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Encyclopedia > Animal magnetism

Animal magnetism (French: magnétisme animal) is also known eponymously as mesmerism after Franz Mesmer who postulated the existence of a magnetic fluid or ethereal medium as a therapeutic agent. Animal Magnetism is a 1980 album by German heavy metal band Scorpions. ... An eponym is the name of a person, whether real or fictitious, who has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular place, tribe, discovery, or other item. ... Franz Anton Mesmer His Grave Franz Anton Mesmer (May 23, 1734 – March 5, 1815) discovered what he called animal magnetism and others often called mesmerism. ... Hinduism (Tattva) and Buddhism (MahābhÅ«ta) Vayu / Pavan — Air / Wind Agni/Tejas — Fire Akasha — Aether Prithvi / Bhumi — Earth Ap / Jala — Water Chinese (Wu Xing) Japanese (Godai) Earth (地) | Water (æ°´) | Fire (火) | Air / Wind (風) | Void / Sky / Heaven (空) Bön Māori According to ancient and medieval science, Aether (Greek αἰθήρ, aithÄ“r[1...

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"Animal magnetism"

The (conventional) English term animal magnetism translates Mesmer's magnétisme animal. Mesmer chose the word "animal" for its root meaning (from Latin animus = "soul"), specifically to identify his force/power as a quality residing in the bodies of the animate beings (humans and animals). Mesmer chose his term to clearly distinguish his variant of magnetic force from those which were referred to, at that time, as mineral magnetism, cosmic magnetism and planetary magnetisms.


The term's most common usage today is to refer to a person's sexual attractiveness or raw charisma. For other uses, see Charisma (disambiguation). ...


"Mesmerism"

A tendency emerged amongst British magnetizers to call their clinical techniques mesmerism in order to distance themselves from the magnetic-fluid-centered theoretical orientation of animal magnetism.


However, many scientific practioners - such as French physician, anatomist, gynecologist, and pupil of Joseph Philippe François Deleuze (1753-1835), Théodore Léger (1799-1853), who had moved to Texas around 1836 -- found the label "mesmerism" to be "most improper". For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ...


Noting that, by 1846, the term Galvanism had been replaced by electricity, and seemingly unaware that Mesmer himself never used the term mesmerism, Léger argued that: In biology, galvanism is the contraction of a muscle that is stimulated by an electric current. ... Electricity (from New Latin Ä“lectricus, amberlike) is a general term for a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. ...

MESMERISM, of all the names proposed [to replace the term animal magnetism], is decidedly the most improper; for, in the first place, no true science has ever been designated by the name of a man, whatever be the claims he could urge in his favor; and secondly, what are the claims of Mesmer for such an honor? He is not the inventor of the practical part of the science, since we can trace the practice of it through the most remote ages; and in that respect, the part which he introduced has been completely abandoned. He proposed for it a theory which is now [viz., 1846] exploded, and which, on account of his errors, has been fatal to our progress. He never spoke of the phenomena which have rehabilitated our cause among scientific men; and since nothing remains to be attributed to Mesmer, either in the practice and theory, or the discoveries that constitute our science, why should it be called MESMERISM?[1]

Royal Commission

The existence of Mesmer's magnetic fluid was scientifically examined by a French Royal Commission set up by Louis XVI in 1784. The Commission included Majault, Benjamin Franklin, Jean Sylvain Bailly, J. B. Le Roy, Sallin, Jean Darcet, de Borey, Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, Antoine Lavoisier, Poissonnier, Caille, Mauduyt de la Varenne, Andry, and de Jussieu. Louis XVI Louis XVI (August 23, 1754 - January 21, 1793), was King of France and Navarre from 1774 until 1791, and then King of the French in 1791-1792. ... 1784 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most well known Founding Fathers of the United States. ... Jean Sylvain Bailly Jean-Sylvain Bailly (September 15, 1736 – November 12, 1793), French astronomer and orator, was one of the leaders of the early part of the French Revolution. ... Jean Darcet (1725-1801) was a French chemist, director of the porcelain works at Sèvres. ... Portrait of Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (May 28, 1738 – March 26, 1814) proposed on October 10, 1789 the use of a mechanical device to carry out death penalties in France . ... Lavoisier redirects here. ... De Jussieu, the name of a French family which came into prominence towards the close of the sixteenth century, and was known for a century and a half for the botanists it produced. ...


