Est Playing the Game

Infobox Book
name = Est Playing the Game
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Book cover
author = Carl Frederick
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = USA
language = English
series =
subject = Erhard Seminars Training
genre = Non-fiction
publisher = Delacorte Press
release_date = 1974
March 24, 2003 (recent ed.)
english_release_date =
media_type =
pages = 228
isbn = ISBN 9998136474
ISBN 978-9998136472
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Est Playing the Game: The New Way" is a non-fiction book by Carl Frederick. The book describes the methodology behind Werner Erhard's Erhard Seminars Training. Originally published in paperback and hardcover formats in 1974 by Delacorte Press, it was republished in paperback in 1976. An updated edition was published in hardcover format in 2003. Werner Erhard sued in Federal Court in the United States to stop the book from publication, but the suit failed [cite book
last = Frederick
first = Carl
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Est Playing the Game: The New Way
publisher = Synergy International of the Americas, Ltd
date = March 24, 2003
location =
pages =
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 9998136474 , ISBN 978-9998136472 ] .

Cited by other works

Biersdorf cited the book in the journal "Pastoral Psychology"cite journal
last = Biersdorf
first = John E.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = "Est" one more time
journal = Pastoral Psychology
volume = 26
issue = 1
pages = 58–63
publisher =
date = September 1977
url =
doi = 10.1007/BF01761196
id =
accessdate = ] , after attending an Erhard Seminars Training seminar and analyzing it from a psychological perspective, as well as putting it into the context of the human potential movement. Clayton Vitz cited the book in "Psychology As Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship", while attempting to analyze the est experience and the way that the trainers emulated Erhardcite book
last = Clayton Vitz
first = Paul
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Psychology As Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship
publisher = Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
date = 1994
location =
pages = Pp. 26-27.
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 0802807259
"Seminar leaders were trained to resemble as closely as possible both the teaching and personality of Werner Erhard. The main goal of the training was to get the participants to "transform their ability to experience living." The key word is "experience", since the main thrust is not on new ways to believe or think but on new ways to experience."] .

Canadian philosopher and bioethicist Donald DeMarco referenced the work in "The Many Faces of Virtue", discussing "..forms of psychology that encourage people to worship themselves." [cite book
last = DeMarco
first = Donald
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = The Many Faces of Virtue
publisher = Emmaus Road Publishing
date = August 2000
location =
pages = 199
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 0966322398 , ISBN 978-0966322392
"It is not entirely unusual for certain forms of psychology to encourage people to worship themselves. "You" are the Supreme being," Carl Frederick tells his readers in "est: Playing the Game the New Way."] Henry cited the same quote that DeMarco used, in the book "God, Revelation and Authority: Volume IV"cite book
last = Henry
first = Carl F. H.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = God, Revelation and Authority: Volume IV
publisher = Crossway Books
date = 1999
location =
pages = 517
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 1581340443
Carl Frederick, expounding the view promoted by the self-assertion cult est, puts it succinctly: “You are the Supreme being”] . Henry criticizes Frederick for "..expounding the view promoted by the self-assertion cult est.." Henry cites "Est Playing the Game" again in Volume V of the "God, Revelation and Authority" series [cite book
last = Henry
first = Carl F. H.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = God, Revelation and Authority: Volume V
publisher = Crossway Books
date =
location =
pages = 75
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 1581340451Summarizing the philosophy of the recent self-assertion and self-deification cults, Carl Frederick writes: "You" are the Supreme being... You are IT. Choose... Choose to BE what you know you are" ("est: Playing the Game the New Way", pp. 168 ff.).] .

The book is also cited in Rosen's "Psychobabble" [cite book
last = Rosen
first = Richard Dean
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Psychobabble
publisher = Harpercollins
date = 1979
location =
pages = 248
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 0380422913] , Starker's "Oracle at the Supermarket" [cite book
last = Starker
first = Stephen
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Oracle at the Supermarket: The American Preoccupation with Self-help Books
publisher = Transaction Publishers
date = 1988
location =
pages = 191
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 0765809648 ] , and Masserman's "Current Psychiatric Therapies" [cite book
last = Masserman
first = Jules Hymen
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Current Psychiatric Therapies
publisher = Grune & Stratton
date = 1977
location =
pages = 112
url =
doi =
id = ] .

References

See also