Term Papers on Hypnotism

Term Paper Title	Hypnotism
# of Words	951
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	3.8

Hypnotism

The Encarta Encyclopedia defines hypnosis as,"altered state of
consciousness and heightened responsiveness to suggestion; it may be induced
by normal persons by a variety of methods and has been used occasionally
in medical and psychiatric treatment. Most frequently brought about through
actions of an operator, or "hypnotist", who engages the attention
of a subject and assigns certain tasks to him or her while uttering monotonous,
repetitive verbal commands; such tasks may include muscle relaxation, eye
fixation, and arm leviation. Hypnosis also may be self-induced, by trained
relaxation, concentration on one's own breathing, or by a variety of monotonous
practices and rituals that are found in many mystical, philosophical, and
religious systems." Another generally reliable source Webster's New
Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines it as,"a sleep like condition
psychically induced, usually by another person, in which the subject loses
consciousness but responds, with certain limitations, to the suggestions
of the hypnotist." As I stated earlier, these two sources are very
reputed and the general population believes that they are correct. Yet,
however often they may be correct, in this case they are not, or at least
not completely. Not according to the scientific community at least. My
sources for this statement are The World Book Encyclopedia, The Wizard
from Vienna: Franz Anton Mesmer, Applied Hypnosis: An Overview, American
Medical Journal, and Hypnosis: Is It For You? Although they state it in
different ways they all basically agree that nobody can give a very accurate
definition or description of hypnosis, or hypnosis. Although some may get
the definition partly correct, the chances of doing so completely are very,
very low. So although I will probably not be able to give a totally accurate
account of hypnosis and its workings, I will try. Although evidence suggests
that hypnosis has been practiced in some form or another for several thousand
years, such as in coal walking, the earliest recorded history of hypnosis
begins in 1734. It begins with a man named Franz Anton Mesmer. Although
he was eventually disavowed by the scientific community because of his
unorthodox methods that made him seem more of a mysticist that a scientist,
he is generally known as the father of hypnotism. Mesmer called his methods
Mesmerism, thus the word mesmerize, but the name didn't stick, it later
changed to hypnosis, its name being derived from Hypnos, the Greek god
of sleep. He believed that hypnosis was reached by using a person's "animal
magnetism". He used "mesmerism" to cure illness. In 1795
an English physician named James Braid, who was originally opposed to Mesmer's
methods became interested. He believed that cures were not due to animal
magnetism however, but the power of suggestion. This was the generally
accepted opinion of the scientific community. Then in 1825 Jean Marie Charcot,
a French neurologist, disagreed with "The Nancy School of Hypnotism",
which followed the guidelines of James Braid's ideas. Charcot believed
that hypnosis was simply a "manifestation of hysteria". He revived
Mesmer's theory of animal magnetism and identified the three stages...

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