Jun 20, 2007
Information request
I’d be interested if anybody out there has ever head of the following item and had any good skeptical information regarding them. I haven’t yet found any comprehensive source. Anyway here goes
Somebody by the name of R.W. Wetherill put forth a theory on Nature’s Social Laws/Right Action, Richard W. Wetherill has since died but his legacy/name/philosophy lives on through alphapub.com by one E. Marie Bothe.
Richard Wetherill was my grandfather’s brother. He pressured his brothers and sisters and their families to join his “religion” or cut off contact. Most of them chose the latter.
I think the problem that arises in Wetherill’s premise is that the creator endowed us with free will, which even the creator does not interfere with.
If one says to analyze the facts and make a “right” decision, by what standard do we suppose “right” and test against for wrong, as even morality comes down to an opinion, swimming in free-will?
I haven’t spent much time on this lately but this philosophy doesn’t seem to have many adherents and for good reason.
Mike you make a good point here and that is, What is “right”? I mean, this guys philosophy is everyone’s philosophy without any substance. It’s not like when I’m faced with the obvious right answer I still choose the wrong one. The question in a world of “grey” is, What guiding philosophy do you use to determine the best course of action?
There is merit in Wetherill’s idea I think, iff one can determine what nature’s demand or expectation is. For many years the scientific world foretold doom, if the rain forests continued to be depleted. I don’t argue that depletion of a nearly finite resource should be considered wrong just from common sense. However, it wasn’t until we had depleted the resource to less than 2% of it’s global presence that we learned it is not the rain forest which renews our oxygen, but rather the most basic and pervasive natural resource… Molds and Fungus. Still much more has been lost in that resource’s depletion. My point is that we cannot ever fully know what nature’s design, strength and limits are and therefore we cannot impose controls on it we can define as a reliable guide.
I think the right and wrong that draws my greatest attention is if Wetherill abandoned his family for not believing his premise, he himself, did not believe in it, since love, like fungus, is foundational in human development.
I tripped across your thread while researching Wetherill. It looks to me like he was a product of his times, perhaps nice to people, but perhaps gruff and W.A.S.P.Y. and influenced by the likes of the early Positive Mental Attitude crowd; Andrew Carnegie, Napoleon Hill etc. From a psychologists’ point of view his ideas sound like a reframing of the Cognitive/Behavioral school of therapy which asks folks to catch their negative and irrational thoughts, a la Aaron Beck.
However, the language that is used, with the creator talk and the “absolutes” gives it that tinge of religiosity that makes many of us skeptical. Most of the ads for his stuff look as though they are written by one person (Marie Bothe?) who may not understand that this kind of terminology is going to freak people out a little, like door-to-door cultists do. Nevertheless, it is probably like anything in the Self-Help genre, It will work for SOME, depending on how they choose to frame it and what boundaries they set for themselves in investigating the material.
That’s pretty much the conclusion I’ve come to. This is empty self help infused with a sort of new-agey religious-ness. Although I think with a charismatic enough leader this could end up being a cult.
All you need is a list of “right actions” (preferrably divinely revealed). Something I’ll have to add to my To-Do list.
my name is richard wetherill V and i would like to know where jen got her information becuse that is not true in any whay shape or form please reply
Not sure what you want me to reply to, you should ask your cousin(?) what she meant.
Sounds like craziness to me. I saw an add for this guy in the Smithsonian magazine. My BS detector went off so I did some googling. There’s surprisingly little out there. Sounds like a less than successful cult to me. I don’t see falsifiable testable theories. We all know where that leads.
Richard W. Wetherill was most certainly the leader of a now almost defunct cult called “Humanetics”, primarily located in Royersford, Pennsylvania. At it’s heyday in the 70’s it had about 150 members (with some small factions in other parts of the country). His cult principles were based on fuzzy principles of creating a utopian sort of society — right action, non-conflict, no competition, love everyone equally (meaning no special relationships — dating, marriage, sex), no drugs, alcohol. Like any other organized cult, Mr Wetherill positioned himself as a prophet, was not to be questioned, had an inner circle of power people (including E. Marie Bothe) and brainwashed and persecuted his followers. They worked for peanuts, gave him a lot of money, made him very wealthy through an auto parts business (WAI) and were told that individually they were “nothings” and “nobodies” on a regular basis. Overweight people were merciliously persecuted and publicly humiliated and people who fell ill were abandoned as that was a sign that they were sinners. There were only a handful of ethnic minorities and non-Christians in the cult. I know all of this because I was a member for many years. Jen is correct that he abandoned relationships with all of his family members, and for that, they should consider themselves lucky. If you want more information, post and email address and I will get in touch.
