The fear of simulation: Scientific authority in late 19th-century French disputes over hypnotism

Abstract

This article interrogates the way/s in which rival schools studying hypnotism in late nineteenth-century France framed what counts as valid evidence for the purposes of science. Concern over the scientific reality of results is particularly situated in the notion of simulation (the faking of results); the respective approaches to simulation of the Salpêtrière and Nancy schools are analysed through close reading of key texts: Binet and Féré for the Salpêtrière, and Bernheim for Nancy. The article reveals a striking divergence between their scientific frames, which helps account for the bitterness of the schools' disputes. It then explores Bernheim's construction of scientific authority in more detail, for insights into the messiness entailed by theorizing hypnotism in psychical terms, while also attempting to retain scientific legitimacy. Indicative of this messiness, it is argued, is the way in which Bernheim's (apparently inconsistent) approach draws on multiple epistemic frames.

Theoretical psychology: discursive transformations and continuity in Psychological Research/Psychologische Forschung

“…Close reading is, like other approaches, a technique that attempts to attain the highest level of description. Such close reading of individual texts is a standard form of research within the field of history of psychology (e.g., Hajek, 2015 ; Kendler, 2020 ).…”

Hypnotism and Suggestion: A Historical Perspective

“…The idea that hypnosis was "real" depended on excluding alternative options, such as (conscious) simulation by the subject and "unconscious suggestion" by the experimenter. In other words, even if the responses of subjects were genuine (i.e., not conscious simulation), it was thought that they might be responses to subtle cues unintentionally provided by the experimenter (Hajek, 2015a). In addition to possible unconscious influence, there was the possibility that hypnotized subjects might have hypersensory abilities, and from there it was not such a leap to wonder if they might respond to "mental suggestion," or even to hypnotism at a distance.…”

The moral power of suggestion: A history of suggestion in Japan, 1900–1930

“…85–102; Gauld, , pp. 561–567; Hajek, ; LeBlanc, ; Mayer, )? In fact, this was a doubt faced by contemporary theories about the unconscious mind, which had made every effort to minimize the confounding effects of suggestion (Mayer, , pp.…”

“…They were too ordinary to merit the status of a scientific theory or treatment. Moreover, the subjective elements involved in suggestion cast doubt on the objectivity of not only suggestive but virtually all psychological phenomena produced and studied by psychology (Mayer, ; Wolffram, ; Hajek, , ; Maehle, ; LeBlanc, ). As Harrington (, pp.…”