I am certain that Mesmer’s pervasion metaphysics actually improved the rate of placebo success. Ordinary magnet therapy just places magnets like curative leeches around the body, treating local problems with local magnet-solutions. Mesmer’s theory says that sickness is a function of the volume and tidal flow of a system. The problem is one—one fluid flowing in one network.

I think this must have improved the efficacy of the treatment for two reasons:

First, treating the genus rather than the species helps you cover your bases. Humans are terribly inaccurate self-diagnosticians. Acknowledge their theory but don’t limit yourself to it—if the problem is articulated inaccurately, the placebo effect will be small. To cover all bases, generalize the problem.

This strategy occurs automatically inside of mesmerism because the problem is never this or that particular ailment. No, the problem is always The System. Since every disease has one cure, applying the One Cure cannot miss the mark. “We just need to remove those blockages and give you a refill. Doing that will cure anything.”

Second, by generalizing the problem you also bring it closer to the psyche. The vital fluid is a homogeneous substance. It is a one, spread out and extended—just like a soul, just like a proper Ghost in the Machine. We always imagine ghosts as single minds extended in space, as a one spread across a person-sized volume of space. The physical analog of such a ghost really would be a homogenous fluid or gas (which is a species of fluid and follows its behavior profile).

Saying that the problem is systemic—that the flow of the body-pervading fluid is off—fuzzes the problem out into a vague unity. Sound familiar? Saying that the fluid is the problem is like saying the whole body is the problem. This is exactly what we mean by “I”—something vague spread throughout the body.

What other aspects would a “physical soul” have? It should be self-contiguous, not discrete or atomized. So it is not particulate, but field-like—just like the fluid. In fact, the fluid contains multiple aspects that are obvious analogs of a soul or ghost.

The magnetic fluid has all the features of a soul. When you treat the fluid, you are treating something very much like a soul. No wonder psychotherapy was launched from here. Psycho therapy was launched from magickal aether metaphysics .