This sounds a lot like the Ayn Rand and L. Ron Hubbard personality cults. Intelligent people dominating and abusing less intelligent or weak people in the name of some superior beleif. There is an ad for the “Alpha” publishing business in the latest Astronomy magazine, a place you wouldn’t expect this sort of thing. But then again that’s probably the hook. It will be interesting to see what kind of individual will take the bait, and what behavior it produces.
I found an ad in a popular science magazine - march 2008. the article is just vague enough to draw in someone who is looking for power or hope outside themselves. and thus is willing to hand over a few dollars for it.
I would like to know more of what is going on here.
I’ve been in the company of some of these people.
Do they minipulate? Are they honest or is there a motive for tears shed in a conversation?
My parents and grandparents are loosely involved with this group, or at least were while I was growing up. I remember going to meetings on occasion, visiting friends of the family in Royersford and King of Prussia, PA and often listening to recordings of Mr. Wetherill’s sermons with family members. I have a few pieces of literature as well as what I’ve heard over the years but no solid grasp of the ideology or beliefs. I’d like to fill in the gaps so if anyone has anything they can share, I’d appreciate the information. LadyHeeds@aol.com
When I going through a Popular Science magazine one day I discovered a totally random page. That page was a picture of Richard W. Wetherill and his definition of “Natural Law”.
After reading this one page advertisement I had to pick my chin up off the ground in amazement that someone finally hit the nail on the head! The Natural Law as defined by Mr. Wetherill and the two choices we have, either to conform to the law or not is so right on and makes so much sense that I tore the page from the magazine and eagerly went to my neighbors to make some copies of this Natural Law with intent to give this to as many people as I could! Since then I have done just that. I hold my copy close to me always.
When I was going through a Popular Science magazine one day I discovered a totally random page. That page was a picture of Richard W. Wetherill and his definition of “Natural Law”.
After reading this one page advertisement I had to pick my chin up off the ground in amazement that someone finally hit the nail on the head! The Natural Law as defined by Mr. Wetherill and the two choices we have, either to conform to the law or not is so right on and makes so much sense that I tore the page from the magazine and eagerly went to my neighbors to make some copies of this Natural Law with intent to give this to as many people as I could! Since then I have done just that. I hold my copy close to me always.
Ah, if only we could find the “right” way to live…
BTW - What happend to richard wetherill V? Has he abandoned this blog post?
Looks like it, i haven’t done any follow-up to this though myself
Michelle would you please post Wetherill’s “Natural Law” ?
I’m not “Michelle,” but you can read about Wetherill’s law in his book: Tower of Babel, published in 1952. I believe you can get a copy from Amazon.
you can download tower of babel for free off the net somewhere, i have a copy but dont know where i got it. i thought it looked like it was right on target. i didnt know there was a cult going on or any personal information about mr wetherill. but even if he was a madman that doesnt mean his theory isnt correct. i cannot argue with his definitions. it sounds to me like l ron hubbard made up his cult based on this (i also read dianetics) but with a lot of sinister twists that do not make sense and appear to be purely designed to dupe people. wetherill’s paper, on the other hand, doesnt have any weird stuff in it.
i read this years ago, i am re-reading it now.
You can download his stuff for free at http://www.alphapub.com
Doesn’t seem like a cult to me but my interest level is now up enough to do some research.
Seen the ad in Popular Science for a number of years. I’m…interested in cults I guess you could say, and its kind of strange that there isn’t more information on these chaps. Thanks Skeptigator.
I heard an ad for alphapub on am radio, and looked it up, I downloaded one of his books, how to solve problemas and prevent trouble written in 62. It’s dry, but kind of interesting, it’s very much in concious vs. subconcious thought.
