Magnetizer was nominated for deletion. The discussion was closed on 3 September 2015 with a consensus to merge. Its contents were merged into Animal magnetism. The original page is now a redirect to this page. For the contribution history and old versions of the redirected article, please see its history; for its talk page, see here. |
This article is rated C-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Please can the redirection from "mesmerism" be removed.
Even in the context of the current form of this article here, I can see no sense or rationale at all for the redirection. As an aside there is a worrying tendency in wikipedia to merge and redirect articles. Cross referencing is usually all that is required. Ths article is called Animal Magentism and yet the majority of it is concerned with discussing mesmerism from a negative standpoint. This is absurd.
Secondly there is no poasitive rationale for the redirection. In my case for instance I want to find out about mesmerism and not necessarily about animal magnetism. I first researched Mesmer about 40 years ago and wanted to refresh my memory using wikipedia. Now though, I have had to go to Mesmer's page, which should be about him as a person rather than about his theories, find what external links I can and go there. Even if I do build up my knowledge on the subject there is no longer anywhere on wikipedia where I can contribute this! Surely this defeats the very core aim of it.
Mesmerism may or may not be associated, or even a part of a field under the label Animal Magentism, but these considerations are irrelevant. The only valid reason I can see for redirection/amalgamation is if something does not merit an independent entry. Everything that is written in this article here supports the fact that it does merit a separate entry. I can think of two heavyweight reasons for this. The first is because of the influence of the idea on our thinking about the origins of hypnosis and the controversy that surrounds it. This is acknowledged throught the Animal Magnetism article. Secondly Mesmerism is something that in Wikipedia's own guidelines should have a separate article. Having a separate entry would also remove the need for those sections of this article here that seem to be merely concerned with stating that Mesmerism is not what Animal Magentism is about!
Please allow each reader their own reasons for being interested in Mesmerism and respect the fact that they neither need nor welcome the benign and paternalistc censorhip of wiki in the mergeing.
LookingGlass ( talk) 13:10, 7 August 2009 (UTC)
There is such a thing as animal magnetism beyond what is stated in this Wikipedia. I have experienced it. There is an invisible energy that flows between you and the other person that you are very attracted to and they are attracted to you. The energy is very very strong physical thing that you actually feel emanating from the other person and flowing back to them just like a circuit. You can even determine the person is in the same area even though they are somewhere behind you even if you are not looking at them or if you don't see them. It is an experience that is bordering on the occult in the sense that no one seems to be able to explain it, but before the scientific community writes this off to mere nonsense, they need to do more research. There is something to this. Other experiences similar to this are feeling as one with someone, or an experience I had in practicing Scientology wherein I and the twin I partnered with in a communication course actually felt the energy wave of the thought that I sent to them while communicating to them. The thought had an effect that the exercise was intended to result in.
There is a lot more to this than meets the eye. Just as we can't see electricity or magnetism, there is something going on. Research is needed.
Isn't it funny (and more than a little bit sad) how the community of rational people, in the interest of open-mindedness and in trying to engage, in the most honest manner possible, all the different beliefs and modalities of thought, has let itself get cornered into having to constantly apologise not only for the obvious (and inevitable) incompatibilities between the rational world-view and all the assorted so-called 'alternative' viewpoints, but even for the multiple inconsistencies between different 'tastes' from the lunacy menu? Rational people, in trying to be 'cool' with everyone, have been left in the position of the dorky kid that noone cares about and who has to dodge all manner of bullies, all the while getting pummeled even as those bullies battle each other. I say, fuck the bullies, bring back the Inquisition and drop all these loons into the fire where they belong!
This page doesn't really describe Mesmer's theory in any meaningful way, and is rather light on other details. Suggest either merging with Franz Mesmer or pulling the explanation from that page here and expanding it? Advantage of keeping a separate page is that the phrase Animal Magnetism is in widespread use, but usually *not* referring to Mesmer's theory. This alternate meaning ought to be given more prominence.
Although it seems that, according to 2007 French conventions, this man's family name ought to be written as Léger it clearly appears on the title page of the book Animal Magnetism: Or, Psycodunamy as Lèger.
To complicate matters even further, at various places in the book -- such as the copyright notice on the reverse of the title page -- his name appears as Leger with neither accent grave nor accent acute. His name also appears at other places (e.g., p.395) as Léger.
