Overview

Mesmerism, named after its chief theoretician and practitioner, Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), also known as Animal Magnetism, was one of the most popular medical theories of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Today mesmerism is considered a form of medical quackery, but it is also seen as a precursor to the use of hypnosis in treating psychological disorders. In its time, however, mesmerism gained popularity because of the theories it put forth on the functioning of the body and the soul.

Background

In the eighteenth century medical practice was still attempting to differentiate itself from religious healing practices such as exorcism. In order to do so, medical practice needed to show that the object of its concern was different from that of religious practice by demonstrating, for example, that disease was the result of malfunctions within...