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The origin of hypnosis can be dated back to ancient philosophies and medicines. Incubation had been used in ancient Egypt and Greece for some three millennia with the same indications of modern hypnosis and was well-known by both Hippocrates and Parmenides. Then, it was dismantled by Christian hagiographic propaganda in 4-5th century AC and buried to the oblivion. Again, the birth of the new sciences in 17th century was the result of a compromise with Church, forcing them to limit their field of interest in the Cartesian res extensa only, leading to consciousness and mind-body relationship being neglected for political-religious will, rather than scientific grounds, and to Hippocrates’ teaching being betrayed. As a result, the history of hypnosis was marked by its outstanding results paralleled by misunderstanding and prejudicial refusal, a fact endowed with deep epistemological implications.
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Advances)in)Social)Sciences)Research)Journal)–)Vol.)8,)No.)7)
Publication)Date:!July!25,!2021!
DOI:10.14738/assrj.87.10541.!
Facco, E., & Tagliagambe, S. (2021). Learning From the Past: From Incubation in Ancient Egypt and Greece to Modern Hypnosis.
Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(7). 268-285.
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!
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Learning!From!the!Past:!From!Incubation!in!Ancient!Egypt!and!
Greece!to!Modern!Hypnosis!
!
Enrico)Facco)
Studium!Patavinum!-!Dept.!of!Neurosciences!
University!of!Padova,!Italy!
Inst.!F.!Granone!-!Italian!Center!of!Clinical!and!Experimental!!
Hypnosis!(CIICS),!Torino!(Italy)!
)
Silvano)Tagliagambe)
Professor!emeritus!of!Philosophy!of!Sciences,!University!of!Sassari,!Italy!
!
ABSTRACT'
The'origin' of' hypnosis'can'be' dated' back'to' ancient'philosophies'and'medicines.'
Incubation'had'been'used'in'ancient'Egypt'and'Greece'for'some'three'millennia'with'
the'same'indications'of'modern'hypnosis'and'was'well-known'by'both'Hippocrates'
and'Parmenides.'Then,'it'was'dismantled'by'Christian'hagiographic'propaganda'in'
4-5th'century'AC'and'buried'to'the'oblivion.'Again,'the'birth'of'the'new'sciences'in'
17th'century'was'the'result'of'a'compromise'with'Church,'forcing'them'to'limit'their'
field' of' interest' in' the' Cartesian' res$ extensa'only,' leading' to' consciousness' and'
mind-body' relationship' being' neglected'for' political-religious' will,' rather' than'
scientific' grounds,'and' to' Hippocrates’' teaching' being' betrayed.' As' a' result,' the'
history' of' hypnosis' was'marked' by' its' outstanding' results' paralleled' by'
misunderstanding' and' prejudicial'refusal,' a' fact' endowed' with' deep'
epistemological'implications.'
!
INTRODUCTION)
The!origin!of!hypnosis!is!commonly!attributed!to!Franz!Anton!Mesmer!in!late18th!century,!but!
its! origin! dates! back! much! farther! and! is! mixed! up! with! the! heart! of! healing,! as! well! as! all!
disciplines!devoted!to!grasp!information!form!the!unknown,!including!shamanism,!philosophy!
and!religion.!Ancient!Egyptian!and!Greek!medicine!was!intimately!connected!with!the!religion!
and!the!sacred!and!used!incubation!as!healing!technique,!a!view!also!held!by!Hippocrates!-!the!
great!father!of!modern!medicine,!whose!oath!is!still! at! the! base!of! !medical! profession!-!and!
perfectly!compatible!with!his!rationality!and!wisdom.!There!is!a!close!connection!between!all!
of!these! age-old! disciplines!and! Non-Ordinary! Mental! Expressions! (NOMEs)!-!a!term!
introduced!to!overcome!the!questionable!concept!of!altered!state!of!consciousness!and!!gather!
all! non-pathological,! ostensibly! odd! but! meaningful! experiences,! including!hypnosis! and!
meditation[1,2].!Here,! the! practice!of!incubation!in!ancient! Egypt!and!Greece! will! be!shortly!
outlined!wondering!whether! it!may! be!considered! as!the! first!form! of!clinical! hypnosis;!the!
reasons!of!its!disappearance!from!the!history!of!Western!medicine!until!its!reintroduction!by!
Mesmer!in!late!18th!century!will!be!also!outlined.!!
!
The!topic!calls!for!taking!a!look!at!the!origin!and!development!of!philosophy!and!medicine!and!
their!close!relationship!with!religion!from!prehistory!to!the!medicine!in!the!Middle!Ages,!up!to!
!
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Facco, E., & Tagliagambe, S. (2021). Learning From the Past: From Incubation in Ancient Egypt and Greece to Modern Hypnosis. Advances in Social
Sciences Research Journal, 8(7). 268-285.
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the! academic! teaching! of! medicine! and! the! birth! of! modern! sciences! in! 17th!century.! This!
excursus!may!allow!to!better!understand!the!relevance!of!hypnosis!in!medicine!as!well!as!its!
misunderstanding!and!prejudicial!refusal!in!the!past!two!centuries,!a!topic!endowed!with!deep!
epistemological!implications.!
!
ORIGIN)OF)PHILOSOPHY)AND)MEDICINE)
The!prehistoric!pan-Asiatic! shamanism! can!be!considered!as!the! source! of!both!Eastern!and!
Western! philosophies! and! medicines! [35].! Shamans! (the! term! shaman! means! man! of!
knowledge)! were! the! first! physician-healers,! who! investigated! diseases! and! their! treatment!
with! a! holistic! approach! merging! body,! mind! and! environment! in! a! whole! as! inseparable!
components! of! a! single! world,! including! both!the! visible! and! the! invisible.! Besides! the!
administration! of! plants!(including! psychotropic! agents),! surgical! procedures!and! other!
remedies,! their! healing! procedures! and! rites! included! NOMEs! in! order! to! exploit! the!
potentialities!of!the!soul!of!both!the! shaman! (e.g.,!shamanic!journeys)!and!the! patient! in!the!
process!of!healing.!Figure!1!schematically!shows!the!origin!and!development!of!both!Eastern!
and!Western!philosophies!and!medicines!from!the!prehistory!up!to!the!birth!of!Western!!"#$%&'
()*+"&' !&%),-+.&-&!(the! Salerno! Medical! School)! and! first! universities! with! their! medical!
schools.!!
!
!
Fig.'1:'Origin'of'Eastern'and'Western'philosophies'from'pan-Asiatic'prehistoric'shamanism'and'
the'birth'of'medicines'from'them,'including'the'use'of'incubation'and'meditation'(modified'
from'Facco'&'Tagliagambe'[26]).'
!
Both! Greek! and! Egyptian! medicines! underwent! a! great! development! in! ancient! times.! The!
temples!of!Imhotep!in!Egypt!and!Asclepius!in! Greece! were! temple-hospitals! where! both! soul!
and!body!were!cured!with!a!holistic!approach,!and!where!the!sacred,!religious!aspect!was!fully!
compatible! with! the! naturalistic,! technical! one.! /012345678! ()-9$:;)<+<,! incubation)! was!an!
essential! practice! of! ancient! medicine! with! a! thousand-year! old! tradition,! starting! at! the!
boundaries!of!prehistory!and!lasting!until!the!Dark!Ages.!!
!
Eastern!philosophies!also!had!their!medicines.!Traditional!Chinese!Medicine!and!acupuncture!
stemmed!from!Taoism!and!adopted!its!paradigm,!while!=>?,@)*&!medicine!(the!term!=>?,@)*&!
!
!
270!
L-$,+&"'(%+(!*&%,E(!&%"+&"'(M"'",#&6(H*/#+,E(NL!!MHO!
!"#$%&"'()*#(!&%"+&"(,+-(.-/&,0%*+(1(2+%0"-(3%+4-*5!
means!knowledge!of!life)!belonged!to!Veda!tradition.!All!Eastern!philosophies!have!unvaryingly!
merged!theoretical!and!practical!philosophy!in!a!whole!adopting!a!non-dualist!perspective!and!
devoted!themselves!to!self-knowledge!and!the!way!for!emancipation!-!i.e.!the!liberation!from!
all! attachments,! conditioning,! up! to! the! level! of! wisdom,! sageness! and! enlightenment.!
Therefore,!all!of!them!included!meditation!as!an!essential!practice!aimed!to!get!rid!of!(=>=,!the!
mask! of! illusion! of! ordinary! consciousness;! this! goal! involved! the! development! of!
metacognition!and!resilience,!allowing!for!subject’s!empowerment!-!viz.!the!enhanced!control!
over!one’s!mind!and!body!on!the!way!to!enlightenment![6,7].!!