Therefore, until someone with greater specific knowledge than myself about this solitary individual, and the way that he chose to spell his own family name, can take a definite position on this matter, I have reverted the spelling to match that of the book's title page (Lèger) -- based on the simple assumption that (a) the man himself, having written the book, had certainly received a certain amount of education, (b) the man himself would certainly know how his family had told him to spell his name, and (c) he would most certainly ensure that his name was correct on a title page. Lindsay658 21:55, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
Didn't he use magnets at least in his early therapeutic attempts? That would indicate that he didn't seek to distinguish between animal and mineral magnetism. Maikel ( talk) 10:28, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
The science of mesmerism emerged roughly at the end of the Age of Enlightenment and the very early beginnings of Romanticism. Originally introduced by Franz Anton Mesmer, the emergence of mesmerism during this time significantly influenced British social, political, and cultural thought. This influence is reflected in literature and lectures produced by writers, philosophers, and politicians during this time. The excitement created by this early influence of mesmerism eventually led to a deeper Victorian era fascination with the ideas of mesmerism. Mesmerism also fueled practices such as magnetism and hypnosis.
Mesmerism was introduced and practiced in France before it made its way over the English Channel. The negative reception by the French elite and discrediting of Mesmer by a committee created by the King in France led to a shaky, uncertain reception in Britain. However, its continued practice and development by others such as Marques of Puysegur into hypnotism and somnambulistic states of being [1]caused mesmerism to receive as much criticism as well as popularity in Britain. This mixed reception in Britain can be attributed by the changes and concerns of the time period including the conflict between factual science and mesmerism as a study of pseudo-science and well as the rise of consumerism. [2]
Socially and culturally, mesmerism was first received, popularized and debated among elite, intellectual circles. [3] Ironically, the practice of mesmerism was also often deemed a theatrical falsity or “quackery” by elitists and the upper class. Why mesmerism was given so much attention can probably be attributed to the questions and concerns that it raised. Intellectuals wondered about the implications of mesmerism and how it could impact philosophical, political and social thought. Mesmerism and hypnosis were practices that involved unseen powers but were a popularized by the belief that they worked and were seen to have worked. What made mesmerism such a widely spread topic was because although it was a direct challenge to science and tangible objects, it was also fueled by its relation to the growing science of electricity and magnetism [4].
Politically, mesmerism was used as an explanation for a confusing time frame involving not only a resistance to enlightened thought but also a period fraught with war and conflict, including the French Revolution. The French revolution created a lot of internal political friction in Britain among those who supported the revolution and those who opposed it. James Tilly Matthews was among one of many Britons who strongly believed that mesmerism would be the cause of the government’s eventual downfall. Jailed by the Jacobins in 1793, he was released in 1796 and returned to Britain where he believed Britain had been invaded by “magnetic spies.” These spies included Prime Minister Pitt, who Matthews believed were responsible for mesmerizing the people into passive citizens into puppets [5] [6]. Likewise, political individuals and those in government positions who faced the daunting task of maintaining a stable country in the midst of warfare and political strife, also used mesmerism as an explanation for the behavior of political dissenters and radicals like Matthews. From their point of view, radicals and political dissenters were attempting to mesmerize those around them to become politically disruptive in a state that was trying to respond to all the occurring changes. [7] Mesmerism thus became a politically threatening tool because it was believed that it could be used to bend the will of individuals.
