Fluid controversies : discursive exchange and negotiation in the mesmerism debate (1779-1785)
(2024)
- Author
- Chloé Conickx (UGent)
- Promoter
- Steven Vanden Broecke (UGent)
- Organization
- Project
- Abstract
- In 1778, the Viennese physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) arrived in Paris, claiming to wield an invisible universal, ‘magnetic’ fluid that cured patients of diseases conventional medicine deemed untreatable. Mesmer’s doctrine and practice of “animal magnetism" attained remarkable and contested popularity in pre-revolutionary France, highlighted by its famous condemnation in 1784 by two commissions appointed by King Louis XVI. However, these commissions did not have the last, nor the first, word on the nature and efficacy of animal magnetism. This dissertation investigates the dynamic processes of exchange and negotiation in the mesmerism controversy of the 1780s. It does so by reconstructing and analysing the intense public debate (c. 1779–1785) that captivated pre-revolutionary France and which contains a richness and diversity of interactions concerning the meaning, credibility, and legitimacy of “animal magnetism”. The dissertation begins with an analytical reconstruction of the debate, outlining the networks of its main contributions and participants. For this, I compiled an updated and refined bibliography of all works on animal magnetism between 1779 and 1788. The study then traces the shifting meaning, credibility, and legitimacy of four master concepts lying at the heart of the debate, and how this affected the authority of the actors involved. Firstly, I study how the legal concept of “dépôt” – an established term in contemporary civil law – was constantly contested and reinterpreted by Mesmer (and others) to assert and maintain control over his discovery. Secondly, the study turns to the flexible interpretations and roles attributed to the sensations in capturing the physical truth of animal magnetism. Thirdly, I delve into the discourse surrounding the therapeutic legitimacy of magnetic “crises” and how it evolved through the continuous repositioning and reassessment of the role of discomfort during such crises. Lastly, I shift to the public discussion on the ‘control’ that the magnetiser purportedly exerted over magnetised patients, the moral concerns this sparked regarding its safe usage, and its implications for the adept governance of individuals in society. In this way, this dissertation explores how a view on the mesmerism controversy as a site of (growing) division and fragmentation between the parties involved can be exchanged for an analysis of the debate as a site of constant discursive exchange and negotiation in which the identity of ‘winners’ or ‘losers’, or even the achievement of ‘closure’, becomes largely a matter of perspective.
- In 1778 arriveerde de Weense arts Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) in Parijs, waar hij beweerde een onzichtbaar universeel, 'magnetisch’ fluidum te beheersen dat patiënten genas van allerlei ziektes. Mesmers doctrine en praktijk van het "dierlijk magnetisme" verwierf een opmerkelijke en omstreden populariteit in het Frankrijk van vóór de revolutie, met als hoogtepunt de beroemde veroordeling ervan in 1784 door twee commissies aangesteld door koning Lodewijk XVI. Deze commissies hadden echter niet het laatste, noch het eerste woord over de aard en werkzaamheid van dierlijk magnetisme. Dit proefschrift onderzoekt de dynamische processen van discursieve uitwisseling en onderhandeling in de controverse over mesmerisme in de jaren 1780. Hiervoor reconstrueren en analyseren we het intense publieke debat (ca. 1779-1785) dat prerevolutionair Frankrijk in zijn ban hield en dat een rijkdom en diversiteit aan interacties bevat over de betekenis, geloofwaardigheid en legitimiteit van 'dierlijk magnetisme'. Het proefschrift begint met een analytische reconstructie van het debat, waarbij de netwerken van de belangrijkste publicaties en deelnemers worden geschetst. Hiervoor werd een bijgewerkte en verfijnde bibliografie samengesteld van alle werken over dierlijk magnetisme tussen 1779 en 1788. De studie traceert vervolgens de verschuivende betekenissen, geloofwaardigheid en legitimiteit van vier sleutelconcepten die centraal stonden in het debat, en hoe dit de autoriteit van de betrokken actoren beïnvloedde. Ten eerste bestudeer ik hoe het legale begrip “dépôt” – een bekende term in het toenmalige burgerlijk recht – voortdurend werd betwist en geherinterpreteerd door Mesmer (en anderen) om de controle over zijn ontdekking te behouden. Ten tweede richt de studie zich op de flexibele interpretaties en rollen die werden toegekend aan de sensaties bij het aantonen van de fysieke waarheid van dierlijk magnetisme. Ten derde verdiep ik me in het discours rond de therapeutische legitimiteit van magnetische "crises" en hoe dit zich ontwikkelde door de voortdurende herpositionering en herbeoordeling van de rol van ongemak tijdens dergelijke crises. Ten slotte richt ik me naar de publieke discussie over de 'controle' die de magnetiseur beweerde uit te oefenen over gemagnetiseerde patiënten, de morele vragen die dit opriep over het veilige gebruik ervan, en de implicaties voor het goed besturen van individuen in de samenleving. Op deze manier onderzoekt dit proefschrift hoe een kijk op de controverse als een site van (groeiende) verdeeldheid en fragmentatie tussen de betrokken partijen kan worden ingeruild voor een analyse van het debat als een site van voortdurende discursieve uitwisseling en onderhandeling, waarin de identiteit van 'winnaars' of 'verliezers', of zelfs het bereiken van 'afsluiting', grotendeels een kwestie van perspectief wordt.