!
There!is!!a!close!link!between!modern!hypnosis!and!!Eastern!meditation!techniques![3,813],!a!
fact!leading!to! mindful!hypnosis!being!recently! introduced![14].!In!fact,! the!first!mesmerists!
were!strongly! interested! in!Eastern! philosophies!and!healing! practices!-!considered!akin! to!
their!discipline!-!and!claimed!that!Mesmer!had!only!given!them!a!scientific!aspect.!In!early!19th!
century! A#)' B$+<.,! a! journal! on! mesmerism,! published! several! articles! dealing! with! Indian!
practices,!compared!to!magnetic!steps!able!to!induce!a!trance.!Yogic!and!Buddhist!meditation!
(also!called!#+C),-&.+$-)!!as!well!as!Taoism!were!also!compared!to!mesmerism;!in!the!opinion!
of!Sandby! (1848),!the! Yogee!D+-*?")*' .#)' )"<.&.+"' $,' ()<;),+"' "$-*+.+$-”! through! deep!
meditation![9,12].!!
!
In!short,!the!origin!of!modern!hypnosis!can!arguably!be!traced!back!to!two!different!traditions:!!
the!ancient!Greek!and!Egyptian!medicines!with!their!practice!of!incubation!-!the!technique!of!
which!has!been!irremediably!lost!in!the!Dark!Ages!-!and!the!Eastern!meditation,!from!which!
the!first!mesmerists!drew!relevant!information.!Despite!there!is!no!direct!connection!between!
incubation!and!hypnosis,!the!former!was!a!long-lasting!practice!persisted!in!Western!medicine!
for! some! three! millennia,! regularly! used! with! the! same! medical! and! surgical! indications! of!
modern!hypnosis.!Both!of!them!can!be!conceived!as!mind-body!techniques,!based!on!doctor-
patient!relationship!and!subject’s!plastic!imagination!enhanced!by!a!guided!procedure.!The!lack!
of!connection!depends!on!incubation!having!been!canceled!out!in!the!first!centuries!AC!due!to!
Christian!hagiographic!propaganda.!
!
INCUBATION)
Imhotep!was!the!architect!of!the!Pharaoh!Djoser!who!built!the!pyramid!in!Saqqara;!he!was!also!
a!priest!of!Ra,!the!Egyptian!deity!of!the!sun,!and!so!great!a!physicians!as!to!be!deified!as!health!
protector!following! his! death.! His! worship! was! initially! in! Memphis! and! then! spread! to! the!
whole!Egypt.!It!is!not!clear!whether!the!Serapis’!worship!in!Saqqara!also!included!incubation!
for!healing!or!was!devoted!to!oneiromancy!only,!while!incubation!was!practiced!in!Alexandria!
and! Canopus,! especially! following! the! reign! of! Ptolemee! I! (367-282! b.C.)! and! Hellenization!
[15,16].!A!Serapeum!was!also!built!in!Rome!close!to!the!temple!of!Minerva!(the!Greek!Ἀθηνᾶ,!
Athena),!above!which!the!current!church!of!Santa!Maria!Sopra!Minerva!(St.!Mary!Over!Minerva,!
close!to!the!Pantheon)!was!built.!!
!
Egyptian!medicine!was!highly!developed!and!specialized.!Outstandingly,!the!Surgical!Papyrus!!
(discovered!by! Edwin!Smith! !in! 1862)!described! 48!cases! of!head! and! spinal! cord! ! injuries,!
including!tetraplegia,! aphasia,!hemiplegia! with! the!corresponding! brain!lesions,! and! already!
reported!the!cerebrospinal!fluid!in!2500-3000!BC![1719].!It!is!worth!noting!that!in!the!West,!
!
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Facco, E., & Tagliagambe, S. (2021). Learning From the Past: From Incubation in Ancient Egypt and Greece to Modern Hypnosis. Advances in Social
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it!was!described!first!by!Domenico!Cotugno!in!Naples!in!the!18th!century,!i.e.,!just!4,500!years!
later![20,21].!!
!
The!Edwin!Smith!papyrus!clearly!shows!that!the!medical!science!and!its!sacred!aspects!were!
fully! compatible,! and! the! same! was! for! Hippocrates.! Thus,! one! must! be! aware! that! their!
opposition!is! a! strong! bias! introduced! by! comparatively! recent! historical-political!
circumstances!-!i.e.,!the!exclusivist!ideology!and!temporal!power!of!the!Church!and!its!conflict!
with!the!nascent!sciences!in!17th!century!(see!below).!
!
Likewise! Egyptian! physicians,! the! caregivers! of! Greek! Asclepeions! -!including! Hippocrates,!
who!was!considered!as!a!direct!descendant!of!the!demigod!Asclepius!-!were!priests-physicians!
inseparably! merging! the! naturalistic! medicine! with! its!sacred! component.! The!enlightened!
Hippocrates’! rational! approach! (%$E#+<;F<)! was!wider! and! wiser! than! the! one! of! modern!
reductionist!approach! of! biomedicine.! Actually,! it! was!based! on! the! concept! of! GHIJ478'
(*K-&;+<L' M$N),O,! i.e.,! the! dynamic! interrelationship! of! the! mind-body-environment! as! an!
inseparable!whole.!This!concept!has!been!well!painted!by!Plato!in!few!words!in!the!P#&)*,?<'
(270b):!
Q!$",&.)<R'S$'>$?'.#+-9L'.#)-L'.#&.'+.'+<'M$<<+C%)'.$',)&"#'&'<),+$?<'?-*),<.&-*+-E'$T'
.#)'-&.?,)'$T'.#)'<$?%'N+.#$?.'?-*),<.&-*+-E'.#)'-&.?,)'$T'.#)'N$,%*'&<'&'N#$%)U'
QP#&)*,?<R'V)%%L'+T'N)W,)'.$'%+<.)-'.$'X+MM$",&.)<L'Y<"%)M+?<W'*)<")-*&-.L'N)'N$-W.'
)@)-'?-*),<.&-*'.#)'C$*>'+T'N)'*$-W.'T$%%$N'.#&.';).#$*Z'
Thus,!the!Hippocrates’!rationality!was!holistic!in!nature!and!warned!against!the!inclination!to!
arbitrarily! separate! what! in! nature! is! not,! a! fact! preventing! a! proper! comprehension! of! the!
reality.!The!Hippocratic!*K-&;+<!can!be!considered!as!an!outstanding!intuition!of!the!modern!
concept! of! complex! systems! -!a! topic! only! recently! appeared! in!biological! ! and! medical!
literature!-!the! ;$*?<' $M),&-*+!of! which! cannot! be! properly! explained! by! an! inflexible!
reductionist-determinist!perspective![2225].! Actually,! a!complex! system! is!a! dynamic,! non-
deterministic!phenomenon!characterized!by!an!unceasing!exchange!of!information!between!its!
components,!where!any!effect!is!a!potential!cause!of!other!effects!in!an!integrated,!inseparable!
whole.!Thus,!it!evolves!over!time!and!is!able!to!change!its!response!to!the!same!stimuli,!thanks!
to!the!unceasing!exchange!of!information!between!its!parts.!The!current!COVID-19!outbreak!is!
the! most! recent! example! of! the! dynamic! interrelationship! and! coevolution! man-virus-
environment,! including! the! whole! of! seasonal! factors! and! social! behaviors,! virus! mutations,!
herd!immunity!and!vaccination.!This!concept!had!already!been!well!painted!by!Plato!(Phaedrus,!
270!d,e):!
Q!$",&.)<R' [$-<+*),L' .#)-L' N#&.' C$.#' X+MM$",&.)<' &-*' .,?)' &,E?;)-.' <&>' &C$?.'