Mesmerism also produced enthusiasm as well as inspired horror in the spiritual and religious context. Though discredited as a credible medical practice, mesmerism nonetheless created a venue for spiritual healing. Some animal magnetists and hypnotists advertised their practices by stressing the “spiritual rather than the physical benefits to be gained from animal magnetism” and were able to gather a good clientele from among the spiritually inspired population. [8] The Marques of Pursegur’s miraculous act of hypnotism in 1784 brought about questions and wonders involving the human soul. The Marques of Pursegur was able to hypnotize a sick young man named Victor and while hypnotized, Victor was said to have been able to speak articulately, and diagnose his own sickness. This “magnetic sleep revealed the potential dwelling in everyone but realized only by a few.” [9]
Mesmerism as a medical practice was popularized among the lower classes precisely because they had access to a form of healing that was not controlled by authorities. Potential sexual exploitation of women by men who performed mesmeric healing also contributed to the criticism. Part of this criticism stem from the fact that mesmerism became so theatre-like. It was also hard to distinguish between doctors who had attended medical school and were fully knowledgeable and those who just bought their degrees. [10]
Within the literary world, mesmerism, animal magnetism, hypnosis and the somnambulistic state were all aspects of the straddle between the reasoned enlightenment age and the romantic era. Mesmerism became a huge impact on many romantic writers, one of the most notable being Samuel Tayler Coleridge. [11] His poems often dealt with topics relating to mesmerism and dreams. A few of these poems include Kubla Khan [12] and Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In the note that comes before the poem Kubla Khan, Coleridge writes about an experience in which he compose hundreds of lines by memory but loses all memory of those lines upon interruption by a visitor. Although there are many disputed explanations including drug use by Coleridge to explain this strange experience; mesmerism, as it was a fascination and a devoted area of study by Coleridge, is arguably a likely explanation of his experience. In the poem the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, mesmerism can arguably be applied to the fate of both the mariner and the wedding guest. The mariner and his fellow sailors become mesmerized after he shoots the albatross. Once saved, the mariner must tell his story to whoever will listen and he is able to get the wedding guest to listen to his story by mesmerizing him. [13] Mesmerism also brought about questions about the horrors of scientific advancement. Mesmer’s animal magnetism and the studies of electric current through which life can be controlled may be contributors to the writing so of Mary Shelley (Frankenstein) and John Keats. [14]
Kibzx ( talk) 00:30, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
Wilhelm II was born in 1859. And as most people will know, he suffered an arm injury during birth which meant that his left arm was "lifeless". It is said that among the many attempts that were made to "correct" this "deficiency" (seen as unacceptable in an heir to the throne) there was a procedure in which the child's arm was sown into the carcass of a freshly-killed rabbit, so that the "spark of life" might jump from the still warm carcass into the "lifeless" arm.
I was wondering if this method could be regarded as a late offshoot of animal magnetism?? Otto von B. ( talk) 22:38, 23 November 2018 (UTC)
There is an inconsistency in regards with the Franz Mesmer article. On the issue of the Royal Investigation, the investigation was not directed to validated or contradict the cures only the existence of the new "fluid"/method, and they found no evidence of that. There was no expressed verification or conclusion if in fact it was or not charlatanry (that we today know it probably wasn't, doesn't alter the fact that this was not verified at the time), it also creates inconstancy with the move out of Paris. -- 79.168.10.241 ( talk) 02:36, 25 November 2010 (UTC)
This page says a lot about what animal magnetism is not but it doesn't talk much about what it is and how it works.
Also, it only talks about Mesmerism work. It would be good to put more modern info about animal magnetism. Mesmer applied animal magnetism in a certain way, but animal magnetism is a broader topic that isn't limited to Mesmer's work. Etiennecharland ( talk) 23:30, 13 March 2011 (UTC)
"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.[3]"
This is not only unsourced, the citation (to a note) is misleading, as it gives the impression it is. If anyone has a citation for this, please add it. JJJJS ( talk) 14:40, 9 March 2011 (UTC)
ETA: I found a translation here: http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/10-09-22/#feature, I'll check out it's suitability and add citations. JJJJS ( talk) 14:46, 9 March 2011 (UTC)
I would propose adding an external link about the spiritual and energy aspect of animal magnetism.
http://www.shamanicattraction.com/what-is-animal-magnetism.aspx
According to the guidelines, this is a link "to be considered": Sites that fail to meet criteria for reliable sources yet still contain information about the subject of the article from knowledgeable sources.
