Tone scale

From Freepedia

The tone scale in Scientology is a characterization of human mood and behaviour by various positions on a scale from +40 to -40. For example, 40 on the tone scale (often described as Tone 40) corresponds to "Serenity of Beingness" while -40 corresponds to "Total Failure".

A person chronically focused on death and destruction is at the low end of the tone scale, while a person focused on creativity is at the high end of the scale. Negative tones are said by Scientology to be dangerous, as the emotions or moods in the negative range theoretically impair the person's interactions with the world around them.

The "Tone Scale" was devised by Hubbard in 1951 as a tool for auditors. It classifies people in a range or scale according to how alive and how dead a person is, both personally and in their relationships to others. It prescribes the correct auditing procedures to use with a person depending where they are on the scale.

Details of the scale

The basic mechanism of the scale involves a person as they approach and react to Pain. As a person approaches pain, they become more antagonistic and less cheerful. After receiving pain, they will be upset (angry about it), and then can become more overwhelmed by it, thus progressing down through fear, grief, apathy, into failure, etc. Through auditing, this path is reversed. Scientologists aim to be at the higher levels of the tone scale and believe that Scientology auditing will move them to a higher average level of the tone scale.

Importantly, while a person can rationally be anyplace on the tone scale due to circumstances, one should not, under normal circumstances, be stuck any particular place on the scale. Also, one can be at various places on the tone scale in different areas of life. For example, being chronically high on onself and chronically down on people or one's partner, or vice versa. This would be an indication of a problem.

The ultimate goal of Scientology is a free being. By definition, a free being can be, and does not have to be any place on the scale. A free being does not have to avoid certain areas of the scale, although one could as a matter of choice or taste.

Beside emotions, Hubbard gives in Science of Survival for each level also other characteristics like health state, sexual activities, dealing with truth, activity level, and also worth to society. These descriptions are very detailed, e.g. persons at tone level 1.5 (chronic anger) are said to be prone to arthritis, people at tone level 1.1 (covert hostility) are said to be inclined to sexual perversity and homosexuality. People stuck at 2.0 (chronic antagonism) or lower on the tone scale have, according to Hubbard, a negative value for society and are described as sociopaths; furthermore, these people are said to be dangerous as the emotions or moods in the negative range theoretically impair the person's interactions with the world around them. Hubbard tells clearly how they should be dealt with in his opinion: "…any person from 2.0 down on the tone scale should not have, in any thinking society, any civil rights of any kind" (Science of Survival, p. 131) and "There are only two answers for the handling of people from 2.0 down on the tone scale, neither of which has anything to do with reasoning with them or listening to their justification of their acts. [...] The other is to dispose of them quietly and without sorrow. Adders are safe bedmates compared to people on the lower bands of the tone scale." (Science of Survival, p. 157)

The original range went from 0 to 4, in four bands of behavior. Further developments expanded the range from -40 to +40 for a thetan. The ideal spot on the scale is a balance of action and thought called 'games', where one is fully involved in the game of life (Fundamentals of Thought). It is also believed by some that a tone level of 40 gives the practicing Scientologist the ability to influence others and perhaps even inanimate objects through force of will.

The tone scale is used by Scientologists to evaluate and to describe people. Someone high on the tone scale is called "uptone", someone low on the tone scale is called "downtone". Scientologists use often the tone scale numbers to indicate a mood: 2.0 means antagonism, 1.1 means covert hostility (e.g. when someone is making snide remarks). 2.0 or lower numbers are not compliments when used in this context. In Scientology, when someone chronically shows "lower" emotions like anger, fear, grief, or apathy, it is regarded as an indicator of a problem, and possibly a matter of personal ethics.

Typically, the lower a person is on the scale, the more complex their problems are, and the more effort it takes to make even a little positive and real long-term gain for that person. Thus, spotting a person as low on the scale allows one to make a decision regarding how careful or involved one should become in dealing with that person.

Criticism

Critics of Scientology see the following points regarding tone scale as problematic:

The tone scale is said to be too simplistic and arbitrary to evaluate people.
As sympathy (more exactly, a chronic demand for sympathy) is defined at a low point on the tone scale, critics say the result is that Scientologists are conditioned to show no sympathy to anyone.
Denying rights to people considered to be lower on the tone scale is an arbitrary violation of human rights.

Scientologists respond by stating that the tone scale's primary use is as a tool to assist the Scientologist in helping others apply the techniques of the Church; not all their interactions with their fellow man are based on evaluations from the scale.