He may have been a charlatan! But there is no way to tell!
Then again he was responsible for one of the first clinical trial lead not by any ordinary person but the a future president of the US!
The person in question is a German called Franz Anton who created a theory which basically stated that an invisible, natural force flowed through all living things.
He believed that a magnetic fluid (or Lebensmagnetismus) existed in all beings, and that blockages or imbalances of this fluid caused illness.
So Franz aimed to restore the harmonious flow of this fluid by manipulating it with magnets or, later, with his own hands through!
Patients undergoing his treatments would often experience dramatic emotional releases, trances, or even convulsions, which Franz saw as a healing “crisis” that restored the body’s balance!
In Vienna, his practice gained some success, particularly with patients suffering from “nervous complaints” or psychosomatic illnesses.
However, he was eventually forced to leave the city following scandals, including the controversial failure to cure the blind pianist Maria Theresa Paradis!
Then again if you can give hope, people will follow for that dope!
He moved on to Paris and his practice became a social phenomenon, attracting wealthy clients and drawing large, theatrical crowds.
For group therapy, he used a Baquet, a large tub filled with magnetized objects from which patients held metal rods!
So when you see in the TV of guys who ‘cure’ a blind person or a person who is in wheelchair; well these ‘divine’ interventions are in vogue from ages! Just that now you have live transmission!
Of course no one like fame and influence! So concerned by Franz’s growing influence, King Louis XVI appointed a scientific commission to investigate his claims.
The panel included eminent figures like Benjamin Franklin and chemist Antoine Lavoisier!
Through controlled, blinded experiments, the commission concluded there was no evidence for a magnetic fluid. It determined that the effects were caused by the power of suggestion and the patients’ imagination—a finding that was a precursor to understanding the placebo effect!
In spite of this Franz’s work had a significant impact on future developments in psychology and medicine.
His study is also the foundation for hypnosis since the trance states and suggestion he employed were later studied by others, notably Scottish surgeon James Braid, who coined the term “hypnotism” in the 1840s!
His legacy extended to figures like Jean-Martin Charcot and Sigmund Freud, who initially used hypnosis before Freud developed psychoanalysis!
Also the official inquiry into Franz’s practices, which used controlled experiments, is considered one of the first formal medical trials in history!
So did you get the person! Well his full name was Franz Anton Mesmer
Mesmer theorized that there exists a natural energy transference occurring between all animated and inanimate objects; this he called “animal magnetism”!
Yes! Were you impressed or dazed or mesmerized!?
Getting so magically impressed or controlled like this is thus called mesmerism! Now you know the origin of the term mesmerizing!
Now remember the time many used to be mesmerized by Dev Anand!
A sketch with negative shading technique…
Shubh ratri…
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