The information provided in that page are much more detailed that what is on the Wikipedia article but may be too controversial to be part of the Wikipedia article itself. The spiritual aspect of animal magnetism would be best covered through an external reference. Mdavid9 ( talk) 02:24, 13 May 2011 (UTC)
I have removed the following dubious claim from the article, pending clarification of the volume number, page number and exact text in Lattanzi to which it is sourced:
The text may prove me wrong, but it strikes me as highly unlikely that Lattanzi would have considered French law since the book is about Italian law. Justlettersandnumbers ( talk) 08:39, 8 July 2013 (UTC)
One of the most interesting (and also intensely criticized) advocates of "higher consciousness (called by various names) was G.I. Gurdjieff (1866(?)-1949). In his trilogy "All and Everything" (First series published 1950) Gurdjieff devotes devotes not insubstantial description of "hypnotism" "animal magnetism" "Mesmer and Mesmerism", Braid, and what he calls "Hanbledzoin"-presumably a neologism describing (approximately) the same category of phenomena, force, (etc.) that Mesmer had described; although Gurdjieff maintains that the knowledge regarding the phenomenon (and the force or substance or (?)) was known to ancient people back to what he calls the "Tikliamishian" era (predating Babylonian era by 'many centuries'. Gurdjieff goes on to explain various aspects of "hanbledzoin" or animal magnetism, ways to induce the "hypnotic state" (as meant by people like Mesmer), although Gurdjieff maintains that 'modern man' lives most of his/her life in a different kind of "hypnotic state" which we presently call our 'waking consciousness', equating this 'waking sleeping state' in many ways with what we call "sleep". That is a somewhat different subject than the "hypnotic state" brought about intentionally by 'animal magnetism' or "Hanbledzoin". It presumes, first of all, that the person administering this kind of hypnosis has developed his/her self to a state of consciousness or "degree of reason" in which the person actually HAS and CAN CONTROL this 'magnetism' and direct its force in relation to others, for curing diseases among other 'paranormal' phenomena. He also maintains that Mesmer, in particular, was someone who had "re-discovered" some of the lost knowledge (of this subject)and was a 'scientist' of a high order. However, as his success in helping people became well known, Gurdjieff maintains that his discoveries and himself were --as it were, "Pecked to death" by men of inferior knowledge surrounding him. This seems to accord with the substance in the main article, wherein Mesmer was discredited in his own time. When reading the works of G. Gurdjieff, one must be very careful, however, since he writes on many levels from the apparently literal, to "allegorical", "parable", "hyperbole", and apparently completely absurd and unbelievable. So a person studying about "hypnotism" in the works of G.Gurdjieff may not find much satisfaction in his specific explanations, nor his writings in their entirety, without years of study and relevant "work on oneself", which subject is out of the realm of this specific subject (Mesmerism) but likely related to it. Mike Beigel ( talk) 18:32, 11 August 2013 (UTC) <G.I.Gurdjieff, "All and Everything, First Series" FIRST EDITION PUBLISHED IN 1950 by E.P.Dutton Inc. (Not the 1992 revised edition, though that edition may say nominally the same or similar things about the subject) Mike Beigel ( talk) 18:32, 11 August 2013 (UTC)
Prior content in this article duplicated one or more previously published sources. The material was copied from: numerous sources including but not limited to http://codeless88.wordpress.com/vodou-possession-and-the-revolutionary-unconscious/, http://www.esalen.org/ctr-archive/animal_magnetism.html, http://books.google.it/books?id=Ke1jd_e7AyYC&pg=PA60, http://books.google.it/books?id=48Lgg5fa78oC&pg=PA261 and http://books.google.it/books?id=yYJNCUyq6FwC&pg=PA166. Copied or closely paraphrased material has been rewritten or removed and must not be restored, unless it is duly released under a compatible license. (For more information, please see "using copyrighted works from others" if you are not the copyright holder of this material, or "donating copyrighted materials" if you are.) For legal reasons, we cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from other web sites or published material; such additions will be deleted. Contributors may use copyrighted publications as a source of information, but not as a source of sentences or phrases. Accordingly, the material may be rewritten, but only if it does not infringe on the copyright of the original or plagiarize from that source. Please see our guideline on non-free text for how to properly implement limited quotations of copyrighted text. Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously, and persistent violators will be blocked from editing. While we appreciate contributions, we must require all contributors to understand and comply with these policies. Thank you. Justlettersandnumbers ( talk) 12:26, 26 January 2014 (UTC)
Is "animal magnetism" a thing or a practice? It is equated with mesmerism, a practice, in the Lead, but in other parts of the article it refers to a phenomenon. The terms are often conflated in the article, it seems to me. This needs sorting out or the reader will be confused. ~ P-123 ( talk) 10:32, 17 October 2015 (UTC)
Most of the inline citations are books and there are very few editors here to verify them and evaluate their reliability. As mentioned in the previous discussions, the article is littered with undue, often times dubious statements all of which happen to link to a book (eg. "Jesus was a magnetizer", stated by a "Researcher" who was in fact just an author). Kate the mochii ( talk) 05:39, 4 July 2023 (UTC)
Magnetizer was nominated for deletion. The discussion was closed on 3 September 2015 with a consensus to merge. Its contents were merged into Animal magnetism. The original page is now a redirect to this page. For the contribution history and old versions of the redirected article, please see its history; for its talk page, see here. |
This article is rated C-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Please can the redirection from "mesmerism" be removed.