-&.?,)Z'\<-W.'.#+<'.#)'N&>'.$'.#+-9'<><.);&.+"&%%>'&C$?.'.#)'-&.?,)'$T'&->.#+-EU']+,<.L'
N)';?<.'"$-<+*),'N#).#),'.#)'$C^)".',)E&,*+-E'N#+"#'N)'+-.)-*'.$'C)"$;)')_M),.<'
&-*'"&M&C%)'$T'.,&-<;+..+-E'$?,')_M),.+<)'+<'<+;M%)'$,'"$;M%)_Z'A#)-L'+T'+.'+<'<+;M%)L'
N)';?<.' +-@)<.+E&.)'+.<'M$N),`' V#&.'.#+-E<' *$)<'+.' #&@)' N#&.'-&.?,&%' M$N),'$T'
&".+-E'?M$-U'a>'N#&.'.#+-E<'*$)<'+.'#&@)'N#&.'-&.?,&%'*+<M$<+.+$-'.$'C)'&".)*'?M$-U'
\TL'$-'.#)'$.#),'#&-*L'+.'.&9)<';&->'T$,;<L'N)';?<.')-?;),&.)'.#);'&%%'&-*L'&<'N)'
*+*'+-'.#)'<+;M%)'"&<)L'+-@)<.+E&.)'#$N')&"#'+<'-&.?,&%%>'&C%)'.$'&".'?M$-'N#&.'&-*'
#$N'+.'#&<'&'-&.?,&%'*+<M$<+.+$-'.$'C)'&".)*'?M$-'C>'N#&.b'P,$"))*+-E'C>'&->'$.#),'
!
!
272!
L-$,+&"'(%+(!*&%,E(!&%"+&"'(M"'",#&6(H*/#+,E(NL!!MHO!
!"#$%&"'()*#(!&%"+&"(,+-(.-/&,0%*+(1(2+%0"-(3%+4-*5!
;).#$*'N$?%*'C)'%+9)'N&%9+-E'N+.#'.#)'C%+-*Z'[$-@),<)%>L'N#$)@),'<.?*+)<'&->.#+-E'
$-'.#)'C&<+<'$T'&-'&,.';?<.'-)@),'C)'"$;M&,)*'.$'.#)'C%+-*'$,'.#)'*)&TZ''
The!Plato’s!argument!correctly!emphasizes!the!dynamic,!inseparable!relationship!between!the!
parts!of!complex!systems,!where!any!part!with!its!power!of!“acting!upon”!may!be!at!the!same!
time!the!“disposition!to!be!acted!upon”.!This!clearly!describes!the!system!as!a!dynamic!whole!
endowed! with! reciprocal! exchange! of! information! and! cause-effect! relationship! between! its!
parts,!a!system!of!which!no!part!can!be!arbitrarily!separated!unless!one!wants!to!proceed!like!
“the!blind!or! the! deaf”.!Instead,!the!reductionist! approach!of!modern!medicine! is!inclined! to!!
split! the! living! being! in! separate! and! at! least! partly! independent! parts! in! a! mechanist-
conceptual! fragmentation,! a! priori!neglecting! the! role! of! mind! in! both! health! and! disease!
[26,27].!The!concept!of!*K-&;+<!also!emphasizes!the!high!complexity!of!medicine!and!its!nature!
of!endless!work!in!progress,!open!to!any!possible!kind!of!change!and!evolution!and!making!any!
result!necessarily!provisional!in!an!ever-changing!complex!system.!!
!
To! summarize,! Hippocrates! has! introduced! a! wise! holistic! rationality,! emphasizing! the!
impossibility! to! understand! both! mind! and! body! when! split! from! each! other,! and! from! the!
whole.!Altough!the!concept!of!the!whole!(cd58'eH6fg8L'#F%h<'M#K<)i<)!is!not!clearly!defined,!it!
is!reasonable!interpreting! it!as!the!mind-body-environment!dynamic!interrelationship.!It! is!a!
topical!concept,!worth!being!taken!into!account,!given!that!the!positivist-materialist!stance!has!
led!to!unduly!neglect!the!role!of!subjectivity!and!consciousness.!!
!
It!is!worth!noting!that!the!Hippocrates’!teaching!also!meets!the!WHO’s!definition!of!health:!!
Health! is! a! state! of! complete! physical,! social! and! emotional! well-being,! and! not! merely! the!
absence!of!disease!or!infirmity![28].!!
!
This!definition,!adopting!the!concept!of!positive!health!(viz.,!living!well!rather!than!living!long!
only),! allows! one! to! appraise!the! relevance! of! psycho-existential! dimension! of! the! patient,!
rather!that!reducing!him/her!to!a!passive,!powerless!carrier!of!an!organic!disease![29].!This!is!
of!paramount!importance!in!palliative!care!too,!a!condition!endowed!with!deep!philosophical!
implications!where!hypnosis!may!play!!a!central!role!in!relieving!suffering![30].!According!to!
the! WHO’s! definition! of! health,! a! reductionist! medicine! limited! to! the! treatment! of! physical!
diseases!only!through! mechanical! interventions! on! the! body,! by! definition!is! not! enough! to!
ensure!health.!
!
The!early!stages!of!the!cult!of!Asclepius!and!its!medicine!started!in!the!pre-Homeric!period!and!
its!worship!persisted!until!the!4-5th!century!AC.!The!temples-hospitals!(e.g.,!see!the!Asclepius!
temples!in!Epidaurus)! were! sets!of!buildings! also! including!the!<.$&! (the! hostel!for!patients’!
admission),!a!theater!and!a!gymnasium,!all!to!be!considered!!as!inseparable!parts!of!a!whole,!
devoted!to!take!care!of! the! patient’s! body!and!soul.!In!fact,!Greek!tragedies!performed!in!the!
theater!allowed!patients!to!face!the!darkness!of!human!existence!and!its!profound!psychosocial!
problems!favoring!catharsis!and,!thus,!healing!from!psychological!suffering![31].!!
!
In! Asclepius’! temples! -! also! called! “sleep! temples”! -! the! patient! was! admitted! to! the!
j+-9$;).),+$-L!also!called!&C&.$-!(+;M)-).,&C%),!i.e.,!the!secluded!part!forbidden!to!people!not!
prepared!to!meet!Asclepius),!where!incubation!was!induced,!during!which!he/she!dreamed!the!
god! Asclepius! providing! instructions! for! healing.! The! temple! of! Epidaurus! was! built! in! two!
!
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levels:!patients!prepared!themselves!to!incubation!in!the!upper!floor,!purifying!themselves!with!
water!and!reading!the!narrations!of!wonderful!healing,!while!incubation!was!performed!in!the!
ground-floor!(figure!2).!!
!
Actually,! the! ritual! of! preparation! was! rather! complex! and! structured! in! different! phases!
starting!before!entering!the!temple:!a)!purification!rites!(including!diet,!bath,!three-day!sexual!
abstinence);!b)!a!detachment!from!both!birth!and!death,!at!least!in!the!late!Roman!period!(i.e.,!
not!visiting!a!new!mother!and/or!her!son,!seeing!a!corpse!or!take!part!in!a!funeral);!c)!sacrifices!
of!animals!or,!as!an!alternative,!sweets!and!honey!offering;!d)!wearing!a!proper!gown!(a!white!
gown!was!use!by!priests!and!also!indicated!the!intention!to!be!incubated).!A!fee!()M&,"#))!was!
also! required! in! most! temples.! On! psychological! standpoint,! purification! meant! having! holy!
intentions!and!a!righteous!mind,!not!clouded!by!thoughts!and!interests.!As!Porphyry!reported!
(k-'YC<.+-)-.+&'T,$;'Y-+;&%']$$*,!2,!19).!
!
In!Epidaurus,!therefore,!there!was!the!following!inscription!on!the!doors!of!the!temple:!
\-.$'&-'$*$,$?<'.);M%)L'#)'N#$'E$)<'
!#$?%*'M?,)'&-*'#$%>'C)l'C?.'.$'C)'N+<)'
\-'N#&.'.$'<&-".+.>'M),.&+-<L'+<'.$'C)'M?,)Z'
!
!
!
Figure'2:'Abaton'of'Asclepius'temple'in'Epidaurus'(Greece):'upper'level'(top)'and'ground-floor'
(bottom).'
!
!
274!
L-$,+&"'(%+(!*&%,E(!&%"+&"'(M"'",#&6(H*/#+,E(NL!!MHO!
!"#$%&"'()*#(!&%"+&"(,+-(.-/&,0%*+(1(2+%0"-(3%+4-*5!
This!is!akin!to!the!warning!γνwθι!σεαυτόν!(E-m.#+'<)&?.F-L'know!yourselfO!in!the!Apollo!temple!
in! Delphi,!an! essential! precondition! to! access! oracles! with! a! sound!and!neutral! mind,! a!
prerequisite!to!correctly!interpret!them.!
!
