| The astrological roots of mesmerism. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20513627 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Franz Anton Mesmer's 1766 thesis on the influence of the planets on the human body, in which he first publicly presented his account of the harmonic forces at work in the microcosm, was substantially copied from the London physician Richard Mead's early eighteenth century tract on solar and lunar effects on the body. The relation between the two texts poses intriguing problems for the historiography of medical astrology: Mesmer's use of Mead has been taken as a sign of the Vienna physician's enlightened modernity while Mead's use of astro-meteorology has been seen as evidence of the survival of antiquated astral medicine in the eighteenth century. Two aspects of this problem are discussed. First, French critics of mesmerism in the 1780s found precedents for animal magnetism in the work of Paracelsus, Fludd and other early modern writers; in so doing, they began to develop a sophisticated history for astrology and astro-meteorology. Second, the close relations between astro-meteorology and Mead's project illustrate how the environmental medical programmes emerged. The making of a history for astrology accompanied the construction of various models of the relation between occult knowledge and its contexts in the enlightenment. |
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Authors:
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Simon Schaffer |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Biography; Historical Article; Journal Article Date: 2010-05-06 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Studies in history and philosophy of biological and biomedical sciences Volume: 41 ISSN: 1879-2499 ISO Abbreviation: Stud Hist Philos Biol Biomed Sci Publication Date: 2010 Jun |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-06-01 Completed Date: 2010-08-17 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 9810965 Medline TA: Stud Hist Philos Biol Biomed Sci Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 158-68 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3RH, UK. sjs16@cam.ac.uk |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Animals Astrology / history* Austria Environmental Medicine / history France Historiography History, 18th Century Humans Hypnosis / history* Literature, Modern / history* Magnetics Meteorology Plagiarism Solar Energy Solar System |
| Personal Name Subject | |
Personal Name Subject:
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Franz Anton Mesmer; Richard Mead |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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