Even in the context of the current form of this article here, I can see no sense or rationale at all for the redirection. As an aside there is a worrying tendency in wikipedia to merge and redirect articles. Cross referencing is usually all that is required. Ths article is called Animal Magentism and yet the majority of it is concerned with discussing mesmerism from a negative standpoint. This is absurd.
Secondly there is no poasitive rationale for the redirection. In my case for instance I want to find out about mesmerism and not necessarily about animal magnetism. I first researched Mesmer about 40 years ago and wanted to refresh my memory using wikipedia. Now though, I have had to go to Mesmer's page, which should be about him as a person rather than about his theories, find what external links I can and go there. Even if I do build up my knowledge on the subject there is no longer anywhere on wikipedia where I can contribute this! Surely this defeats the very core aim of it.
Mesmerism may or may not be associated, or even a part of a field under the label Animal Magentism, but these considerations are irrelevant. The only valid reason I can see for redirection/amalgamation is if something does not merit an independent entry. Everything that is written in this article here supports the fact that it does merit a separate entry. I can think of two heavyweight reasons for this. The first is because of the influence of the idea on our thinking about the origins of hypnosis and the controversy that surrounds it. This is acknowledged throught the Animal Magnetism article. Secondly Mesmerism is something that in Wikipedia's own guidelines should have a separate article. Having a separate entry would also remove the need for those sections of this article here that seem to be merely concerned with stating that Mesmerism is not what Animal Magentism is about!
Please allow each reader their own reasons for being interested in Mesmerism and respect the fact that they neither need nor welcome the benign and paternalistc censorhip of wiki in the mergeing.
LookingGlass ( talk) 13:10, 7 August 2009 (UTC)
There is such a thing as animal magnetism beyond what is stated in this Wikipedia. I have experienced it. There is an invisible energy that flows between you and the other person that you are very attracted to and they are attracted to you. The energy is very very strong physical thing that you actually feel emanating from the other person and flowing back to them just like a circuit. You can even determine the person is in the same area even though they are somewhere behind you even if you are not looking at them or if you don't see them. It is an experience that is bordering on the occult in the sense that no one seems to be able to explain it, but before the scientific community writes this off to mere nonsense, they need to do more research. There is something to this. Other experiences similar to this are feeling as one with someone, or an experience I had in practicing Scientology wherein I and the twin I partnered with in a communication course actually felt the energy wave of the thought that I sent to them while communicating to them. The thought had an effect that the exercise was intended to result in.
There is a lot more to this than meets the eye. Just as we can't see electricity or magnetism, there is something going on. Research is needed.
Isn't it funny (and more than a little bit sad) how the community of rational people, in the interest of open-mindedness and in trying to engage, in the most honest manner possible, all the different beliefs and modalities of thought, has let itself get cornered into having to constantly apologise not only for the obvious (and inevitable) incompatibilities between the rational world-view and all the assorted so-called 'alternative' viewpoints, but even for the multiple inconsistencies between different 'tastes' from the lunacy menu? Rational people, in trying to be 'cool' with everyone, have been left in the position of the dorky kid that noone cares about and who has to dodge all manner of bullies, all the while getting pummeled even as those bullies battle each other. I say, fuck the bullies, bring back the Inquisition and drop all these loons into the fire where they belong!
This page doesn't really describe Mesmer's theory in any meaningful way, and is rather light on other details. Suggest either merging with Franz Mesmer or pulling the explanation from that page here and expanding it? Advantage of keeping a separate page is that the phrase Animal Magnetism is in widespread use, but usually *not* referring to Mesmer's theory. This alternate meaning ought to be given more prominence.
Although it seems that, according to 2007 French conventions, this man's family name ought to be written as Léger it clearly appears on the title page of the book Animal Magnetism: Or, Psycodunamy as Lèger.
To complicate matters even further, at various places in the book -- such as the copyright notice on the reverse of the title page -- his name appears as Leger with neither accent grave nor accent acute. His name also appears at other places (e.g., p.395) as Léger.