A! wealth! of! data! is! available!on! incubation![26,3236],! but! the! details! on! the! procedure! of!
induction! and! deepening! are! lacking.! In! early! period! incubation! included! simple,! directive!
suggestions!of! recovery;! then,!it! was! implemented!over! time! with!therapeutic!suggestions! -!
e.g.,!advises! about! proper! behavior,! dietary! regimen! and! physical! activity,! according! to! the!
development!of! medical!knowledge.! In! many!cases! the!god! Asclepius!personally! treated! the!
patient!as!well;! this! especially! occurred! when!surgery! was!performed! during!incubation.! In!!
k-+,$",+.+"&!(V,!61),!Artemidorus!reports!on!a!patient!with!an!abdominal!abscess!who,!brought!
to!the!temple,!dreamed!Asclepius!operating!him!on!and!!then,!waked!up!healed!(Edelstein!&!
Edelstein,!1998,!p.!235):!
Y'"),.&+-';&-'*,)&;)*'.#&.L'<.,?"9'+-'.#)'C)%%>'C>'Y<"%)M+?<'N+.#'&'<N$,*L'#)'*+)*l'
.#+<';&-L'C>';)&-<'$T'&-'+-"+<+$-L'#)&%)*' .#)'&C<")<<'N#+"#'#&*'*)@)%$M)*'+-'#+<'
C)%%>Z'
The!incubation!was!usually!depicted!with!the!patient!laying!in!the!9%+-&+!(bed)!and!the!priest-
physician!inducing!incubation!behind!him/her.!Indeed,!they!can!be!considered!as!a!sort!of!four-
dimensional!pictures!merging!in!a!whole!both!the!in!the!three-dimensional!!physical!reality!of!
the!YC&.$-!and!the!imagined!realm!of!the!patients!being!cured!by!Asclepius,!as!shown!in!figure!
4a.!The!same!is!for!a!small!fresco!found!in!the!house!of!Sirico!in!Pompeii,!depicting!the!surgeon!
Iaspi!drawing!an!arrow!from!Aeneas’!thigh!(figure!4b).!The!right!part!of!the!fresco!shows!the!
intervention,! while! in! the! left! part! his! mother! Aphrodite! is! assisting! him,! with! a! structure!
similar!to!that!of!figure!4a.!What!is! peculiar!here!is!the!calm!expression!of!Aeneas’!face!in!an!
upright!position!-an!unlikely!!one!for!surgery!-!with!the!gaze!upwards,!a!position!similar!to!the!
one!used!in!the!induction!of!!
!
!
Fig.'4:'Incubation'in'the'Asclepeion'of'Epidaurus'(a):'The'right'part'of'the'figure'depicts'the'
incubated'patient’s'with'the'snake'sacred'to'Asclepius'resting'on'his'right'shoulder,'while'the'
left'one'shows'the'imagined'god'curing'it'(4th'century'BC;'first'stela,'A.C.'IG'IV2'1,'no.'121).'(b)'a'
small'fresco'from'Pompeii,'depicting'the'surgeon'Iaspi'drawing'an'arrow'from'Aeneas’'thigh;'
the'intervention'is'depicted'in'the'right'part'of'the'figure,'the'left'part'shows'his'mother'
Aphrodite'assisting'him'(Archeological'Museum,'Naples,'Italy).'
!
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tantra!meditation![37,38],!and!also!recalling!the!eye!roll!in!the!Hypnotic!induction!profile![39].!
This!hints! to! an! intervention! performed!in! incubation,!where! Aeneas! gaze! and! his! vision! of!
Aphrodite!may!be!its!clues![26].!
!
As!a!whole,!the!available!data!suggest!the!hypothesis!of!incubation!as!the!first!form!of!clinical!
hypnosis,!based!upon!plastic!monoideism!and!used!as!a!psychosomatic!procedure!for!healing!
as!well!as! a! sedative-analgesic!for!surgery.!In!fact,! ancient! medicine!considered!illness!as!an!
imbalance! of! the! mind-body!unit,! where! mind! could! be! a! relevant! factor! for! recovery.!
Accordingly,!healing!was!!achieved!through!an!experience!at!the!limit!between!life!and!death!-!
with!the!body!still!like!a!hibernating!animal!-!a!procedure!showing!interesting!links!with!the!
ritual!of!initiation!in!Eleusinian!Mysteries,!shamanic!journeys!and!other!non-ordinary!mental!
expressions!like!near-death!experiences,!these!last!also!showing!a!link!with!hypnosis![40,41].!
It!is!worth!mentioning!that!incubation!was!also!practiced!by!Native!American!Indians,!for!both!
healing!and!rites!of!passage![42].!!
!
The! physician-priests! of! Asclepius! increasingly! used! medications! and! surgery! over! time!
according!to!the!development!of!naturalistic!medicine,!the!Hippocratic!School!provided!a!huge!
amount! of! knowledge! to.! In! its! late! period,! Asclepius! medicine! used! a! sophisticated! set! of!
surgical!tools,! including!a!drill! to!perform! burr! holes,!almost! identical! to!the! trephine!today!
used! in! neurosurgery! (figure!3).! Anyway,! it! remained! inseparably! united! to! the! sacred! in! a!
holistic,!psychosomatic!approach,!according!to!the!concept!of!*K-&;+<Z!In!this!regard,!it!is!worth!
emphasizing!that!philosophy,!science!and!religion!were!not!split!in!ancient!time.!Parmenides!-!
the!great!philosopher!of!the!Being!and!Nihil,!named!by!Plato!“Venerable!and!Awesome”!in!the!
A#)&).).?<!(183e)!-!was!not!a!philosopher!in!the!modern!sense!of!the!term.!He!was!a!priest!of!
Apollo!Oulios!-!the!ambivalent!god!of!health!and!disease,!destroyer-healer,!father!of!Asclepius.!
He!was! also! +&.,$<!(physician),! +&.,$;&-.+s! (healer),! M#m%&,"#$<! (lord! of! borrows!-!viz.,! the!
borrows!of!snakes!sacred!to!Apollo!-!a!term!indicating!his!expertise!in!incubation),!as!well!as!
founder!of! the! medical! Eleatic! school! (Facco! &!Tagliagambe,! 2020;!Kingsley,! 1999;!Vecchio,!
2004).! Thus,! Parmenides! can! be! considered! as! a! philosopher-priest-physician!and!senior!
colleague!of!Hippocrates,!who!in!turn!shared!the!Parmenides’!concepts!of!Being!and!Whole,!as!
reported!in!S)'S+&).&!(I,!4,!9):!!
n)+.#),'&'.#+-E';&>'C)"$;)'-$.#+-E'-$,'&->.#+-E'-$.'M,)@+$?<%>'C)+-E'C)';&>'<.&,.'
.$'C)L'C?.')@),>.#+-E'"#&-E)<'T$,';+_+-E'&-*'<)M&,&.+$-b\.'+<'-$.'M$<<+C%)'.#&.'N#&.'
+<'-$.';&>'<.&,.'.$'C)Z'
! !
!
!
276!
L-$,+&"'(%+(!*&%,E(!&%"+&"'(M"'",#&6(H*/#+,E(NL!!MHO!
!"#$%&"'()*#(!&%"+&"(,+-(.-/&,0%*+(1(2+%0"-(3%+4-*5!
!
!
Fig.'3:'Drill'for'trepanation'of'the'skull'performed'by'Hippocratic'physicians'found'in'Kos''(left;'
International'Hippocratic'Foundation,'Kos,'Greece)'and'a'current'trephine'used'today'in'
neurosurgery'(right).'
!
BURYING)INCUBATION)TO)OBLIVION)
The!practice!of!incubation!persisted!for!some!fifteen!centuries!in!Greece,!from!the!pre-Homeric!
period!to!the!4-5th!century!AC.!At!the!beginning!of!Christianity!incubation!was!still!compatible!
with! the! medicine! of! early! physician-martyrs,! like! Cosmas! and! Damian;! for! example,! it! was!
practiced!in!the!shrine!of!the!Egyptian!saints!Cirus!and!John!close!to!Canopus!as!a!syncretistic!
remnant!of!Greek-Egyptian!tradition!initially!survived!in!early!Christendom!(P&.,$%$E+&'o,&)"&,!
87,! 3424! “!$M#,$-++'($-&"#+' !$M#+<.&)Z' n&,,&.+$'(+,&"?%$,?;' !!`'[>,+' ).' p$&--+<'!&M+)-.+?;'
Y-&,E>,$,?;”;[43]).!
!
At!the!same!time,!the!great!theocratic!design!of!the!(&E-&'j""%)<+&!(Great!Church)!-!pursued!
by!the!Catholic!Church!following!its!formalization!as!the!state!church!of!the!Roman!Empire!in!
380!AC!-!started!the!Christian!hagiographic!propaganda!aimed!to!bury!paganism!to!oblivion.!
