This paper focuses on the history and science of hypnosis. The introduction discusses the origins of hypnosis that date back to pre-historic times and the first people to employ hypnotic-like methods to alter or change human behavior using the power of suggestion. A background and study of Franz Anton Mesmer, the man who most people associate with the beginning of hypnosis, is elaborated on throughout this paper. I will also discuss what hypnosis is, how it is used to explain human experiences, and how research does or does not support the theory of hypnosis. I will also give examples of how hypnosis is applied, why it’s used, and how it has been viewed in the past and present times.The History and Science of HypnosisIntroductionA brief history of the concept of hypnosisThe science of hypnosis, remote from being a practice of modern times, is one that has been studied and pondered over since pre-historic times. The employment of hypnotic-like methods to alter human behavior using the power of suggestion and repetitious incentives to rouse the mind or the spirits were used by numerous ancient civilizations (Baker, 1990, p. 51). These methods were usually associated with a confidence in magic and the occult, and the belief that these procedures were beyond human understanding. According to Baker (1990), priest-physicians of ancient Egypt induced sleep-like states in other people. This practice was also prominent in the sleep temples of classical Greece. In this case, worshippers attempted to conjure Hypnos, the god of sleep, who it was believed brought them prophetic dreams.Another example of the use of hypnotic-like methods dates back to 2600 BC in China, where Wang Tai, the father of Chinese Medicine, wrote of a “medical procedure that involved using incantations and mysterious passes of the hands over the patient that leaves no doubt about its hypnotic nature (Baker, 1990, p. 51). According to Baker (1990), the u...
