¿Quién teme al magnetismo animal? Mesmerismo, hipnosis y su fortuna crítica en Portugal en el siglo XIX.

Abstract

This article analyses the circulation of theories and practices related to animal magnetism and hypnotism in Portugal throughout the nineteenth century. Initially, special attention was paid to the pioneering experiences and theorisations of an almost unknown author, born in the then Portuguese India, Jose Custodio de Faria (1756-1819), examining his doctrinal and conceptual opposition to both Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) and the fluidist and spiritualist currents that subdivided the mesmerism of the time. In a second moment, we will analyze the reception and circulation of these doctrines in Portugal, measuring the impact of Faria’s work in Portugal. We will highlight the authors involved in the process, the intellectual debates and the institutional positions that were raised then. Finally, it is intended to demonstrate that magnetism and hypnotism, often used as synonyms in the documentation, seem to have generated discomfort in scientific and university associations, having often become objects of deliberate silencing, with direct reflection in the historiography itself.