How do so many people maintain their beliefs in the paranormal(UFOs for example)in defiance of establishment views(and with so little evidence)and yet readily accept establishment opinion that hypnosis is harmless? Why do stage hypnotist’s acts not provide evidence to the contrary? In evolutionary terms(and whether hypnosis creates an “altered state” or not) what genetic advantage would a hypnotised person have? Is hypnosis a function of the mother/baby relationship? A means of child/noise control necessary to ancient tribes in danger of attack?
(Yes, Wally, I know it’s one of Bjorn’s threads, but I remain optimistic. Besides, if we manage to get one or two people who actually want to talk about hypnotism, we might have a quorum. And if nothing else, we could play pinochle.)
:rolleyes:
“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!” - the White Queen
Um, who is this “establishment” that has this opinion? Most people in psychology have come to realize that people can be influenced under hypnosis, that false memories can be accidentally implanted under hypnosis, etc.
It’s because there are actually five questions in the OP. Removing the subordinate clauses gets you this:
[list=1][li]How do so many people maintain their beliefs in the paranormal in defiance of establishment views, and yet readily accept establishment opinion that hypnosis is harmless?[/li][li]Why do stage hypnotist’s acts not provide evidence to the contrary?[/li][li]In evolutionary terms, what genetic advantage would a hypnotised person have?[/li][li]Is hypnosis a function of the mother/baby relationship?[/li][li]Is hypnosis a means of child/noise control necessary to ancient tribes in danger of attack?[/list=1][/li]
“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!” - the White Queen
The question for me is whether someone can be hypnotised against their will which is something that is usually adamantly denied. Does agreeing once to hypnosis mean you will be “primed” for hypnosis at another time when you may not be willing? The word “harmful” would then become a euphemism.
I think the Catholic Encyclopedia suggests this but in a confused way as far as I’m concerned.
Well, I guess if G.Nome won’t come to the discussion, the discussion will come to G.Nome.
I am not familiar with the Catholic Encyclopedia. I would have to guess, by its name, that it might perhaps be just a tiny bit biased, overall. (Unless its authors are using the word “catholic” in its lower-case original sense, that of “all-encompassing”.)
Here is what Compton’s Encyclopedia, 1997, has to say. (Yes, I realize that it would probably count as an “establishment” authority, but here at the SDMB, “establishment authorities” are what we customarily use as references, books such as the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Merriam-Webster dictionary, etc.)
**
You can see that, according to Compton’s Encyclopedia at least, you cannot be hypnotized against your will. You must agree to cooperate with the hypnotist in order to be hypnotized. All those movies like Svengali where you see the hypnotist snap his fingers once and people fall into a trance, are fiction. It’s true that a hypnotist can implant a post-hypnotic suggestion to the effect that “every time I snap my fingers and say the words ‘afghanistan banana stand’, you will fall into a deep sleep,” but in that case, the subject has already agreed to be hypnotized the first time.
So, yes, here is an “adamant denial” that you can be hypnotized against your will.
As for agreeing once to hypnosis meaning that you will be “primed” for hypnosis at a later date, I would say “yes”, for two reasons. One is as I jsut said, that a hypnotist can implant a post-hypnotic suggestion, to the effect that “every time we do this, it will get easier for you to fall into a trance.” The second is just the simple reason that every time you do something, you tend to get better at it. The first time you agree to allow the golf pro to stand behind you and hold your arms in the correct position will “prime” you for the next time you have the golf pro stand behind you and hold your arms in the correct position.
“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!” - the White Queen
