ABSTRACT
In Italy, animal magnetism was extremely popular on stage, but never became an alternative medicine as in other countries. In Italy the language of the most prepared and convinced supporters of mesmerism was deeply shadowed by uncertainty, while they believed very strongly in the progress of science. Morselli was the first Italian psychiatrist to fully theorize the importance of looking at moral and emotional components such as hope, expectation, religion, and blind faith in healing in order to inform medical and penal judgement. A very detailed repertoire of associations between animal magnetism and religion can be found in the preliminary chapter devoted to various opinions regarding the alleged Adamic origins of animal magnetism. David Armando has demonstrated how the word ‘unconscious’ has undergone a transition from a passive to an active understanding of the term. Establishing whether the soul was sinful in acts committed in states of unconsciousness was indeed a very controversial area of inquiry.
