The first law of Dianetics is a statement of the Dynamic Principle of Existence.
THE DYNAMIC PRINCIPLE OF EXISTENCE IS: SURVIVE!
No behavior or activity has been found to exist without this principle. It is not new that life is surviving. It is new that life has as its entire dynamic urge only survival.
Book: Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (May 9, 1950)
Publication: Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (2007 ed., p. i.)