Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 September 1895 — New Explanation of Hypnotism. [ARTICLE]

New Explanation of Hypnotism.

Recent investigations of the operations of the mind indicate that the subject under hypnotic influence is in a partial faint. The effort required to concentrate the attention on the operator or any striking object results in a reaction similar to that produced by strong emotion in “neurotic” women, except that the collapse is partial, some of the faculties remaining active, while the operation of others is suspended. This hypothesis will account for some phenomena that are not accounted for by the theory that the hypnotized subject is in a condition resembling normal sleep.