Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1899-05-11
HYPNOTIsM.

HYPNOTISM.
Bypnot,sm-A general word for the pbe-
nomena OF hypnosis, which is a peculiar Sleep
like condition of body and mind brought
on BY prolonged concentration of the attention
upon single object, usually at the suggestion
of second person. Hypnotism is the scientific
word which covers all the facts designated nv
such terms las mesmerism, animal mspne tisn,.
mental suggestion, clairvoyance, mind readinR,
second sight, etc
History-lts modern history datea from the
time of friedrich Anton Mesmer a swiss phy.
stefan. born in 1874. About 1866 he began to
nse mineral magnetism az remedy in his
practice. Soon, however, he promulgated the
doctrine that magnetism WAS property COM
mon to all bodies, that there va. a special
force in the animal parts of man, and that by
it's influence trance state cauld be produced
and disease cured This force was called by
him animal magnetism, and by his disciples
mesmerism. He settled in Paris and for a
| time had great success, making many sensations
al and apparently wonderful cures. In 1854,
however, the government appointed commit
tee of learned men, among whom we're Bepie-
min franklin and Lavoisier, to investigate the
subject. The report was unfavorable, the con-
Guiding words being, Magnetism 10 one fact
more in the history of human errors, and .
great proof of the power of imagine ton y
Soon aftelward Meamer found it expcdicnt to
go to England where he lived for time under an
assumed name. He died in Meersburg in 1915.
In the meanwhile the Marquis de Puysegur
bad investigated somnambulism. and had
eliminated many of the fal 'acies of Mesmer's
doctrine. The whole matter, however. qu ckly
fell into disrepute and became the property of
charlatans until 1912, when James Braid, .
reputable physician Of Manchester, England.
published his work entitled Neurypnnlogy.
BRAID proved that the phenomena do not de-
pend upon any mysterious force transmitted
from the operator. but upon the physical and
psychioal condition of the subject. He thought
that tho eye strain, caused by looking at .
bright object held near the eye, would produce
the condition of hypnotism, term which he
was the first to employ. Notwithstanding his
efforts to put the subject upon a scientific
basis, many metaphysical and quackish doc
trines were put forth Prominent among them
were Grimes's Electro-biology and Reichen-
bach's Geology. In 1860 Liebault, of Nancy.
advocated from scientific point of view its
therapeutic use. and later Oharcot made care
full study of the whole subject
Facts of Hypnotism-1he facts upon which
the current theories Of hypnotism are based
may be summed up under few heads. When
by any cause the attention is held fixed upon
an object say bright button, for sufficient
time without distraction, the subject begins 60
lose consciousness in q progressive way. The
progress in the hypnotic sleep. Riut, ca.S.
lepsy, characterized by rigid fxity of the mus
cles in any position in which the limbs msy be
put bv the experimenter, with great suggesti-
bility on the side of consciousness, and anaes-
thesia in certain areas of the akin and in GER
tain of the special senses; second, lethargy, in
which consciousness seems to disappear entire
ly, the subject oan not be aroused by any sense
stimulation by eye, ear, skin, ETC., and the body
is fiabby and pliable a. in natural sleep; third,
somnambuiam, 30 called from Its analogies to
the ordinary sleep-walking condition to which
phenomena of ordinary mesmeric exhibitions
at which travelling mesmerists control" persons
hefore audiences and make them obey their
commando Willis other scientists properly
deny these distinct stages as such, they may yet
be taken an representing extreme instanc of
the phenomena. and serve ~ points of depar-
tpre for further discussiog.
On the mental side the general characteris-
tics of hypnotic somnambuliam are a. follows:
Q) The impairing of memory In q peculiar
way. In the hypnotic condition all affairs of
the ordinary life arc forgotten; on the other
hand, after waking. tho events OF the hypnotic
condition are forgotten. Further, in any sub
sequent period of hypnosis the events Of the
former similar periods arc remembered. 30
person who is habitually hypnotizsd has two
continuous memories, one fol the events of his
normal life. only when he is normsl; and one
for the events II his hypnotic periods, only
when he ia hvpnntized (a) suggcatibility to o
remarkable degree BY this 10 meant the ten
denoy of the subject to have in reality nny
mental condition which il suggested TO him.
He is subject to suggestions both on the side of
his reoeptivity to Impressions and on the side of
action. He will see hear, remember, believe,
refuse to see, hear, etc., anything with some
doubtful exoeptions) suggested to him by word
or deed, or even BY the slightest and perhaps
unconscious Indications of those about him.
On the side Of conduct his suggestibility 10
equally remarkable. Not only will he act in
harmony with the illusions Of sight, etc sug-
gested to him. but he will carry out, like an
automaton, the actions suggested to him.
These phenomena and those given below are
no longer based on the mere reports of the
"mcsmcrista," but are the recognized property
of legitimate Psychology. Further, pain
pleasure, and the organic accompaniments of
| them can be produced by suggestion. The arm
| may be actually SCARED with lead pencil If
the patient be told that it is red hot IRON A
suggested pain brings the vaso-motor and other
| bodily changes that prove, as similar tests in
other cases prove, that stimulation is impossible
and the phenomena are real. Again, such sug.
gestions may be for q future time, and gel
themselves performed only when a determined
interval has elapsed. Q. are deferred and
| gestions are those which include the command
not to perform them until certain time afte,
the subject has returned to his normal eondi-
ton; such suggestions are-if of reasonably
tri6ing Enthusiastically carried out after.
ward in the normal state, although the person
10 conscious of no reason why he should act In
such way, having no remembrance whatever
that he had received the suggestion wher
hypnotized. Such pont hypnotic performance.