A half-page ad last Friday in the Wall Street Journal(!) sent me to http://www.alphapub.com. All of Wetherill’s books are available there for free download. Never had heard of this guy before. I agree that the ideas sounded ‘positive thinking’ and cognitive/behavioral modification-based.
I spent two years as a newspaper reporter researching and investigating them. I never wrote the story though. Kookie bunch. The anonymous ex-member listed above pretty much nailed it. I interviewed a lot of family members who lost contact with loved ones who were pulled into the group. Wetherill was cut from the L Ron Hubbard cloth. He wrote about management/supervisory factory theories post world war II and believed he could control the world, or at least stop bed wetting.
I read all his books.
RichH you should write the article for salon.com or someone. I’d certainly be interested in reading it.
http://watchdog.net/ein/232324519/humanetics-fellowship
They’re tax exempt oddly enough so there must be a few still around.
Thanks to all the contributors. I just stumbled over the ad in Popular Science of Jan 2010. The ad contains the following sentence:
“Pleople know they must obey nature’s law of gravity, friction, and all the other laws of physics,….”
Well - what would happen if I ever decided to disobey the law of gravity? Would I instantly fly off the earth? People writing this kind of nonsense usually are in some kind of religios community, often of the fundamentalist kind.
However, their website offers the books for free, so it’s hard to imagine how they would make lots of money that way.
Very strange, indeed.
You go, Michelle. I’m with you. I met Richard W. Wetherill as a kid, always found tremendous benefit in the command phrase technique, emotion reducing techniques, as well as personal enrichment as the result of learning how to resolve conflict situations.
If a person has his own proof, it’s like a bell that can’t be unrung.
As far as being browbeaten by Wetherill as someone here described, or following any behavior requirements I don’t completely understand, I prefer to take a mental step back from such things.
If right action gets right results, being taken advantage of or mistreated wouldn’t fit in my personal definition of right action.
When more people begin to realize they can easily solve all their own problems by learning more about how their own minds work, a lot of this skepticism will be replaced with some really powerful examples of practical solutions.I believe the ripple effect has begun and it’s a bell that won’t be unrung.
I also want to say I think this is a great webpage.
I want to point out that most of what’s here is judgments, likes and dislikes. Something about humanetics really does seem to require that a person keep his full attention on the information. People can’t really misuse this information or apply it dishonestly, even unintentionally.
It just won’t work that way.
We’ve learned that sometimes what seems like a description of a situation is actually just expression of distorted logic.
Great Thread!
About 7 years ago I visited this group after having some correspondence with Marie Bothe. I spent a couple days there. They are a very sincere group and have accomplished a lot. Because their approach to things is so different, I think they will always have to deal with the label of ‘cult’, but I do not think it is accurate from what I saw.
I am also sure that since whole families were involved in the organization, it must have been very difficult for kids and family members to be involved without feeling dominated by the personalities involved. That, however, is true about many, many families, organizations and groups that do not have to defend themselves as not being a cult.
I have and have read through most all of Wetherill’s books. They are very interesting and full of useful insights. If not for the seeming claim of ‘absoluteness’ etc, I don’t think anyone would find them controversial and would treat them like any other effort to analyze and explain: helpful in some ways and lacking in others.
Even the issue of Absolute Right is generally misunderstood by people I would suspect. I doubt Wetherill ever claimed some kind of absolute knowledge and I am positive that Ms. Bothe never did in my conversations with her. They are, however, absolutely convinced that there is an absolute truth (set of binding laws for people on planet earth) and that we are better trying to discover and conform to rather than acting as if “I’ll do it my way” is an approach to place one’s faith in.
Some will say that the existence or question of an absolute, overall truth (in the sense of one binding reality, not a set of doctrines) is irrelevant since it can’t be known (similar to the fact that life on earth has a starting point, but since we can’t know what it was for sure, why fight over what it was), and that is a point worth considering. But so is the idea that since there is an absolute truth (natural laws that enforce themselves in our lives), it shouldn’t be openly defied, either. Or at least not without expecting consequence.
Anyhow, I have kind of kept tabs from a distance on the group over the last few years and think this is the most that I have seen them get any public interest. I’m glad to see it.
I should also add that what the anonymous ex-member described certainly does qualify, in my mind, as a cult, and must have caused real harm to some of the people involved.
