Arthur Schopenhauer — Filosofo e Testimone del Magnetismo/en

Arthur Schopenhauer — Philosopher and Witness of Magnetism

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860), the celebrated German philosopher, was not only a theorist of the universal will but also a controlled eyewitness of magnetic phenomena. In his second supplement to *Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung* (*On the Will in Nature*), Schopenhauer offers a detailed and critical description of the magnetic performances of Antonio Regazzoni in Frankfurt am Main during the winter of 1854.

Interest in Animal Magnetism

(DOCUMENTED)

Schopenhauer's interest in magnetic phenomena was not purely theoretical. In his *On the Will in Nature*, Schopenhauer documents that he possesses a "just disposition towards the phenomena of magnetism" strengthened by direct observation. An entire section of his personal library consists of works on magnetism and magic — a fact he himself proudly emphasizes, boasting of the extensive reading he undertook to write the few pages dedicated to magnetism in his supplement.

Schopenhauer does not confuse magnetism with psychological suggestion or illusionism. He approaches the phenomena as an extension of his metaphysical theory of the Will — a universal force that acts beyond individual appearance and the principle of sufficient reason.

The Direct Testimony of Regazzoni in Frankfurt (1854)

(DOCUMENTED)

In the supplement to *On the Will in Nature*, Schopenhauer writes:

"In 1854 I had the good fortune to witness here [in Frankfurt am Main] the extraordinary performances of this kind by Mr. Regazzoni of Bergamo, in which the immediate, that is, magical power of his will over others was incontestable and surprising to the highest degree, and whose authenticity could not be doubted by anyone except perhaps by one to whom nature had totally denied every capacity to understand pathological states."

Schopenhauer does not merely assert authenticity; he directly attacks those who denied the phenomena out of ignorance or scientific prejudice. His testimony is that of a world-class philosopher, not a credulous one: he evaluates the facts with the same rigor with which he would evaluate a philosophical proposition.

Detailed Description of the Experiments

Schopenhauer describes in detail the following observed experiments:

Voluntary catalepsy: Regazzoni would at will reduce a somnambulist who was in magnetic rapport with him to complete catalepsy — a state of total immobility and insensitivity.

Fall at a distance without gesture: Without making gestures, without uttering words, when the somnambulist walked with Regazzoni behind her, he could make her fall backward by will alone. This experiment is one of the most probative, as it excludes any mechanism of sensory contact or complicity.

Paralysis and tetanic spasm: Regazzoni could bring the subject to a state of complete tetanic spasm, with dilated pupils, total insensitivity, and unmistakable signs of complete catalepsy.

Experiment with the paralyzed pianist: A lady from the audience was invited to play the piano. Regazzoni placed himself fifteen paces behind her and, accompanying the will with a brief gesture, paralyzed her. The pianist could no longer play the notes. Subsequently, Regazzoni placed her against a column and held her "enchanted" — fixed — with magnetic force, so that she could not move despite the greatest physical efforts.

Schopenhauer's Physiological Theory

Schopenhauer does not stop at the phenomenological description. He proposes a physiological explanation based on scientific principles:

"According to my observation, almost all the things he does can be explained by the fact that he isolates the brain from the spinal cord, either completely, whereby all sensory and motor nerves are paralyzed and a complete catalepsy ensues; or the paralysis affects only the motor nerves, where sensitivity remains, thus the head retains its consciousness, even if it is on a body that has all the appearances of death."

Schopenhauer compares the effect to the action of strychnine on physiology:

"Strychnine acts in the same way: it paralyzes only the motor nerves, up to complete tetanus, which leads to death by asphyxia, while leaving the sensory nerves and therefore also consciousness unharmed. Regazzoni does the same thing with the magical influence of his will."

The precise moment of the brain-spinal cord isolation is visible — Schopenhauer observes a "characteristic shaking of the patient," a physical manifestation that marks the transition from the normal state to magnetic paralysis.

This theory represents an attempt by Schopenhauer to reconcile magnetic phenomena with the naturalistic framework of neurophysiology, avoiding both naive spiritualism and dogmatic skepticism.

