The powers of suggestion: Albert Moll and the debate on hypnosis

Abstract

The Berlin physician Albert Moll (1862-1939) was an advocate of hypnotic suggestion therapy and a prolific contributor to the medical, legal and public discussions on hypnotism from the 1880s to the 1920s. While his work in other areas, such as sexology, medical ethics and parapsychology, has recently attracted scholarly attention, this paper for the first time comprehensively examines Moll's numerous publications on hypnotism and places them in their contemporary context. It covers controversies over the therapeutic application of hypnosis, the reception of Moll's monograph Der Hypnotismus (1889), his research on the rapport between hypnotizer and subject, his role as an expert on 'hypnotic crime', and his views on the historical influence of hypnotism on the development of psychotherapy. My findings suggest that Moll rose to prominence due to the strong late-nineteenth-century public and medical interest in the phenomena of hypnosis, but that his work was soon overshadowed by new, non-hypnotic psychotherapeutic approaches, particularly Freud's psychoanalysis.

Near Death Experiences: Falling Down a Very Deep Well

“…Among the NDLS group we find cases of apparent death associated to catalepsy, to states of deep sleep, mystical ecstasy, deep meditation, hypnotic states-this is the case, e.g., of lethargy and catalepsy as classified by neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893) [23]-, cerebral hypoxia, as the one observed in pilots of supersonic aircraft, altered states of consciousness induced by the intake of psychotropic substances, as in psychedelic experience, or by pulmonary hyperventilation, as in the circular breathing (holotropic respiration) adopted e.g. in transpersonal rebirthing, and, last but not least, tanatosis or simulated death.…”

“The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”: The Scientific Debate on Hypnosis and Its Legal Implications between the 19th and the 20th Century

“…So, it comes as no surprise that the Reich banned public hypnosis, sustaining that such demonstrations posed risks to public health and order in 1895, that is, the following year when the trial started. The scientific debate on the danger of hypnosis led the German Penal Code to indicate that criminal acts committed by a hypnotized subject, during hypnosis or afterwards due to posthypnotic suggestion, could be exempt from punishment [16]. The Berlin physician Albert Moll (1862-1939) provided an important contribution to the scientific debate on hypnotic crime.…”

“…He was in agreement with the School of Nancy, recognizing the possibility that a person could be made to commit a crime through hypnotic suggestion. Moll was an expert witness in court cases involving claims about hypnotic influence, including some famous trials in the 1910 and 1920s [16].…”

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

“…In the growing field of psychotherapy, it played an increasingly insignificant role and was even deemed harmful, for its relieving effects might prevent patients from seeking “genuine” treatment and strengthen their pathological tendencies. By 1920, most scholars in this field, with the exception of a few such as Janet, had concluded that suggestion had no profound, persistent, or transforming effect on the psyche (Harrington, ; Leys, ; Maehle, , pp. 31–66).…”