This!goal! was! achieved! by! building! Christian! churches! over! previous! pagan! temples! and!
superimposing! Christian! rituals! and! celebrations! on! previous! pagan! ones.! For! example,!
Christmas!was!superimposed!to!the!cults!of!the!Persian!Mithra!and!Roman!Helios,!solar!deities!
antagonist! of! darkness! and! evil,! whose! celebration! ! fell! just! after! the! winter! solstice!-!i.e.,!
December!25,!called!in!Rome!“S+)<'n&.&%+<'!$%+'\-@+".+”!(a+,.#*&>'$T'q-"$-r?),)*'!?-).!Likewise,!
Egyptians!celebrated!the!sun!birth!as!a!child!born!of!the!Celestial!Virgin!on!January!6![44].!Thus,!
current!Christian!celebrations!of!Christmas!and!Epiphany!coincide!with!the!ancient!Mithra!and!
Helios!celebrations!and! share!the!common!archetypical!aspect!of!the!birth!of!light!-!physical!
and!spiritual!at!the!same!time.!!
!
Since!its!foundation,!the!Church!considered!the!care!of!the!sick!a!valuable!charitable!work!and!
Christ!himself!was!defined!as!healer!of!both!body!and!soul,!especially!of!the!body!as!a!function!
of!the!soul.!This!!led!to!the!birth!of!the!first!Christian!physicians-martyrs!and!!the!!conversion!
of!pagan!treatment!centers!into!Christian!hospitals,!where!Christian!physicians!were!&-s,E>,$+!
(i.e.,! they! provided! free! treatments)! [45].! At! the! same! time,! the! Christian! hagiographic!
propaganda!used! all! means! to! dismantle! Asclepius! medicine! [26];! for! example,! Clemente! of!
Alexandria!in!P,$,tM.+"$<!!accused!Asclepiads!to!be!stingy!(a!fee!was!required!in!their!temple-
hospitals)! and! the! statues! of! Greek! gods! only! valueless! dead! matter,! on! which! birds! could!
disrespectfully!leave! their!droppings.! Likewise,! Origen!railed! against!Asclepius,! defined!as! a!
false!god!since!he!had!been!struck!by!Zeus,!warning!that!even!miracles!may!be!ambiguous!since!
marvels!may!also!come!from!demons!([$-.,&'[)%<+?;!3,!22-24).!
!
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Thus,! incubation! was! buried! to! the! oblivion! forever,! together! with! Asclepius! and! Apollo!
medicine.!!However,!some!elements!of!incubation!persisted!as!a!syncretic!aspect!in!the!Middle!
Ages,!but!the!name!incubation!was!lost.!In!9-10th!century!AC!several!Aslepiad-like!healings!were!
reported! spending! the! night! in! Christian! shrines! close! to! the! tombs! of! saints! (e.g.,! (+,&"?%&'
!&-".+' YE-)%%+!and! !&-".+' YE,+MM+-+,! reported! by!Mallardo! [46]).! Interestingly,! miraculous!
recoveries!were!reported!in!a!condition!of!<$;-?;L'<)*'"%&,)'@+E+%&-.)<!!(<%))M+-EL'C?.'"%)&,%>'
&N&,))!begging!for!recovery!in!the!sanctuaries!![26,4648].!This!locution!replaced!the!lost!term!
incubation;!at!any!rate,!it!hinted!to!an!altered!stated!of!consciousness!(or,!better,!a!NOME!on!
authors’! opinion)! at! that! time! defined! as! an! intermediate! condition! between! ordinary!
consciousness!and!sleep:!this!remained!the!essential!prerequisite!for!healing.!!
!
Thus,! today’s! sanctuaries!like! Lourdes! are! the! remnants! of! a! thousand-year! old! tradition!
starting!in!the!prehistory!and!technically!used!for!some!three!millennia!by!skilled!physicians-
priests! in! Egyptian! and! Greek! temples.! Following! its! deletion,! incubation! was! ! reduced! to! a!
matter!of! patient’s!hope!only,! deprived! of! the! technical! support! by! Christian!priests;! in!this!
context,!the!art!of!healing!and!its!procedure!were!irremediably!lost!and!reduced!to!a!matter!of!
patient’s! faith! and! God! omnipotence! only.! At! any! rate,! the! belief! in! miraculous! healing! has!
persisted!until! today!and!is!clearly!witnessed!in!many!churches! and!holy!places.!If!this!is!the!
case,!one!can! argue! that!it!reflects!an! insuppressible! need!(and!perhaps!a! faculty)!of!human!
kind,!unceasingly!persisting!from!prehistory!to!current!days;!perhaps,!it!is!not!a!plain!form!of!
superstition,! but! may! reflect! a! clinically! relevant! though! misunderstood! psychosomatic!
potential.!
)
EPISTEMOLOGICAL)IMPLICATIONS)
The! above-mentioned! practices!have! been! neglected! or! even! disparaged! as! expressions! of!
primitive! illusory! beliefs! by! the! modern! medicine,! stemming! from! materialist! monism! and!
adopting! a! mechanist-reductionist!perspective!-!anyway,! a! metaphysical! stance! based! on!
undemonstrated!axioms!and!theories.!!
!
The!!"#$%&'()*+"&'!&%),-+.&-&!was!born!in!Campania!Region!close!to!Velia!(the!Greek!Elea)!in!
the!early!Middle!Ages!and!became!the!most!important!European!school!of!medicine!at!that!time.!
Its! foundation! was! transcultural,! ! merging! in! a! whole! the! knowledge! of! Hebrew,! Egyptian,!
Arabian,!Latin!and!Greek!medicine!(arguably!including!the!Eleatic!medicine),!a!fact!narrated!as!
a!tale!in!the![#,$-+"&'X)%+-+,!a!text!of!late!Middle!Ages.!Then!it!underwent!a!slow!decline!after!
the!foundation!of!the!Universities!of!Bologna!and!Padua!in!1220!and!1222,!respectively!(the!
first!two!universities!in!the!world),!followed!by!Naples!in!1224.!Finally,!it!was!closed!by!Joachim!
Murat!in!1811!![26].!!
!
The!!"#$%&'()*+"&'!&%),-+.&-&!underwent!a!huge!development,!but!no!remnants!of!incubation!
can!be!found!in!it.!Its!pharmacopeia!included!over!500!remedies,!while!surgery!included!also!
major!interventions;!it!is!noteworthy!that!the!well-known!Trendelemburg!position!in!surgery!
(introduced!by!Friederich!Trendelemburg!in!late!19th!century)!as!a!matter!of!fact!had!already!
been!introduced!by!Ruggero! Frugardo!in!12th!century! in! his!treatise!u$E),+-&!or! P$<.' (?-*+'
]&C,+"&;![49].!The!further!development!of!scientific!medicine!in!universities!did!not!alter!the!
close!relationship!between!science!and!philosophy;!until!early!18th!century!medicine!belonged!!
to!human!sciences!and!the!degree!was!in!Medicine!and!Philosophy”!(a!diploma!of!University!
of!Padova!dated!in!1698!has!been!reported!elsewhere![50]).!
!
!
278!
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!"#$%&"'()*#(!&%"+&"(,+-(.-/&,0%*+(1(2+%0"-(3%+4-*5!
As!analyzed!in!detail!elsewhere![26,50,51],!the!birth!of!modern!sciences!in!17th!century!was!not!
based!on!a!sound!epistemological!reflection;!rather!it!was!the!result!of!a!political!friction!with!
the!Church,!claiming!the!exclusive!competence!on!the!soul!(consciousness).!This!resulted!into!
an! ill-founded! dualistic! split! between! the! sacred! and! the! secular,! the! material! and! the!
immaterial,!the!!soul!and!the!!body,!where!Descartes’!radical!dualism!was!a!loophole!aimed!to!
allow!for!a!compromise!with! the! Church!-!a! ! sort! of! metaphysical! guillotine! making!logically!
incompatible!what!is!undivided!+-'@+@$.!!
!
Since!then,!the!development!of!Galilean!sciences!moved!through!Enlightenment,!Empiricism,!