- Keywords
- Mesmerism, credibility contest, medicine, Enlightenment
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01J0T7YEB4SPY6PKFH9WYW9KRR
- MLA
- Conickx, Chloé. Fluid Controversies : Discursive Exchange and Negotiation in the Mesmerism Debate (1779-1785). Ghent University. Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, 2024.
- APA
- Conickx, C. (2024). Fluid controversies : discursive exchange and negotiation in the mesmerism debate (1779-1785). Ghent University. Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, Ghent, Belgium.
- Chicago author-date
- Conickx, Chloé. 2024. “Fluid Controversies : Discursive Exchange and Negotiation in the Mesmerism Debate (1779-1785).” Ghent, Belgium: Ghent University. Faculty of Arts and Philosophy.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Conickx, Chloé. 2024. “Fluid Controversies : Discursive Exchange and Negotiation in the Mesmerism Debate (1779-1785).” Ghent, Belgium: Ghent University. Faculty of Arts and Philosophy.
- Vancouver
- 1.Conickx C. Fluid controversies : discursive exchange and negotiation in the mesmerism debate (1779-1785). [Ghent, Belgium]: Ghent University. Faculty of Arts and Philosophy; 2024.
- IEEE
- [1]C. Conickx, “Fluid controversies : discursive exchange and negotiation in the mesmerism debate (1779-1785),” Ghent University. Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, Ghent, Belgium, 2024.
@phdthesis{01J0T7YEB4SPY6PKFH9WYW9KRR,
abstract = {{In 1778, the Viennese physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) arrived in Paris, claiming to wield an invisible universal, ‘magnetic’ fluid that cured patients of diseases conventional medicine deemed untreatable. Mesmer’s doctrine and practice of “animal magnetism" attained remarkable and contested popularity in pre-revolutionary France, highlighted by its famous condemnation in 1784 by two commissions appointed by King Louis XVI. However, these commissions did not have the last, nor the first, word on the nature and efficacy of animal magnetism.
This dissertation investigates the dynamic processes of exchange and negotiation in the mesmerism controversy of the 1780s. It does so by reconstructing and analysing the intense public debate (c. 1779–1785) that captivated pre-revolutionary France and which contains a richness and diversity of interactions concerning the meaning, credibility, and legitimacy of “animal magnetism”. The dissertation begins with an analytical reconstruction of the debate, outlining the networks of its main contributions and participants. For this, I compiled an updated and refined bibliography of all works on animal magnetism between 1779 and 1788. The study then traces the shifting meaning, credibility, and legitimacy of four master concepts lying at the heart of the debate, and how this affected the authority of the actors involved.
Firstly, I study how the legal concept of “dépôt” – an established term in contemporary civil law – was constantly contested and reinterpreted by Mesmer (and others) to assert and maintain control over his discovery. Secondly, the study turns to the flexible interpretations and roles attributed to the sensations in capturing the physical truth of animal magnetism. Thirdly, I delve into the discourse surrounding the therapeutic legitimacy of magnetic “crises” and how it evolved through the continuous repositioning and reassessment of the role of discomfort during such crises. Lastly, I shift to the public discussion on the ‘control’ that the magnetiser purportedly exerted over magnetised patients, the moral concerns this sparked regarding its safe usage, and its implications for the adept governance of individuals in society.
In this way, this dissertation explores how a view on the mesmerism controversy as a site of (growing) division and fragmentation between the parties involved can be exchanged for an analysis of the debate as a site of constant discursive exchange and negotiation in which the identity of ‘winners’ or ‘losers’, or even the achievement of ‘closure’, becomes largely a matter of perspective.}},
author = {{Conickx, Chloé}},
keywords = {{Mesmerism,credibility contest,medicine,Enlightenment}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{XII, 277}},
publisher = {{Ghent University. Faculty of Arts and Philosophy}},
school = {{Ghent University}},
title = {{Fluid controversies : discursive exchange and negotiation in the mesmerism debate (1779-1785)}},
year = {{2024}},
}