I would not be the least bit surprised for it to be the case that they once functioned that way. I was commenting on my personal experience with them which all took place after Wetherill’s death. Therefore, it was all minus the influence of his personality.
I will also add that one of my impressions during my visit was that for anyone who is very susceptible to influence by others, it could be pretty easy to feel like a high degree of conformity is expected. However, I would say again, that is true about many, many places that are not cults.
I saw the ad in the Horizon magazine and decieded to check it out (although I was pretty sceptile that it was religious.) (I was really just looking for the AHA! they want money or the AHA - here comes the religious crap) But it never came. I went ahead and started reading the free books that are listed (www.alphapub.com) and am amazed. This is the real deal and all you have to do is read the books to understand that. I have always been sceptical about these types of things but unless you read this stuff and understand what he’s talking about then all you’ll be able to do is offer uneducated comments about it. Do yourself a HUGE favor and read this stuff…the guy has actually figured IT out and they are giving the info away for free because the world needs it. I would have never of thought that I would of ever written such a comment - but there you go. I can’t stress strongly enough - read this stuff - it’s life changing!
Oh yeah…my email address is cal@goseecal.com
I think I’ve got a lot of his stuff down so let me know if you have any questions..
Thx
Cal
When you spend your life searching and living as close to the “absolute right”as you can, you are attempting to be close to the “absolute Truth”. It makes your life much more orderly and decision making easier. In our ignorance, there will always be consequences for the “mistakes”, but way fewer than if you don’t make the effort. It is also called Christianity, and if you are searching for answers, find it yourself, privately, if you are so skeptical of “religion”. It’s a beautiful thing that makes life better and easier and y’all should try it.
I came across this organization in the current issue of Scientific America. I am an America Buddhist (atheist) and the ideas of Mr Wetherill are similar to the Middle Path taught by Siddharta Gautama 2600 years ago. I was skeptical and expecting to find a religious website asking for donations or espousing some crazy miracle ideas. What I found was very rational thought and explanation that just makes sense. It’s simple and it’s honest. No cult. I have read all the essays and will begin to read the free books. I’m more surprised at the many negative comments and “reviews” on this site from those who have not read any of the books. The “honest” approach to a review of Mr Wetherill would have been to confess to having limited or no knowledge of this group. And to those who say he was a terrible man, I usually don’t rely much on second and third hand gossip. I will read the books and make an assessment myself. I am not intimidated by new approaches to life’s situations, and I’ve lived and learned enough to understand that we shouldn’t dismiss an entire work because we disagree with a few of the hundreds of ideas. If we lived our lives with this much skepticism we wouldn’t learn very much. Also, I think it’s important to note, I have seen too often atheists who fear their beliefs may be compromised if they open their minds a little too much. Sort of reminds me of religious fanatics who also fear outside information for the same reasons. Let’s be fair, we can all learn something.
It was funny, I was more or less going to say something along the lines of Mac, Weatherill’s info certainly sounds similar (although no where as deep) to Buddism. Truth spans time no doubt and it always could use a little repackaging, maybe?
The alphapub website showed up today as a Google ad on Discover.com, next to Phil Plait’s excellent blog Bad Astronomy.
I worked at Wetherill for 14 years. Great people, great ethics and great place to work. Believe what you want, speculate what you want but the truth is they are good people.
Thanx for the comment Carol but you clearly are a master at reading because I’ve reread my request for information and fail to find any beliefs, conclusions or even speculation.
On the intertubes there is a term for your kind of comment and it’s called FAIL
I’m sorry. I enjoyed reading your blog. Perhaps I should not have commented. I really wasn’t well versed on what was appropriate.
I have read all of Wetherills’ books and essays and find them to have not only a close relationship to Buddism, but also the teachings of Castenada. Castenadas’ practice of recapitulation mirrors what Wetherill describes as the elimination of command phrases. We can all use a little less “mind junk” formed in our past to create for ourselves a better future. Take what good you can find in any of these things and use it to create for yourself a better way of life, then just disregard the rest. Remember what Socrates said about an unexamined life!
Wetherill’s books are a very basic introduction to the “religion” of Humanetics. Taken by themselves, the books have some helpful techniques for clearing your mind of negativity, and helping you to “do what is right”.