Positivism! and! materialist! monism,! increasingly! focusing! on! the! physical! reality! while!
neglecting!the!(forbidden)!world!of!subjectivity.!!The!conception!of!science!as!the!most!effective!
method!to!get!the!objective!knowledge!of!the!reality!reached!its!peak!with!the!Circle!of!Vienna!
and!Carnap’s!logic! positivism!in!early!20th!century,!claiming!that,!a)!any!trace!of!metaphysics!
should!be!removed!from!science!and,!b),!only!what!can!be!observed!and!verified!is!real![52].!On!
the! other! hand,! the! foundation! of! logic! positivism! and! physicalism! remains! metaphysical! in!
nature,! while! its! principle! of! verification! is! a! bad! one;! in! fact,! it! leads! to! what! cannot! be!
explained! by! the! adopted! axioms! and! theories! being! a! priori! rejected,! with! a! high!risk! of! a!
dogmatic! drift.! Therefore,! the! embarrassing! concept! of! verifier! underwent! a! progressive!
dampening!within!the!logic!positivism![53],!and!has!been!then!replaced!by!its!opposite,!i.e.,!the!
Popper’s!concept!of!falsifiability![54].!Furthermore,!the!claim!of!getting!rid!of!any!remnant!of!
metaphysics!is!self-contradictory,!i.e.,!it!is!a!metaphysical!concept!in!itself,!entailing!an!irruption!
of!metaphysics!in!science![55].!!
!
As!a!result,!the!ruling!positivist-objectivist!approach!of!medicine!has!a!priori!neglected!the!role!
of! consciousness! until! the! birth! of! quantum! physics;! this! also! led!to!hypnosis!being!
misunderstood,! for! its! paradigm! was! unsuitable! to! study! subjective! phenomena! (Facco,! in!
press;!Tagliagambe,!Fracas,!&!Facco,!2020)!
!
WHAT)WE)CAN)LEARN)FROM)THE)PAST)
Medicine!has!been!closely!linked!to!the!sacred!since!the!beginning!of!human!history,!holding!a!
holistic!approach!both!in!the!East!and!the!West;!Nature!was!contemplated!as!a!whole,!where!
human! beings! were! immersed! in! an! inseparable! relationship! mind-body-world.!The!
development! of! naturalistic! medicine! ! was!never! at! odds! with! philosophy! religion!until!!
comparatively!recent!times,!when!a!friction!stemming!from!politics!and!will!of!power,!rather!
than!philosophy,!occurred:!this!makes!its!results!epistemologically!inconsistent.!In!fact,!on!the!
one!hand!the!history!of!science!is!the!history!of!the!will!of!power![58,59];!on!the!other!hand,!
the!Church!has!always!claimed!the!exclusive!competence!on!the!soul.!The!political!compromise!
was! reached! in! 17th!century! at! the! unbearable! price! of! an! ontological!split! between!the!
Cartesian!!,)<'"$E+.&-<!and!,)<')_.)-<&,!in!order!to!let!the!former!being!assigned!to!the!Church!
and!the!latter!to!the!science:!at!any!rate,!a!political!compromise!not!a!truthful!thought.!
!
To!summarize,!the!Church!strongly!affected!the!history!of!medicine,!by!depriving!it!of!the!soul!
and!related! healing! techniques!in! two! historical!periods:! incubation! first,! and! then!
consciousness.! This! led! to! incubation! being! lost!forever!and! medicine! being! focused!on!the!
Cartesian!)&,.#)-'C$*>';&"#+-)'only,!reifying!living!creatures!and!reducing! human! beings! to!
small!clocks!immersed!in!the!great!Newtonian!clock!of!the!universe.!Of!course,!the!design!of!the!
(&E-&'j""%)<+&!was!not!bad!in!itself,!aiming!to!disseminate!(but!also!impose)!the!Christian!ethic!
!
!
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(an! outstanding! revolution! in! the! Abrahamic! tradition).! Nevertheless,! Jesus! Christ! has! been!
stifled! by! the! imposing! ideological! superstructure! of! the! doctrine! developed! by! the! Church!
throughout!history,! that! has!strongly! risked!to!favor! the! form,!the!exteriority!and! the!social!
control!over!the!inner,!spiritual!development!at!the!core!of!Christ!teaching![60].!As!a!result,!the!
historical-political!circumstances!behaved!like!a!powerful!cultural!filter!preventing!the!secular!
knowledge!and! therapy!of! both! the! soul! and! the! suffering,! including! psychosomatic!
implications!of!diseases!and!functional!disorders.!Accordingly,!the!birth!of!modern!psychology!
was!postponed!to!the!latter!19th!century!and!the!science!of!consciousness!to!the!1980s![50].!!
!
If!the!above!discussion!is!correct,!the!time!is!ripe!to!reappraise!the!whole!topic!and!give!back!
to! consciousness!its! full-fledged! role!in! both! health! and! disease,! neglected!so! far!by! the!
positivist-objectivist!approach.! The! value! of! reductionism! is! not! in! discussion! here:! it! is! a!
valuable!and!powerful!method,!but!it!is!only!a!method!born!to!study!the!relationship!between!
physical!facts!pertaining!to!the!,)<')_.)-<&L!but!not!enough!to!comprehend!the!subjectivity!and!
its! dynamic! interplay! with! the! world.! In! other! words,! the! living! mind-body! unit! cannot! be!
reduced! to! a! simple! matter! of! logic! contradiction! based! on! metaphysical! unyielding!
assumptions.! Rather,! one! should! reexamine! their! foundation,! in! order! to!rediscover! the!
relevance!of!the!Hippocratic!concept!of!*K-&;+<!and!the!T+%',$?E)!linking!a!series!of!religious-
political!(nonscientific)!facts!leading! to!incubation! being! dismantled,! consciousness!
dispossessed!from!the!new!sciences,!and!!hypnosis!being!misunderstood.!!
!
Actually,!the!mainstream!medicine!is!inclined!to!cure!organic!diseases!rather!than!patients!and!
does!it!aggressively!in!advanced!and!preterminal!patients,!confounding!the!concepts!of!ill!and!
dying.! Furthermore,! it!unfairly! takes! patients!for! flat,! passive! carriers! of! disease,! neglecting!
their!active! role! in!the! process! of!both!recovery! and!worsening,!despite!a!wealth!of! data!on!
placebo!and!nocebo!has!clearly!!shown!their!relevance![6165].!Placebo!is!not!a!“false”!therapy!
based!on!an!ill-defined!and!misunderstood!idea!of!suggestion!(actually,!in!the!absence!of!“true”!
effects,!the! placebo!branch! in!controlled! studies! would! be! meaningless);! instead,! it! is! a! real!
effect!favoring!the!process!of!healing!and!lasting!up!to!several!months,!as!previously!shown!in!
migraine![66].!!
!
The! opposite! is! for! nocebo! effect,! able! to!worsen! patient’s! conditions.! For! example,! dental!
anxiety! and! phobia! are! significantly!related! to! previous! bad! experiences! in! the! dental! and!
medical!settings!and!show!some!elements!of!post-traumatic!stress!disorder!yielded!by!doctors’!
bad!behavior![67,68].!!As!far!as!pharmacological!therapy!is!concerned,!the!nocebo!effects!may!
cause!adverse!events!in!30-80%!of!patients!in!the!placebo!group![6974].!Likewise,!reading!the!
information!leaflets!may!cause!adverse!events!in!up!to!47%!of!cases![75].!If!this!is!the!case,!the!
high! rate! of!adverse! events! in! pharmacological! therapy! is! a! relevant! topic! that! cannot! be!
properly!understood! and! managed! without! taking! into! account!patients’! subjectivity:! here,!
hypnosis! may! paradoxically! help! improving! the! safety! of! pharmacological! therapy! by!
increasing!patients’!compliance!and!decreasing!adverse!events.!
!!
ABOUT)THE)SACRED)ASPECT)OF)MEDICINE)
At!the!end!of!this!article,!it!is!worth!shortly! outlining! the! meaning! of!religion! and! the!sacred!
from!a!secular,! anthropological!perspective,! given!their!inseparable!role!in! ancient!medicine!
and! their! withdrawal! from! modern! medicine! despite!their! potential!relevance.! Actually,!
spirituality!and!religion!and,!more!generally,!anything!with! the! flavor! of!transcendence! have!
!
!
280!
L-$,+&"'(%+(!*&%,E(!&%"+&"'(M"'",#&6(H*/#+,E(NL!!MHO!
!"#$%&"'()*#(!&%"+&"(,+-(.-/&,0%*+(1(2+%0"-(3%+4-*5!
been!a!priori!rejected!by!the!materialist!stance!of!science;!nevertheless,!it!is!worth!reiterating!
that!the!foundation!of!both!positivism!and!materialism!is!metaphysical!in!nature.!
!
