James Braid; His Work and Writings (1896)
An excerpt from the article by Dr. John Milne Bramwell
Republished in The Discovery of Hypnosis: The Complete Writings of James Braid
The name of James Braid is familiar to all students of hypnotism and is rarely mentioned by them without due credit being given to the important part he played in rescuing that science from ignorance and superstition. Regret is usually expressed, however, that he held many erroneous views, which it is claimed the researches of more recent investigators have disproved. The following, as far as I can gather from hypnotic works and from conversation with those interested in hypnotism, are the almost universally adopted opinions in reference to Braid.
(1) He was an English surgeon.
(2) He believed in phrenology.
(3) He was the discoverer or rediscoverer of the subjective origin of hypnotic phenomena.
(4) He knew nothing of suggestion.
In all this, one thing, and one alone, is correct, namely, that Braid was the rediscoverer of the subjective nature of hypnotic phenomena. This estimate of Braid has arisen from imperfect knowledge of his writings. Few seem to be acquainted with any of his works except “Neurypnology” or with the fact that this was only one of a long series on the subject of hypnotism, and that in the later ones his views completely changed. The necessarily limited length of this article will prevent my dealing with each of these separately and in detail. I propose, therefore, first to refer shortly to his earliest publication, then to give an account of the theories which are found in “Neurypnology” alone, and finally to present a general picture of his later opinions.
Meanwhile, a word as to Braid’s nationality and to the events which led to his hypnotic researches. The names of Elliotson, Esdaile and Braid stand out prominently in the history of Mesmerism and hypnotism in this country, and it is not without interest to note that all of them studied at Edinburgh University and that both Esdaile and Braid were of Scotch birth and parentage, the latter being born at Rylaw House, Fifeshire, about 1795.
On November 13th, 1841, Braid, for the first time, was present at a Mesmeric séance [as they were known], the operator being [Charles] Lafontaine. At this time Mesmeric phenomena were believed to be due either to mysterious force or fluid, self-deception or trickery. Braid held the latter theory and, on the first occasion, saw nothing to cause him to alter his views. At the next séance, six days later, he noticed that one subject was unable to open his eyes [a phenomenon now known as ‘eyelid catalepsy’]. Braid regarded this as a real phenomenon and was anxious to discover its physiological cause; and the following evening, when the case was again operated on, he believed he had done so. After making a series of experiments, chiefly on personal friends and relatives, he expressed his conviction that the phenomena he had witnessed were purely subjective, and began almost immediately to place these views before the public, his first lecture being delivered on December 27th, 1841.
In 1842 Braid offered a paper on the subject of hypnotism to the Medical Section of the British Association. This was refused, whereupon he gave a conversazione [a kind of medical symposium or workshop] at which many members of the Association were present, read his paper and showed cases. [...] [His first full-length book] “Neurypnology, or the Rationale of Nervous Sleep”, was published by Braid in 1843, and 800 copies were sold in a few months.
At [Lafontaine's] séance already referred to, Braid had observed that the Mesmeric condition was induced by fixed staring, and concluded that the inability to open the eyes arose from paralysis of certain nerve centres and exhaustion of the levator muscles [the pair of muscles which raise the upper eyelids]. “I expressed,” he said, “my entire conviction that the phenomena of Mesmerism were to be accounted for on the principle of the derangement of the state of the cerebral spinal centres, and of the circulatory, respiratory and muscular systems, induced by a fixed stare, absolute repose of body, fixed attention and suppressed respiration, concomitant with that fixity of attention. That the whole depended on the physical and psychical condition of the patient, arising from the causes referred to, and not at all on the volition, or passes of the operator throwing out magnetic fluid, or exciting to activity some mystical, universal fluid or medium.”
Braid induced hypnosis by making the subject look at a bright object, held in such a position above the forehead as was calculated to produce the greatest possible strain upon the eyes and eyelids, while at the same time the mind was to be riveted on the idea of that one object. Braid not only maintained that the condition was a purely subjective one, produced in this mechanical way, but also claimed to have successfully demonstrated that it could be induced in like manner in persons who had never heard of Mesmerism and who were ignorant of what was expected of them. In illustration of this, he mentioned that he had hypnotised one of his servants, who knew nothing of Mesmerism, by giving him such directions as were calculated to impress his mind with the idea that his fixed attention was required merely for the purpose of watching a chemical experiment with which he was already familiar. [...]
Braid at this date came to the following general conclusions:–
1. [Hypnotic Induction.] “That the effect of a continued fixation of the mental and visual eye, in the manner and with the concomitant circumstances pointed out, is to throw the nervous system into a new condition, accompanied with a state of somnolence, and of a tendency, according to the mode of management of exciting a variety of phenomena different from those we obtain either in the ordinary sleep, or during the waking condition.
2. [Stages of Hypnotism.] “That there is at first a state of high excitement of all the organs of that the senses afterwards become torpid in a much greater degree than what occurs in natural sleep.
3. [Nervous Arousal.] “That in this condition we have the power of directing or concentrating nervous energy, raising or depressing it in a remarkable degree at will, locally or generally.
4. [Heart Rate.] “That in this state, we have the power of exciting the force and frequency of the heart’s action, and the state of the circulation, locally or generally, in a surprising degree.
5. [Muscle Tone.] “That whilst in this peculiar condition, we have the power of regulating and controlling muscular tone and energy in a remarkable manner and degree.
6. [Physiological Changes.] “That we also acquire the power of producing rapid and important changes in the state of the capillary circulation, and on the whole of the secretions and excretions of the body, as proved by the application of chemical tests.
7. [Hypnotic Therapy.] ‘‘That this power can be beneficially directed to the cure of a variety of diseases which were most intractable, or altogether incurable, by ordinary treatment.
8. [Hypnotic Anaesthesia.] “That this agency may be rendered available in moderating, or entirely preventing, the pain incident to patients while undergoing surgical operations.
9. [Muscular Suggestion.] “That during hypnotism, by manipulating the cranium and face, we can excite certain mental and bodily manifestations, according to the part touched.”
After hypnotising his patients, Braid manipulated them in various ways [positioning their body, facial expression, etc.], with a view to producing changes in the muscular and circulatory systems, believing that this excited the different hypnotic phenomena and played an important part in the cure of disease. He also held that cures could sometimes be effected by similar methods in the waking condition. From the description of his manner of inducing hypnosis, it is evident that he employed verbal suggestion, but, at this time, this was apparently done unconsciously and in ignorance of its value. [...]
The subjective explanation of the origin of Mesmeric phenomena was not a new one, and had already been given both by the Abbé Faria and [Alexandre] Bertrand. Their views, however, if not entirely forgotten, exercised no practical influence on Mesmeric theory, and Braid evidently was unacquainted with them when he commenced his Mesmeric researches; thus, his conclusions were arrived at independently, and successfully substituted for those universally held in his day. At a later date, when his opponents pointed out the similarity between the theories, Braid asserted that this was more apparent than real, as Faria had attributed everything to the effect of the imagination; on this point they differed, but were alike in asserting that neither contact nor magnetic fluid was necessary.
