The Power of the Mind Over the Body: an Experimental Inquiry Into the Nature and Cause of the Phenomena Attributed by Baron Reichenbach and Others to a New Imponderable""

The Power Of The Mind Over The Body: An Experimental Inquiry Into The Nature And Cause Of The Phenomena Attributed By Baron Reichenbach And Others To A New Imponderable" by James Braid offers a critical examination of Baron Reichenbach's claims about a supposed new imponderable linked to magnetism and mesmerism. James Braid argues that many reported phenomena arise not from external forces but from the mind’s influence on the body through concentration, expectation, and suggestion. He details controlled investigations in which subjects are observed under waking and hypnotic conditions, often with the subject blind to the experimenter’s actions, to guard against sensory cues and preconceived ideas. Across numerous cases, he shows that sensations such as warmth, cold, tingling, spasms, and even visual or auditory impressions can be produced by internal mental states or by the subject’s anticipations, rather than by a physical magnetic influence. He concludes that mind and body interact powerfully, that perception can be shaped by suggestion, and that the supposed new force lacks independent empirical support, thereby challenging mesmerism and Reichenbach’s theory.