Abstract

Introduction

In 1784, Benjamin Franklin headed a Royal Commission in France to investigate animal magnetism and its then celebrated practitioner, Franz Anton Mesmer. Mesmer believed that a universal magnetic fluid flowed through every being on earth. Illness was caused by blockage or imbalance in the fluid’s flow. Mesmer claimed he could manipulate the fluid to restore balance and health to the body. Our aim was to determine Franklin’s role in the Commission and his use of scientific principles to question the validity of a popular medical regimen.

Sources and Methods

We used contemporary, primary literature pertaining to Franklin, Mesmer, animal magnetism, and mesmerism during the years 1778 to 1785 in Paris, France; archives of the National Library of France; and the Benjamin Franklin archives of the Library of Congress, USA.

Results

Franklin and his colleagues conducted placebo-controlled, ‘blinded’, sham and real experiments on themselves and patient volunteers. The investigators concluded that any positive effect from Mesmer and ‘mesmerism’ was due to the power of suggestion rather than the effect of any physical fluid or its manipulation. Franklin condemned mesmerism in public fearing its practice could lead to quackery but privately he saw no harm if it kept patients away from more dangerous medications.

Conclusions

The Royal Commission’s report condemned mesmerism on scientific and moral grounds, but Franklin took a more nuanced view that psychological factors could favorably influence health. In fact, mesmerism, in some form called by other names, thrives today.