I was a “member” of the Humanetics group for about a year in the mid 90’s, and in my humble opinion, it was the epitome of a religious cult. They claimed to be Christian, but did not want the members to read the Bible as they said it will throw them off track. They put the founder, Richard Wetherill (already deceased), way up on a pedestal, and came just shy of worshiping him. We would listen to tapes of his “sermons” or lessons, and in those tapes, Wetherill would scold them for putting him too high… But they kept doing it anyway. I don’t think Wetherill wanted it to become a cult, but it did nonetheless. Marie Bothe was the leader when I was there.
As with all cults, they have something that is helpful, and correct. Otherwise, what would be the draw? I stayed as long as I did because my mind said that everything they were teaching was correct, but my gut kept bugging me that something was wrong.
As a group, they were very much into eliminating anything that was messy. They did not like what they called “wrong relationships”. The books did not say this, but exclusive relationships of any kind were discouraged. Children were considered highly burdensome and the one couple that had young children did not fit their dynamic. As far as I know the married couples in the group were all married before joining, as the type of relationships that lead to marriage were discouraged. Membership in the group and attendance to their meetings was by invitation only.
They do not need to make any money on the Humanetics Literature because they have a very efficient and successful business in WAI. The management of the company was exclusively by Humanetics members, and since their whole life consisted of working at WAI and going to meetings, they were very productive. An outside, or personal life was discouraged. Marie Bothe was the president of WAI as well.. at least at the time.
WAI’s business ethics were immaculate, and they seemed to gauge their success as a religious group on the success of the business. One of their tenants is to never take offense or give offense, but I think they would be somewhat offended at being called a religious group, or a cult. I also think they would be offended at being called “not Christian”.
As a group they are quite secretive. Occasionally, I have tried to track them via the internet with little success. It’s interesting to find this blog.
Like I said, the books have some helpful information and techniques, but anything taken to the extreme, can easily become something unintended, and undesirable. I do believe in absolutes, but I don’t think that the Humanetics books are absolutely correct or incorrect… Just one man’s attempt at finding some solutions to business management taken too far.
As with any philosophical or pseudo-philosophical writing, you can read into it and get out of it whatever you want. I’ve read all of of Wetherill’s writing because I was intrigued to find one salient piece of information. This is what I found: Wetherill was a bland man with bland thoughts who wrote blandly. To compare him to Gautama is like comparing otameal to mango. Wetherill invented a persona and and an image of that persona to follow. The best he ever contributed to the literature of ideas was this blog!
And my typos attest to my conclusion!
He must have done something right to get so many people to follow him. EX-MEMBER were these people educated?
As an anthropologist, I might remind some of the bloggers herein that a cult is usually defined as a breakaway from a larger body of ideology around the teaching and influence of a charismatic leader. From going through these posting, it’s clear that Mr. Wetherill was the founder of a cult along the lines of Ayn Rand and L. Ron Hubbard. As to those who ask, “Why do so many people buy into this?” The answer’s simple: we humans are pattern-seeking animals who loved to loved and taken care of and who are always looking for someone to give us the golden solution to everything.
I’m just curiosified by the fact there’s so damn little out there on this guy.
No they were not educated. They just did what they were told.
I was rereading a months-old copy of SA and saw the Wetherill ad again, and had the same WTF moment I had the first time I read it. It has the feel ot someone attempting to apply scientific logic to religious belief. So I opened my Droid and am laying in bed on a Sunday morning checking out what this is all about, and stumbled upon this thread, which is apparently the most comprehensive independent source of info on this character and his work, even if much is speculation. The disconnect between ad placement and available data is ironic, to say the least.
This is a fascinating discussion and I have enjoyed many of the comments. I do have a couple of questions based on the contributions of others.
First, regarding the criticism that many comments in this thread are judgmental and judgment is wrong: How can you begin to determine right from wrong without judgment, or are Wetherill and his principles exempt from their own rules?
And, with respect to the observations that the Wetherill’s people aren’t asking for money, isn’t control of another’s thoughts at least as powerful as control of another’s money? If you have one, doesn’t the other follow, anyway?
Great thread.
Many of the comments in here