According! to! Frazer,! philosophy,! science! and! religion! share! the! same! reason! for! their! very!
existence,! i.e.! the! aspiration! for! knowledge! and! truth,! where! religions! represent! the! huge,!
super-human! effort! to! probe! the! great! unsolved! mysteries! of! life! and! death! in! a! mostly!
unknown!universe![44,!Ch.!37].!Therefore,!any!friction!between!them!does!not!depend!on!the!
quest! for! knowledge! and! truth!but,! rather,! on! the! will! of! power! and! related! imposition! of!
dogmas,!beliefs!and!social!rules.!!
!
On! psychological!standpoint,!religion! has! its! foundation! in! religiosity,! a! mind! faculty,!
etymologically!stemming!from!the!Latin!,)%+E&,)!(reunite,!bind!together);!not!surprisingly,!the!
meaning!of!the!term!Yoga,!stems!from!the!Sanskrit!term!>?^+,,!that!has!the!same!meaning![9,76].!
Here,!binding!together!indicates!the!reunion!of!mind!and!body,!inner!and! outer!worlds!-!i.e.,!
reestablishing!their! inseparable! interrelationship,! the! ordinary! consciousness!and! the! Ego!
(with!their!discriminant,!dualistic!stance!and!will!of!power)!have!inadvertently!split.!Religion,!
when!cleansed!of!dogmas!and!doctrinal!inflexibilities,!must!be!regarded!as!a!part!of!philosophy,!
a!valuable!matter!of!knowledge!of!highest!human!values![77,!Ch.!1].!Likewise,!the!spirit!is!a!still!
ill-defined!faculty!of!the!human!mind,!independent!of!any!denomination,!doctrine!or!theology.!
It!may! be!regarded!as! a!non-Ego-centered! component! of!the! human!unconscious,! latent! but!
potentially!accessible!by! consciousness!in! the!process!of! individuation! and!development!the!
Self!up!to!the!level!of!enlightenment![7],!leading!to!the!narrow,!illusory!egocentric!perspective!
being!overcome.!The!relevance!of!spirituality!and!religion!in!medicine!have!been!reappraised!
by!medicine!in!recent!years!and!both!WHO!and!World!Psychiatric!Association!have!recognized!
their!relevance!for!mental!health!and!quality!of!life![78].!!
!
The!concept!of!sacred!-!meaning!the!opposite!of!profane!-!does!not!call!for!any!theology!and!
denomination!as!well.!Its!core!meaning!indicates!all!what!deserves!respect!due!to!its!profound!
truth!and!is! too! important!to! be!altered!or! neglected.!If!this! is!the! case,! medicine!remains! a!
sacred!!profession:!in!fact,!disease,!suffering,!disability!and!death!are!sacred!aspect!of!life,!a!fact!
well!enshrined!in!the!Hippocratic!oath!and!opening!deep!philosophical!questions!in!palliative!
care![30].!!This!is!the!reason!why!ancient!Greek!medicine!included!procedures!for!purification,!
the!aim!of!which!was!to!get!an!integrity!not!diverted!by!interests!of!any!kind.!On!the!other!hand,!
modern! technical! medicine! has! clouded! this!sacred! aspect! and!inadvertently!betrayed!
Hippocrates’!teaching.! Actually,! it! has!led! to!patient!being!reified,! his/her!subjectivity!being!
neglected,! and!the! doctor-patient! relationship! being! contractualized.! At! the! same! time,! the!
disclosure!of!conflicts!of!interests!has!been!introduced!in!conferences!and!renowned!scientific!
journals!in!the!attempt!to!prevent!frauds:!anyway,!a!dreary!condition!for!science,!that!should!
aim! to! pure! knowledge! and! truth.! A! recent! very! bad! example! is! an! article! on! the! use! of!
chloroquine!in!Covid-19,!reporting!fake!data!in!order!to!claim!no!beneficial!effects!and!severe!
adverse!events!based!on!an!alleged!multinational!!registry!analysis!on!96,032!patients![79].!The!
Lancet,!following!an!independent!third-party!peer!review,!has!fortunately!retracted!the!article!
on!June!4.!
!
Perhaps,!there!is!no!rule!and!written!document!able!to!cancel!out!inappropriate!behaviors!and!
frauds!springing!from!human!foolishness.!The!problem!is!cultural!and!philosophical!in!nature!
and! calls! for! reappraising! and! implementing! the! founding! values! and! dignity! of! medical!
!
!
281!
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Sciences Research Journal, 8(7). 268-285.
URL:%6007899-:;-*%;*#49<=;<>?@A9,''#B;A?;<=C><!
profession!-!well!established!since!the!antiquity!-!as!well!as!broadening!the!limits!of!the!ruling!
materialist!stance!of!mainstream!medicine!and!smoothing!the!will!of!power.!
!
CONCLUSIONS)
The!history!of!hypnosis!has!been!marked!by!its!effectiveness!paralleled!by!misunderstanding!
and!!prejudicial!refusal,!a!problem!endowed!with!huge!epistemological!implications![80,81].!Its!
ostensible!oddity!depended!on!the!B)+.E)+<.!(spirit!of!the!times),!dominated!by!the!!century-old!
rationalism!of!Western!thought!and!the!view!of!man!as!a!monolithic!creature!beloved!by!God!
and! endowed! with! a! rational!soul! [82].! This!naïve! belief!started! collapsing!in! 19th!century!
following!the!observation!of!multiple!personalities,!where!the!ostensibly!odd!phenomenology!
of!hypnosis!led!to!the!unconscious!life!and!its!processes!being!recognized.!
!
A!glance!to!the!whole!history!of!philosophy!and!medicine!lets!one!realize!that!the!split!between!
mind,!body!and! environment,!and!their!mechanistic! conceptual!fragmentation!is! a! relatively!
recent!phenomenon!yielded!by!questionable!historical-political-religious!circumstances,!rather!
than! sound! epistemological! reasons.!Then,! the! divorce! between! the! Church! and! the! new!
sciences! was! followed! by! the! separation! of! science! and! philosophy! in! 18th!century.! These!
circumstances!led!to!an!ill-founded!radical!dualism,!well!defined!by!Severino!as!the!cross!the!
Western!thought!is!hung!on![50,51,59].!!
!
If!the!above!discussion!is!correct,!the!whole!history!of!medicine!should!be!reappraised!in!order!
to!recognize!the!cultural!filters!and!flaws!introduced!and!never!again!put!under!scrutiny.!The!
great!value!of!current!medical!science!is!undeniable,!but!its!objectivist-reductionist!approach!
has!inadvertently!led!to!patient’s!subjectivity!being!neglected!and!Hippocrates’!teaching!being!
inadvertently!betrayed.!His!rational!approach!based!on!the!concept!of!*K-&;+<!is!surprisingly!
modern!and!allows!rejoining!what! in! the! modernity!has! been!unduly!split.!This!has!relevant!
implications!in! clinical!practice,! where!only! a!full-fledged! reintroduction!of!subjectivity! may!
allow!for!a!proper!understanding!and!wise!management!of!!patient’s!needs,!as!clearly!shown!
by!the!wealth!of!available!data!on!placebo!and!nocebo.!This!has!also!relevant!clinical!implication!
in!!the!management!of!so-called!Medical!Unexplained!Symptoms!-!including!a!heterogeneous!
group! of! functional! and! psychosomatic! disorders,! such! as! fibromyalgia,! multiple! chemical!
sensitivity,! chronic! fatigue! syndrome,! gulf! war! syndrome,! chronic! pelvic! pain,! non-bacterial!
cystitis,!burning!mouth!syndrome!etc.!-!with!their!high! ! prevalence,! chronic!course,!relevant!
disability!and!high!direct!and!indirect!costs![8385].!!
!
Hypnosis!may!be!regarded!as!the!modern,!scientific!version!of!an!essential!healing!technique!
permeating! the! whole! history! of! medicine,! allowing! for! patient’s! empowerment! and! giving!
him/her! back! an! active! role!in! the! process! of!recovery!through! enhanced! resilience! and!
psychosomatic! control! [6,86][6,86].! It! may! be! as! effective! as! to! allow! for!full! analgesia! and!
improve! the! overall! outcome! of! surgery! [81,8790].! The! same! goals!were!pursued! by!
incubation! for! over! three! thousand! years! in! ancient! Egypt! and! Greece;! then,! it! was!unduly!
deleted!and!red9uced!to!a!matter!of!miraculous!healing!void!of!any!technical!skill!by!the!(&E-&'
j""%)<+&’s!political-theocratic!will.!The!relevance!of!patient’s! subjectivity! in!medical!care!had!
already!been!wisely!defined!by!Hippocrates!in!his!famous!aphorism:!
