Mesmerism and the End of the Enlightenment in France

Abstract

CONTENTS 1. Mesmerism and Popular Science 2. The Mesmerist Movement 46 3. The Radical Strain in Mesmerism 82 4. Mesmerism as a Radical Political Theory 5. From Mesmer to Hugo 6. Conclusion Bibliographical Note Appendix l. Mesmer's Propositions 177 Appendix 2. The Milieu of Amateur Scientists in Paris Appendix 3. The Societe de l'Harmonie Universelle Appendix 4. Bergasse's Lectures on Mesmerism Appendix 5. The Emblem and Textbook of the Societes de !'Harmonie Appendix 6. An Antimesmerist View 189 Appendix 7. French Passages Translated in the Text 193 Index 213 xi ILLUSTRATIONS A cartoon satirizing a mesmerist session A favorable view of a mesmerist session Another view of a mesmerist seance A typical cosmology A balloon flight The "elastic shoes" experiment A monster believed to have been captured in South America A typical plan for flying machines A satirical picture of the amateur scientist The death of Pilatre de Rozier Mesmer A mesmerist charlatan An antimesmerist cartoon The report of the royal commission

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