The experimental method as a tool of science in late nineteenth-century France
Presented by Kim Hajek
October 20, 2009
How do you convince the world that what you’re doing is science – legitimate and rigorous? What if your practices seem to resemble the spectacular manipulations of fairground charlatans? What tools can you use to persuade people of your work’s value as science? These are all pertinent questions for the aspiring science of hypnotism in late nineteenth-century France. Its precursor animal magnetism (or mesmerism) had a dubious reputation, following repeated official academic rejection of its legitimacy, not to mention the extravagant antics of popular magnetizers, whose claims bordered on the supernatural. Having gained a foothold on scientific territory through the work of the famous neurologist Charcot, hypnotism needed powerful tools to buttress its claims to proper scientific status. I will investigate how two prominent researchers used the experimental method as a tool to assert their scientificity, some surprising implications of their efforts, and whether their strategy ultimately backfired. Kim Hajek is a PhD student in the Centre for the History of European Discourses at UQ. She is working on developing a cultural and intellectual history of scientific hypnotism in late nineteenth-century France, paying particular attention to the interaction of scientific and literary discourses around this topic. Kim also works part time in Physics at UQ, her current research project being CARS microscopy.
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