and ability, and by so doing, he also becomes increasingly able to overcome the negative factors that impair him.

In over half a century of investigation, Mr. Hubbard isolated many, many fundamental truths about life, leading to his development of Scientology and the subsequent growth of the Scientology religion.

Life has tended to force the individual into certain values. The stresses of existence have tended to fixate his attention to a point where his awareness of himself and his environment has been greatly diminished. Attendant to this lowered spiritual awareness are problems, difficulties with others, illness and unhappiness. The goal of Scientology is to reverse this diminishing awareness and, in that sense, wake the individual up. As one becomes more and more alert, his abilities increase and he is capable of greater understanding and thus better able to handle his life.