| |
In 1775 Mesmer devised a theory of "animal magnetism". According to this model there is a magnetic fluid which flows through the body. Obstacles to the fluid's flow caused disease. Mesmer would first do physical work on the body just below the diaphragm obtaining diaphragmatic release. Then he would move his hands or an iron wand around the body and touch various points. Much of the work would be done around the head and face. Usually the patients would go into a physical "crisis" of spasms and convulsions. Afterwards, the patient's problems would resolve.
Mesmer's patients got better and he became a major celebrity in Paris which attracted the hostility of the medical profession. In 1784 King Louis XVI appointed a commission of scientists and physicians to investigate Mesmer's methods. Among the members were Benjamin Franklin and the chemist, Lavoiser. While they didn't doubt his results, they reported that the magnetic fluid could not be perceived by the senses and that its existence could not be inferred from their studies of his patients therefore didn't fit into their system of known science. If it wasn't already valid, then it was invalid no matter what the evidence said. In the next century, science explained away Mesmer's cures as a type of hypnosis called mesmerism based mostly on suggestion even though Mesmer did not hypnotize anyone.
In therapeutic touch the practitioner holds their hands slightly away from the body and tries to feel subtle energies. When one feels a bad energy, the practitioner takes it from the patient and gets rid of it.
[more coming]