Therefore, until someone with greater specific knowledge than myself about this solitary individual, and the way that he chose to spell his own family name, can take a definite position on this matter, I have reverted the spelling to match that of the book's title page (Lèger) -- based on the simple assumption that (a) the man himself, having written the book, had certainly received a certain amount of education, (b) the man himself would certainly know how his family had told him to spell his name, and (c) he would most certainly ensure that his name was correct on a title page. Lindsay658 21:55, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
Didn't he use magnets at least in his early therapeutic attempts? That would indicate that he didn't seek to distinguish between animal and mineral magnetism. Maikel ( talk) 10:28, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
The science of mesmerism emerged roughly at the end of the Age of Enlightenment and the very early beginnings of Romanticism. Originally introduced by Franz Anton Mesmer, the emergence of mesmerism during this time significantly influenced British social, political, and cultural thought. This influence is reflected in literature and lectures produced by writers, philosophers, and politicians during this time. The excitement created by this early influence of mesmerism eventually led to a deeper Victorian era fascination with the ideas of mesmerism. Mesmerism also fueled practices such as magnetism and hypnosis.
Mesmerism was introduced and practiced in France before it made its way over the English Channel. The negative reception by the French elite and discrediting of Mesmer by a committee created by the King in France led to a shaky, uncertain reception in Britain. However, its continued practice and development by others such as Marques of Puysegur into hypnotism and somnambulistic states of being [1]caused mesmerism to receive as much criticism as well as popularity in Britain. This mixed reception in Britain can be attributed by the changes and concerns of the time period including the conflict between factual science and mesmerism as a study of pseudo-science and well as the rise of consumerism. [2]
Socially and culturally, mesmerism was first received, popularized and debated among elite, intellectual circles. [3] Ironically, the practice of mesmerism was also often deemed a theatrical falsity or “quackery” by elitists and the upper class. Why mesmerism was given so much attention can probably be attributed to the questions and concerns that it raised. Intellectuals wondered about the implications of mesmerism and how it could impact philosophical, political and social thought. Mesmerism and hypnosis were practices that involved unseen powers but were a popularized by the belief that they worked and were seen to have worked. What made mesmerism such a widely spread topic was because although it was a direct challenge to science and tangible objects, it was also fueled by its relation to the growing science of electricity and magnetism [4].
Politically, mesmerism was used as an explanation for a confusing time frame involving not only a resistance to enlightened thought but also a period fraught with war and conflict, including the French Revolution. The French revolution created a lot of internal political friction in Britain among those who supported the revolution and those who opposed it. James Tilly Matthews was among one of many Britons who strongly believed that mesmerism would be the cause of the government’s eventual downfall. Jailed by the Jacobins in 1793, he was released in 1796 and returned to Britain where he believed Britain had been invaded by “magnetic spies.” These spies included Prime Minister Pitt, who Matthews believed were responsible for mesmerizing the people into passive citizens into puppets [5] [6]. Likewise, political individuals and those in government positions who faced the daunting task of maintaining a stable country in the midst of warfare and political strife, also used mesmerism as an explanation for the behavior of political dissenters and radicals like Matthews. From their point of view, radicals and political dissenters were attempting to mesmerize those around them to become politically disruptive in a state that was trying to respond to all the occurring changes. [7] Mesmerism thus became a politically threatening tool because it was believed that it could be used to bend the will of individuals.
