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Mesmer's failure: Sex, politics, personality, and the zeitgeist
Author(s) -
Hoffeld Donald R.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
journal of the history of the behavioral sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.216
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1520-6696
pISSN - 0022-5061
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6696(198010)16:4<377::aid-jhbs2300160409>3.0.co;2-q
Subject(s) - zeitgeist , politics , personality , neuroticism , psychology , credibility , psychoanalysis , conservatism , commission , psychotherapist , law , political science
Although he was an important link in the development of the concept of neurotic behavior and the therapeutic use of hypnotism, Mesmer has often been virtually ignored, possibly because of his discreditation by the Franklin Commission in 1784. Although his failure has been most commonly attributed to scientific and medical conservatism, there were a number of other factors which appear to have been of importance, including the general atmosphere of Paris, political agitation that became associated with his work, and sexual innuendoes that arose from the exotic nature of treatment in his famous clinic. Combined with his own ambitions and contentious personality, these factors destroyed his credibility and placed a cloud over hypnotic work for over half a century thereafter.