The Signature in Regazzoni's Album

(DOCUMENTED)

A notable detail: Schopenhauer did not limit himself to observing. As recorded in the preface of the 1855-1856 Italian edition of *On the Will in Nature*, Schopenhauer personally affixed his testimony in Regazzoni's album — a significant gesture for a philosopher of his stature and systematic skepticism.

Furthermore, when a subsequent controversy attacked Regazzoni and magnetic phenomena, Schopenhauer strenuously defended him — an extraordinary commitment for a notoriously solitary and critical man.

The Recommendation of Dubourg's Monograph

(DOCUMENTED)

Schopenhauer concludes his testimony by explicitly recommending a specialized monograph:

"On the performances of Regazzoni and their incontestable authenticity for anyone to whom every sense for understanding organic nature is not precluded, I recommend a pamphlet in French by L.A.V. Dubourg: Antoine Regazzoni de Bergame à Francfort sur Mein, Frankfurt, November 1854, 31 pages, in-8."

This citation represents one of the few sources attesting to the existence of Dubourg's monograph. Schopenhauer himself verifies the authenticity of the phenomena, making Dubourg's recommendation particularly significant for historians of magnetism.

Historiographical note: Dubourg's monograph remains difficult to locate in contemporary libraries. It should be found at the National Library of France (BNF), the Archiv für Geschichte der Psychiatrie und der Nervenheilkunde in Berlin, or in Frankfurt archives. See TODO section for future research.

Schopenhauer's Library and Magnetism

(DOCUMENTED)

An observation in the Schopenhauer annals — an entire section of his personal library consists of works on magnetism and magic. This collection was not purely antiquarian. Schopenhauer consciously cites his extensive reading as the foundation of the authority of his statements on magnetic phenomena. A man who confesses to having read extensively on magnetism and magic, and who then claims to have seen Regazzoni operate, deserves to be heard seriously.

Magnetism and Will: The Philosophical Significance

(RECONSTRUCTED / INTERPRETATION)

For Schopenhauer, the magnetic phenomena observed in Regazzoni do not contradict his metaphysics of the Will — rather, they confirm it. If all reality is a manifestation of the universal Will, then Regazzoni's ability to influence the bodies of others through pure will (the "magnetic fluid") represents direct empirical evidence of the ubiquity and priority of the Will over individual matter.

Regazzoni's will acts upon the will of the magnetized subject — not through reasoning, suggestion, or physical contact, but through a direct communication of will to will. This is compatible with Schopenhauerian theory, and indeed strengthens it.

It is significant that Schopenhauer sees in magnetic phenomena proof of his metaphysics, not an anomaly that contradicts it. This reveals the depth of his acceptance of magnetic phenomena as genuine and non-pathological.

Schopenhauer and the Scientific Community of His Time

(DOCUMENTED)

The official scientific community of the 1850-1860 era was largely skeptical of animal magnetism, relegating it to illusionism or psychological suggestion. Schopenhauer, despite his reputation as a pessimist and critic of historical reason, did not follow the dogmatism of academic science.

He recognized in magnetic phenomena a reality that challenged the assumptions of the mechanical materialism of his time. In this, Schopenhauer was an avant-garde experimental thinker, not a credulous one: he applied his critical method to observable facts, not to the articles of faith of official science.

Documentation Status

Information	Status	Source
Schopenhauer's interest in magnetism	✅ VERIFIED	On the Will in Nature, supplement 2
Direct witness of Regazzoni in Frankfurt 1854	✅ VERIFIED	On the Will in Nature, supplement 2
Description of catalepsy/fall/paralysis	✅ VERIFIED	On the Will in Nature, lines 5305-5330
Theory of brain-spinal cord isolation	✅ VERIFIED	On the Will in Nature, physiological theory
Signature in Regazzoni's album	✅ VERIFIED	Italian ed. 1855-1856 preface, personal testimony
Strenuous defense in controversy	✅ VERIFIED	Italian ed. preface, "strenuously defended him"
Recommendation of Dubourg pamphlet	✅ VERIFIED	On the Will in Nature, final note
Schopenhauer's library on magnetism	✅ VERIFIED	Italian ed. preface, "an entire section..."
Precise date of Frankfurt visit	⚠️ AMBIGUOUS	OCR reads "In 1834" but context = 1854; Dubourg dated Nov 1854