Mesmerism also produced enthusiasm as well as inspired horror in the spiritual and religious context. Though discredited as a credible medical practice, mesmerism nonetheless created a venue for spiritual healing. Some animal magnetists and hypnotists advertised their practices by stressing the “spiritual rather than the physical benefits to be gained from animal magnetism” and were able to gather a good clientele from among the spiritually inspired population. [8] The Marques of Pursegur’s miraculous act of hypnotism in 1784 brought about questions and wonders involving the human soul. The Marques of Pursegur was able to hypnotize a sick young man named Victor and while hypnotized, Victor was said to have been able to speak articulately, and diagnose his own sickness. This “magnetic sleep revealed the potential dwelling in everyone but realized only by a few.” [9]
Mesmerism as a medical practice was popularized among the lower classes precisely because they had access to a form of healing that was not controlled by authorities. Potential sexual exploitation of women by men who performed mesmeric healing also contributed to the criticism. Part of this criticism stem from the fact that mesmerism became so theatre-like. It was also hard to distinguish between doctors who had attended medical school and were fully knowledgeable and those who just bought their degrees. [10]
Within the literary world, mesmerism, animal magnetism, hypnosis and the somnambulistic state were all aspects of the straddle between the reasoned enlightenment age and the romantic era. Mesmerism became a huge impact on many romantic writers, one of the most notable being Samuel Tayler Coleridge. [11] His poems often dealt with topics relating to mesmerism and dreams. A few of these poems include Kubla Khan [12] and Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In the note that comes before the poem Kubla Khan, Coleridge writes about an experience in which he compose hundreds of lines by memory but loses all memory of those lines upon interruption by a visitor. Although there are many disputed explanations including drug use by Coleridge to explain this strange experience; mesmerism, as it was a fascination and a devoted area of study by Coleridge, is arguably a likely explanation of his experience. In the poem the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, mesmerism can arguably be applied to the fate of both the mariner and the wedding guest. The mariner and his fellow sailors become mesmerized after he shoots the albatross. Once saved, the mariner must tell his story to whoever will listen and he is able to get the wedding guest to listen to his story by mesmerizing him. [13] Mesmerism also brought about questions about the horrors of scientific advancement. Mesmer’s animal magnetism and the studies of electric current through which life can be controlled may be contributors to the writing so of Mary Shelley (Frankenstein) and John Keats. [14]
Kibzx ( talk) 00:30, 14 February 2010 (UTC)
Wilhelm II was born in 1859. And as most people will know, he suffered an arm injury during birth which meant that his left arm was "lifeless". It is said that among the many attempts that were made to "correct" this "deficiency" (seen as unacceptable in an heir to the throne) there was a procedure in which the child's arm was sown into the carcass of a freshly-killed rabbit, so that the "spark of life" might jump from the still warm carcass into the "lifeless" arm.
I was wondering if this method could be regarded as a late offshoot of animal magnetism?? Otto von B. ( talk) 22:38, 23 November 2018 (UTC)
There is an inconsistency in regards with the Franz Mesmer article. On the issue of the Royal Investigation, the investigation was not directed to validated or contradict the cures only the existence of the new "fluid"/method, and they found no evidence of that. There was no expressed verification or conclusion if in fact it was or not charlatanry (that we today know it probably wasn't, doesn't alter the fact that this was not verified at the time), it also creates inconstancy with the move out of Paris. -- 79.168.10.241 ( talk) 02:36, 25 November 2010 (UTC)
This page says a lot about what animal magnetism is not but it doesn't talk much about what it is and how it works.
Also, it only talks about Mesmerism work. It would be good to put more modern info about animal magnetism. Mesmer applied animal magnetism in a certain way, but animal magnetism is a broader topic that isn't limited to Mesmer's work. Etiennecharland ( talk) 23:30, 13 March 2011 (UTC)
"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.[3]"
This is not only unsourced, the citation (to a note) is misleading, as it gives the impression it is. If anyone has a citation for this, please add it. JJJJS ( talk) 14:40, 9 March 2011 (UTC)
ETA: I found a translation here: http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/10-09-22/#feature, I'll check out it's suitability and add citations. JJJJS ( talk) 14:46, 9 March 2011 (UTC)
I would propose adding an external link about the spiritual and energy aspect of animal magnetism.
http://www.shamanicattraction.com/what-is-animal-magnetism.aspx
According to the guidelines, this is a link "to be considered": Sites that fail to meet criteria for reliable sources yet still contain information about the subject of the article from knowledgeable sources.