Whilst the Commission agreed that the cures claimed by Mesmer were indeed cures, the commission also concluded there was no evidence of the existence of his magnetic fluid, and that its effects derived from either the imaginations of its subjects or through charlatanry.[2] Look up Charlatan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...


Mesmerism and hypnosis

Abbé Faria, or Abbé (Abbot) José Custódio de Faria, (May 30, 1746 - September 20, 1819), was a colourful Indo-Portuguese monk who was one of the pioneers of the scientific study of hypnotism, following on from the work of Franz Anton Mesmer. Unlike Mesmer, who claimed that hypnosis was mediated by "animal magnetism", Faria understood that it worked purely by the power of suggestion. In the early 19th century, Abbé Faria introduced oriental hypnosis to Paris. Statue of Abbé Faria next to the Old Secretariat in Panaji // Abbé Faria, or Abbé (Abbot) José Custódio de Faria, (May 30, 1746 - September 20, 1819), was a colourful Indo-Portuguese monk who was one of the pioneers of the scientific study of hypnotism, following on from the work...


He was the first to affect a breach in the theory of the "magnetic fluid," to place in relief the importance of suggestion, and to demonstrate the existence of "autosuggestion." ‹ The template below (Mind-body interventions) is being considered for deletion. ...


Mesmerism and hypnosis (as the term is now understood) have nothing in common except their shared historical roots, and the experience of the mesmerized subject is significantly different from that of the hypnotized subject. For the novel by Lucas Hyde, see Hypnosis (novel). ...


Mesmerism and Spiritual Healing Practices

Mesmerism shares with practices such as reiki and qi gong a concept of life force or energy. However, the practical and theoretical positions of such practices are on whole substantially different from those of mesmerism. A Reiki treatment in progress Reiki IPA: ) is a form of spiritual practice,[1] used as a complementary therapy,[2] proposed for the treatment of physical, emotional, and mental diseases. ... Qigong (氣功 - Pinyin: qìgōng, Wade-Giles: chi kung) is an increasingly popular aspect of Chinese medicine. ...


Notes

  1. ^ Léger, 1846, p.14.
  2. ^ The term "animal magnetism" is also occasionally employed in the context of Christian Science to describe unheeded mental influences, malicious or ignorant, resting on its subjects' belief in them.

Christian Science is a religious teaching regarding the efficacy of spiritual healing according to the interpretation of the Bible by Mary Baker Eddy, in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (first published in 1875). ...

References

  • Lèger, T. [sic], Animal Magnetism; or, Psycodunamy, D. Appleton, (New York), 1846 [N.B. author is Théodore Léger (1799—1853)].

See also

Franz Anton Mesmer His Grave Franz Anton Mesmer (May 23, 1734 – March 5, 1815) discovered what he called animal magnetism and others often called mesmerism. ... Dr. James Esdale (1808-1859) is the father of hypno-anesthesia. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
animal: Definition, Synonyms and Much More from Answers.com (3222 words)
Animals generally are limited in their growth and most have the ability to move in their environment at some stage in their life history, whereas plants are usually not restricted in their growth and the majority are stationary.
Animals, in their generation, are wiser than the sons of men; but their wisdom is confined to a few particulars, and lies in a very narrow compass.
Animals with this sort of organization are called metazoans, or eumetazoans when the former is used for animals in general.
Animal magnetism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (443 words)
Animal magnetism (also known eponymously as mesmerism, after Franz Mesmer) is the 18th century term for the ethereal medium postulated by Franz Mesmer as a therapeutic agent.
Its existence was examined by a French royal commission in 1784, and the commission concluded there was no evidence of its existence or efficacy of the animal magnetic fluid, and that its effects derived from either the imaginations of its subjects or charlatanry.
Mesmer chose the word "animal", for its root meaning (from latin animus = "breath") specifically to identify his force/power as a quality that belonged to all creatures with breath; viz., the animate beings: humans and animals.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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