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KF5JRV > TODAY 05.03.19 13:27l 48 Lines 2306 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 32208_KF5JRV
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Subj: Today in History - Mar 05
Path: IW8PGT<IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<VE2PKT<LU3DVN<LU9DCE<GB7YEW<AB0AF<KF5JRV
Sent: 190305/1224Z 32208@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.18
Franz Anton Mesmer, a German physician who pioneered the medical field
of hypnotic therapy, dies in obscurity in Meersburg, Swabia (now
Germany).
Born in 1734, Mesmer studied religion, philosophy, law, and medicine in
Vienna, Austria, but initially failed to excel at any of these fields.
In the 1770s, he became fascinated with Father Glassner, a Swiss Roman
Catholic priest who was well known as a documented faith healer. After
observing Glassner’s seemingly miraculous healings, Mesmer concluded
that the cures were achieved by what he called “animal magnetism.ö
Mesmer believed that invisible magnetic fluids existed in living beings,
and that if this invisible magnetic flow was upset, sickness could
occur. He decided that Glassner was correcting obstructed magnetic flows
by achieving a rapport, French for “harmonyö or “connection,ö with his
patients.
In 1772, Mesmer began to develop various therapeutic treatments for
curing what he perceived to be animal magnetism obstructions, which
included the use of ethereal music as a hypnotic device, and intimate
group-healing sessions. Despite obvious errors in Mesmer’s scientific
theories, his process of mesmerism, as it came to be known, produced
hypnotic states in his patients that had an extraordinary influence on
their physical illnesses. His popularity grew, but the Viennese Medical
Council declared him a fraud, and in 1778 he left Vienna for the more
liberal environment of Paris.
In Paris, Mesmer treated peasants along with wealthy aristocrats and won
a handful of disciples in the scientific community. In 1784, King Louis
XVI appointed a committee of physicians and scientists to investigate
his work; among the commission’s members were the American statesman and
inventor Benjamin Franklin and the French chemist Antoine-Laurent
Lavoisier. The commission reported that Mesmer was unable to support his
scientific claims, and his practice subsequently declined. In 1778, he
left Paris and retired to obscurity in his native Swabia.
Despite the eccentricities of his techniques, Mesmer is seen as a major
innovator of hypnotic therapy and also one of the first Western
physicians to safely treat psychosomatic illness and nervous disorders.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
email: KF5JRV@ICLOUD.COM
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