The information provided in that page are much more detailed that what is on the Wikipedia article but may be too controversial to be part of the Wikipedia article itself. The spiritual aspect of animal magnetism would be best covered through an external reference. Mdavid9 ( talk) 02:24, 13 May 2011 (UTC)
I have removed the following dubious claim from the article, pending clarification of the volume number, page number and exact text in Lattanzi to which it is sourced:
The text may prove me wrong, but it strikes me as highly unlikely that Lattanzi would have considered French law since the book is about Italian law. Justlettersandnumbers ( talk) 08:39, 8 July 2013 (UTC)
One of the most interesting (and also intensely criticized) advocates of "higher consciousness (called by various names) was G.I. Gurdjieff (1866(?)-1949). In his trilogy "All and Everything" (First series published 1950) Gurdjieff devotes devotes not insubstantial description of "hypnotism" "animal magnetism" "Mesmer and Mesmerism", Braid, and what he calls "Hanbledzoin"-presumably a neologism describing (approximately) the same category of phenomena, force, (etc.) that Mesmer had described; although Gurdjieff maintains that the knowledge regarding the phenomenon (and the force or substance or (?)) was known to ancient people back to what he calls the "Tikliamishian" era (predating Babylonian era by 'many centuries'. Gurdjieff goes on to explain various aspects of "hanbledzoin" or animal magnetism, ways to induce the "hypnotic state" (as meant by people like Mesmer), although Gurdjieff maintains that 'modern man' lives most of his/her life in a different kind of "hypnotic state" which we presently call our 'waking consciousness', equating this 'waking sleeping state' in many ways with what we call "sleep". That is a somewhat different subject than the "hypnotic state" brought about intentionally by 'animal magnetism' or "Hanbledzoin". It presumes, first of all, that the person administering this kind of hypnosis has developed his/her self to a state of consciousness or "degree of reason" in which the person actually HAS and CAN CONTROL this 'magnetism' and direct its force in relation to others, for curing diseases among other 'paranormal' phenomena. He also maintains that Mesmer, in particular, was someone who had "re-discovered" some of the lost knowledge (of this subject)and was a 'scientist' of a high order. However, as his success in helping people became well known, Gurdjieff maintains that his discoveries and himself were --as it were, "Pecked to death" by men of inferior knowledge surrounding him. This seems to accord with the substance in the main article, wherein Mesmer was discredited in his own time. When reading the works of G. Gurdjieff, one must be very careful, however, since he writes on many levels from the apparently literal, to "allegorical", "parable", "hyperbole", and apparently completely absurd and unbelievable. So a person studying about "hypnotism" in the works of G.Gurdjieff may not find much satisfaction in his specific explanations, nor his writings in their entirety, without years of study and relevant "work on oneself", which subject is out of the realm of this specific subject (Mesmerism) but likely related to it. Mike Beigel ( talk) 18:32, 11 August 2013 (UTC) <G.I.Gurdjieff, "All and Everything, First Series" FIRST EDITION PUBLISHED IN 1950 by E.P.Dutton Inc. (Not the 1992 revised edition, though that edition may say nominally the same or similar things about the subject) Mike Beigel ( talk) 18:32, 11 August 2013 (UTC)
Prior content in this article duplicated one or more previously published sources. The material was copied from: numerous sources including but not limited to http://codeless88.wordpress.com/vodou-possession-and-the-revolutionary-unconscious/, http://www.esalen.org/ctr-archive/animal_magnetism.html, http://books.google.it/books?id=Ke1jd_e7AyYC&pg=PA60, http://books.google.it/books?id=48Lgg5fa78oC&pg=PA261 and http://books.google.it/books?id=yYJNCUyq6FwC&pg=PA166. Copied or closely paraphrased material has been rewritten or removed and must not be restored, unless it is duly released under a compatible license. (For more information, please see "using copyrighted works from others" if you are not the copyright holder of this material, or "donating copyrighted materials" if you are.) For legal reasons, we cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from other web sites or published material; such additions will be deleted. Contributors may use copyrighted publications as a source of information, but not as a source of sentences or phrases. Accordingly, the material may be rewritten, but only if it does not infringe on the copyright of the original or plagiarize from that source. Please see our guideline on non-free text for how to properly implement limited quotations of copyrighted text. Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously, and persistent violators will be blocked from editing. While we appreciate contributions, we must require all contributors to understand and comply with these policies. Thank you. Justlettersandnumbers ( talk) 12:26, 26 January 2014 (UTC)
Is "animal magnetism" a thing or a practice? It is equated with mesmerism, a practice, in the Lead, but in other parts of the article it refers to a phenomenon. The terms are often conflated in the article, it seems to me. This needs sorting out or the reader will be confused. ~ P-123 ( talk) 10:32, 17 October 2015 (UTC)
Most of the inline citations are books and there are very few editors here to verify them and evaluate their reliability. As mentioned in the previous discussions, the article is littered with undue, often times dubious statements all of which happen to link to a book (eg. "Jesus was a magnetizer", stated by a "Researcher" who was in fact just an author). Kate the mochii ( talk) 05:39, 4 July 2023 (UTC)