Hypnotism: Its History, Practice and Theory

 

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he said his name was Moll; he knew his right name also, but was unable to say it. He remembered my order about it, and did not believe in any super-natural force; he knew that the effect was mental, but could not help himself.

It is the same thing with sense-delusions, they can also be produced post-hypnotically, in spite of the fact that the suggestion is remembered. It is true that the effect of the sense-delusion in such cases is often not to be seen, because, as the order is remembered, reasoning is possible, and thus the suggestion is negatived. Nevertheless, sense-delusions with remembrance of the suggestion are rarer, because loss of memory more frequently follows hypnosis with sense-delusions, even though the loss of memory can always be prevented by post-hypnotic suggestion.


CHAPTER V. COGNATE STATES.

WE can often advance the study of a state which has hitherto been little known and examined, by comparing it with other states with whose symptoms we are better acquainted. We will, therefore, try to find points of correspondence with hypnosis. The very name shows that there is a resemblance between sleep (hypnos) and hypnosis, and some investigators (Liebeault, Bernheim, Brullard, Forel, Vires), consider hypnosis an ordinary sleep. They think that a person who falls asleep spontaneously is in rapport with himself, while a hypnotized subject is in rapport with the person who hypnotized him; in their view this is the chief difference between sleep and hypnosis. I believe, however, that we cannot so easily agree to such an identification of the states ; we must begin by distinguishing the light and deep hypnoses.
We see that in light hypnosis there is merely an inhibition of voluntary movement; consciousness and self-consciousness are unaffected, and what happens during hypnosis is usually remembered. Now, in sleep there is always a great decrease of self-consciousness. But it is just this self-consciousness which remains intact in light hypnosis; and in this state the subject is perfectly aware of all that goes on, and, as a rule, forgets nothing on waking. Consequently, I do not think we can make a close connection between sleep and superficial hypnosis;

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