Of animal magnetism, thus characterized, may be communicated to otherĪnimate or inanimate bodies. Which environ it, manifests its analogy with the magnet, and this hasĭecided me to adopt the term of animal magnetism Influence of heavenly bodies, and of the reciprocal action of those This property of the human body which renders it susceptible of the.Opposite poles are likewise to be distinguished, and these may beĬommunicated, changed, destroyed, and reinforced. The magnet, particularly in the human body, in which diverse and Properties are displayed, analogous to those of.The animal body experiences the alternative effects of this agent,Īnd is directly affected by its insinuation into the substance of the.The properties of matter and of organic substance depend on this.The exercise of active relations takes place between the heavenlyīodies, the earth, and its constituent parts. It is by this action, the most universal which occurs in nature, that.Less compound, according to the nature of the causes which determine it. This reflux is more or less general, more or less special, more or.Alternative effects result from this action, which may be considered.This reciprocal action is subject to mechanical laws, with which we.Propagating, and communicating all motor disturbances, is the means of Vacuum, incomparably subtle, and naturally susceptible of receiving, A fluid universally diffused, so continuous as not to admit of a.A responsive influence exists between the heavenly bodies, the earth,.Physicians are the depositaries of the confidence of the public in regard to everything which concerns the preservation of health, and the happiness of man.įranz Anton Mesmer (Quoted in Hypnotism and its Doctors)īy the expression Animal Magnetism I mean one of the universal operations of Nature, the action of which, when directed on our nerves, offers a universal means of curing and preserving man.’įranz Anton Mesmer (Written in 1781, Quoted in Hypnotism and its Doctors) Propositions Concerning Animal Magnetism (1779) New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.A responsive influence exists between the heavenly bodies, the earth, and animated bodies.įranz Anton Mesmer (Propositions Concerning Animal Magnetism, 1779) Psychoanalysis and clinical psychology: Mesmerism and hypnosis. From Séance to Science: A History of the Profession of Psychology in America (pp.21-24). The beginnings of psychological practice: Psychology’s other occult doubles. It was an ambitious attempt to combine religion with psychotherapy, and it spawned ideologies such as mind cure philosophy, the New Thought movement, Christian Science and American spiritualism.”īenjamin, L.T., & Baker, D.B. “In certain ways, mesmerism was the first secular psychotherapy in America, a way of ministering psychologically to the great America unchurched. Psychologist Philip Cushman writes (as cited in Benjamin & Baker, 2004): It actually paved the way for hypnosis and something even bigger. Mesmerism wasn’t just a blip in psychology’s history. “Toward the end of the 19th century they began to promote lectures and courses in ‘personal magnetism’ that promised a pleasing personality the cultivation of success how to succeed in love, courtship and marriage how to prevent disease how to build character and how to become a great power in the world.” They also said that patients’ improvements came not from Mesmer’s magnetism but from their desire to get better.Īfter the findings, Mesmer left Paris but continued practicing until his death in 1815. (Benjamin Franklin served as president, and curiously, Joseph Guillotin was a member.) They not only denounced Mesmer’s therapy as ineffective, they condemned the idea of magnetic forces. So the king appointed a commission to look into Mesmer and his treatment. As Mesmer prompted his patients into a trance, many would swoon and make noise, which of course influenced others in the group.Īgain, another medical community became skeptical and viewed Mesmer as nothing more than a quack promoting fraudulent treatments. It was all very ceremonious and dramatic. During these group sessions, which were held at his fancy clinic in an expensive Parisian neighborhood, patients would hold hands, as Mesmer passed by them, usually wearing a flowing robe. There, Mesmer became a hit, so much so that he started doing group sessions to fit everyone in. So Mesmer left for greener pastures: Paris.
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