NOVEMBER 2009, Volume 37 Number 2, Article 1
MODERN ANIMAL MAGNETISM: THE WORK OF ALEXANDRE BARÉTY,ÉMILE BOIRAC, AND JULIAN OCHOROWICZ
Carlos S. Alvarado, University of Virginia
Historical discussions of animal magnetism as a concept of force generally emphasise publications appearing before the mid-nineteenth century. This article focuses on selected aspects of a later neo-magnetism that flourished between the late nineteenth and the first two decades of the twentieth century, namely the work of Alexandre Baréty, Émile Boirac, and Julian Ochorowicz. They used the concept of magnetism to explain the induction of trance and anaesthesia, as well as mental suggestion. Outside of the neo-magnetic movement, contemporary comments of the work of these men were generally negative. Regardless of this, and of current skepticism on the subject, this work should be recognised as part of the context in which the field of hypnosis developed.
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