Primary Sources

Schopenhauer, *On the Will in Nature* (Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung, 2nd Supplement): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A7J9xfAVKxlHruOLUURYMWH2FlpINYiz/view (Italian PDF, 173 pp.; Regazzoni testimony lines 5305-5330)

Preface to the 1855-1856 Italian edition: Referenced in the preface; album signature and polemical defense documented

Internal Hyperlinks

TODO: Future Research

Dubourg pamphlet Antoine Regazzoni de Bergame à Francfort sur Mein (Frankfurt, Nov 1854, 31 pp.) — Search at BNF (Bibliothèque Nationale de France), Archiv für Geschichte der Psychiatrie Berlin, Stadtbibliothek Frankfurt, Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt. Schopenhauer recommends it; it likely contains further testimonies on Frankfurt 1854, but may not add substantially to what is already documented by Schopenhauer himself.

Sources

Primary Sources

For the framework of the 19th-century European magnetic tradition, the main primary sources, all digitized in the ISI-CNV Drive folders, are:

Franz Anton Mesmer, Mémoire sur la découverte du magnétisme animal, Genève-Paris, 1779.
Armand-Marie-Jacques de Chastenet, Marquis de Puységur, Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire et à l'établissement du magnétisme animal, Paris, 1784.
Joseph Philippe François Deleuze, Histoire critique du magnétisme animal, 2 vols., Paris, 1813.
Charles Lafontaine, L'Art de Magnétiser ou le Magnétisme Animal, Paris, Germer Baillière, 1847 — PDF Drive ISI-CNV.
Charles Lafontaine, Mémoires d'un magnétiseur, 2 vols., Genève, 1866 — vol. I PDF · vol. II PDF.
Baron du Potet de Sennevoy, Manuel de l'étudiant magnétiseur, Paris, 1846; Traité complet du magnétisme animal, Paris, 1875; La Magie dévoilée, Paris, 1852.
Donato (Alfred d'Hont) and Edouard Cavailhon (eds.), Le Magnétisme — Journal de Psycho-Physiologie, Paris-Bruxelles, 1880-1886 — issues 1-50, 50-104, 104-154, 154+ digitized in the ISI-CNV Drive (see page Donato — Il Padre della Fascinazione for direct links).
Édouard Cavailhon, La Fascination Magnétique, Paris, E. Dentu, 1882.
Albert de Rochas d'Aiglun, Les états profonds de l'hypnose, Paris, Chamuel, 1892; L'extériorisation de la sensibilité, Paris, 1895; Les états superficiels de l'hypnose, Paris, 1893.
Hector Durville, Magnétisme personnel ou psychique, Paris, 1903; Traité expérimental de magnétisme, 2 vols., Paris, 1904-1907 — ISI-CNV Drive folder: Durville Books.

Anti-Hallucination Verification Dossier

The verifiable primary source excerpts for the Lafontaine/du Potet/Deleuze school are collected in the primary source excerpts dossier on the ISI-CNV Drive, part of the anti-hallucination verification system adopted by the School to ensure that every historical claim is traced back to a verifiable textual passage.

Reference Secondary Bibliography

Adam Crabtree, From Mesmer to Freud: Magnetic Sleep and the Roots of Psychological Healing, Yale University Press, 1993.
Henri F. Ellenberger, The Discovery of the Unconscious: The History and Evolution of Dynamic Psychiatry, Basic Books, 1970 (chapters on mesmerism and early hypnosis).
Alan Gauld, A History of Hypnotism, Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Bertrand Méheust, Somnambulisme et médiumnité (1784-1930), 2 vols., Le Plessis-Robinson, Synthélabo, 1999.
Nicole Edelman, Voyantes, guérisseuses et visionnaires en France 1785-1914, Paris, Albin Michel, 1995.
Daniel Pick, Svengali's Web: The Alien Enchanter in Modern Culture, Yale University Press, 2000.
Marco Paret, A History of Hypnotism (ISI-CNV), for the placement of French-Italian magnetism in the line Mesmer → Puységur → du Potet → Lafontaine → Donato → Caravelli → Di Pisa → Paret.