Hysteria

Jean-Martin Charcot proposed the radical hypothesis that similar brain processes were responsible for the unexplained neurological symptoms of 'hysteria', now typically diagnosed as 'conversion disorder' or 'dissociative (conversion) disorder', and the temporary effects of hypnosis.

This article analyses the representation of affective phenomena brought into play in Charles de Villers' Le magnÈtiseur amoureux (1787) as it helps to better understand the historical transition from the Galenic conception of the passions of the soul to the cerebral interpretation of emotions.