Mesmer described Oesterline’s symptoms as convulsive malady and it is assumed that she moved into Franz Mesmer’s house in order to receive a decent care.
The woman was apparently suffering from “ the most troublesome symptoms of which was that the blood rushed to her head and there set up the most cruel toothaches and earaches, followed by delirium, rage, vomiting and swooning“. One day, Mesmer met the 27-year old Franzl Oesterline who helped Mesmer to increase his fame. He found that often the healing methods were more terrifying than the conditions doctors intended to treat and he favoured a more gentle approach. He founded a practice in Vienna in his mid-30s and it is further assumed that Mesmer through the years of practice was increasingly dissatisfied with the conventional medical approaches at the time. When Treatment often was more Terrifying then Illnessīack then, it is believed that Mesmer’s theory did not arouse much controversy. In his thesis, Mesmer revived the probably ancient idea that the planets of our solar system extrude invisible rays that affect our bodies, an effect which he called ‘animal magnetism’.
Later on, he became increasingly interested in the field of medicine and became a doctor in 1766 with his thesis ‘ De influxu planetarum in corpus humanum‘ ( The influence of the planets on the human body). – Franz Anton Mesmer (Propositions Concerning Animal Magnetism, 1779) Franz Mesmer and the Idea of Animal Mechanismįranz Mesmer was born in 1734 in Germany and studied theology at the University of Vienna, as well as philosophy and law. “A responsive influence exists between the heavenly bodies, the earth, and animated bodies.” He spent his career offering this controversial therapy to wealthy aristocratic clients in several European capitals. This system of therapeutics was the forerunner of the modern practice of hypnotism. Mesmer theorised that there was a natural energetic transference that occurred between all animated and inanimate objects that he called animal magnetism, sometimes later referred to as mesmerism. (?).On May 23, 1734, German physician Franz Anton Mesmer was born. Mesmer and animal magnetism: A chapter in the history of medicine. Propositions concerning animal magnetism, by Anton Mesmer, 1779 Available: The discovery of the unconscious: The history and evolution of dynamic psychiatry. Mesmer's magnetic therapy was considered to be a "natural" treatment - under the mistaken assumption that animal magnetism really exists - whereas Gassner's exorcism was preternatural.Įllenberger, H. For example, Mesmer debated one of the most famous exorcists of the late 18th century, Father J. Nevertheless, he was instrumental in helping to pave the way from a supernatural model of mental illness to a better understanding of it. Mesmer, who truly believed in his treatment, was devastated, and he spent his remaining years living quietly. It concluded that animal magnetism isn't real and called Mesmer a mystic and a fanatic. In 1784, the Society of Harmony was commissioned by the king of France to study animal magnetism. At first, he used magnets, but later he came to believe that the touch of a healer with a strong magnetic force could accomplish the same thing. Mesmer claimed that it is possible to redistribute a person's force field to restore him or her back to health. Animal magnetism is a supposed force field surrounding persons it is assumed to be evenly distributed in healthy individuals and unevenly distributed in unhealthy individuals. The debate was covered by the press, and during the controversy the term animal magnetism was coined. Magnetic therapy became popular, and a dispute ensued about whether Hell or Mesmer was the first to use it. He continued to have success with other patients. Mesmer then tried magnetic therapy as a last resort with one of his patients, with success. In the early 1770s, Maximillian Hell, a Jesuit priest, told Franz Mesmer (1734-1815), an Austrian physician, about how he had cured people using a magnet. Psychology History Timeline Animal magnetism Definition:Īccording to Franz Mesmer, a force field surrounding persons, evenly distributed in healthy individuals and unevenly distributed in unhealthy individuals.
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