\.'+<';$,)'+;M$,.&-.'.$'9-$N'N#&.'<$,.'$T'M),<$-'#&<'&'*+<)&<)'.#&-'.$'9-$N'N#&.'
<$,.'$T'*+<)&<)'&'M),<$-'#&<Z'
!
!
282!
L-$,+&"'(%+(!*&%,E(!&%"+&"'(M"'",#&6(H*/#+,E(NL!!MHO!
!"#$%&"'()*#(!&%"+&"(,+-(.-/&,0%*+(1(2+%0"-(3%+4-*5!
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... He had the title of Ouliadês (initiated to Apollo worship), iatros (physician), iatromantis (healer) and phôlarchos (i.e., lord of borrows, a term and indicating his expertise in incubation by referring to the borrows of snakes sacred to Apollo). In other words, he was a great sage with shamanic gifts and this might be the reason why Plato named him "venerable and awesome" in the Theaetetus (183e) [1,[13][14][15][16]. According to Baldini, the concept of iatromantis also included the capacity to travel with the soul while the body appeared to lie as dead and come into contact with gods, in order to explore the secrets of the cosmos and perform healings and wonders for the community [17]. ...
... Incubation was constantly practiced in ancient Egyptian and Greek medicines for about 3,000 years -from about 2,700 BC to the fifth century AC. However, with the advent of Christendom paganism was canceled out -including Asclepius' medicine and incubation -and Christian physicians and monks started to take care of the sick [1]. Indeed, in the early stage incubation was practiced in the Cosmedion Cosmas and Damian at Constantinople, in the shrine of the Egyptian saints Cirus and John at Menouthis (close to Canopus), and in the sanctuaries of St. Thecla at Seleucia and Aege as a syncretistic remnant of Asclepius' medicine [14,23]. ...
... The incubation was usually depicted with the patient laying in the klinai (bed), the priestphysician inducing incubation behind him/her and the god Asclepius curing the ailment. Indeed, the structure of these pictures can be considered as four-dimensional, merging the three-dimensional physical reality of the temple and the imagined realm of the patient being cured by Asclepius in a whole (for further details, see [1]). ...
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... Greek culture was an inseparable blend of rational philosophy and mysteric doctrines, including oracles and initiation rites, all great personalities (including Plato and Aristotle) were admitted to. Likewise, medicine was intimately connected to the sacred for over 3,000 years, from Imhotep temples in ancient Egypt to Asclepius temples-hospitals in Greece, where incubation (to be considered as a form of proto-hypnosis) was used together with drugs and surgery as an inseparable part of a psychosomatic approach [35]. Hippocrates has been the most outstanding Greek physician introducing the rational approach (loghismós) and rightfully considered the great father of modern medicine. ...
... There is a clear concordance between the Parmenides' concept of Being and Tao, as well as between his Light-Dark and the concept of Yin-Yang[12,50].2 The etymology and meaning of the term religion, also calling for a metareligious approach, has been described elsewhere[3,35]. ...
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The aim of this paper is to overview the main epistemological implications of the scientific approach to consciousness and the mind-brain relationship, undergone a lively debate in the past decades by strict materialist monist and dualist stances. Their limits, as well as the limits of reductionism and the shortcomings of classical Western thought, suggest the need for a broader perspective. Actually, a transdisciplinary approach helps overcoming the limits and incompleteness of single axiomatic disciplines. Likewise, a transcultural, metaphilosophical approach allows to understand key concepts and meanings common to different philosophies and cultures and properly face them beyond the multiplicity and ostensible oddity of forms. This approach seems to be appropriate in the study of consciousness and subjective phenomena, where the first-person perspective and the meaning of the experience are the condition sine qua non for their comprehension.
... Similarly, Shamans, the first physician-healers investigated diseases and their treatment with a holistic approach according to which body, mind and environment build a dynamic interrelationship. Easter philosophies, traditional Chinese and Ayurveda medicine moved in the same direction [4]. Novel approaches in clinical hypnosis insist on non-dualist perspectives invoking chaotic complex systems theory and quantum mechanics [5]. ...
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Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Aldous Huxley, Sergei Rachmanicoff, Chopin, Goethe. What do these people have in common? They all used hypnosis to explore and expand the boundaries of their intelligence. The aim of the current review is to investigate the impact of clinical hypnosis on Metacognition, Consciousness and Intelligence based on the counterpart model. Furthermore, we examine the role of virtual reality hypnosis in service of metacognition. The results showed that clinical hypnosis-with the power of attention and imagery-can effectively and rapidly reformat cognitive and metacognitive skills, upgrade intelligence and raise conscious experience into the higher energy levels. Hypnosis improves metacognition by reorganizing the survival-emotional-reward centers, smoothing the non-verbal pathways for effortless self-regulation. We concluded that the clinical hypnosis guarantees peak performance, innovation, success, and happiness in all areas of life. It can also play a significant role in education as a tool for dealing with the well-established learned weaknesses, for mental/emotional training and brain rewiring, facilitating learning, unlearning and relearning. Virtual reality hypnosis is a top promising technology assisting metacognitive training.
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The Self is an interdisciplinary topic encompassing neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and anthropology. Despite the wealth of data available on the topic, its definition remains elusive, while its meaning overlaps with terms such as consciousness, Ego, and I, and so has created more confusion and redundancy rather than clarity. Its study is also endowed with deep epistemological and metaphysical implications, on which the accepted axioms, theories, and method of investigation closely depend. Eastern philosophies have faced the problem of self-knowledge for some three millennia, achieving well-founded and valuable knowledge through introspection and meditation, and their results are worth being appraised in the Western, scientific study of the Self. We propose that the Self is related to the highest level of awareness in the continuum Ego-I-Self and, given its exclusively subjective nature (likewise consciousness), it can only be comprehensively explored through a neurophenomenological approach by merging the first and third person perspectives.
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Background The ‘placebo effect’ and ‘nocebo effect’ are phenomena whereby beneficial (placebo) or adverse (nocebo) effects result from the expectation that an inert substance will relieve or cause a particular symptom. These terms are often inappropriately applied to effects experienced on drug therapy. Quantifying the magnitude of placebo and nocebo effects in clinical trials is problematic because it requires a ‘no treatment’ arm. To overcome the difficulties associated with measuring the nocebo effect, and the fact that its definition refers to inert compounds, rather than drugs, we introduce the concept of ‘drucebo’ (a combination of DRUg and plaCEBO or noCEBO) to relate to beneficial or adverse effects of a drug, which result from expectation and are not pharmacologically caused by the drug. As an initial application of the concept, we have estimated the contribution of the drucebo effect to statin discontinuation and statin‐induced muscle symptoms by performing a systematic review of randomized controlled trial of statin therapy. Methods This preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta‐analysis‐compliant systematic review was prospectively registered in PROSPERO (CRD42017082700). We searched PubMed and Cochrane Central from inception until 3 January 2018 using a search strategy designed to detect studies including the concepts (Statins AND Placebo AND muscle pain). We included studies that allowed us to quantify the drucebo effect for adverse muscle symptoms of statins by (i) comparing reported rates of muscle symptoms in blinded and unblinded phases of randomized controlled trials and (ii) comparing rates of muscle symptoms at baseline and during blinded therapy in trials that included patients with objectively confirmed statin intolerance at baseline. Extraction was performed by two researchers with disagreements settled by a third reviewer. Results Five studies allowed the estimation of the drucebo effect. All trials demonstrated an excess of side effects under open‐label conditions. The contribution of the drucebo effect to statin‐associated muscle pain ranged between 38% and 78%. The heterogeneity of study methods, outcomes, and reporting did not allow for quantitative synthesis (meta‐analysis) of the results. Conclusions The drucebo effect may be useful in evaluating the safety and efficacy of medicines. Diagnosis of the drucebo effect in patients presenting with statin intolerance will allow restoration of life‐prolonging lipid‐lowering therapy. Our study was limited by heterogeneity of included studies and lack of access to individual patient data. Further studies are necessary to better understand risk factors for and clinical management of the drucebo effect.
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This study documents and analyses the structure and function of Greek incubation rituals in Classical and Hellenistic times addressing all relevant and extant literary and epigraphical testimonial concerning the rites and rules surrounding incubation. It shows that previous approaches, which treated incubation as a Chthonian phenomenon, as a rite of passage, or as comparable to initiation in mystery cults are not supported by the available testimonia on these rites. An analysis of the ... Lire la suite
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The history of hypnosis has been marked by its effectiveness paralleled by prejudicial refusal, due to its ostensible incompatibility with the ruling Weltbild (picture of the world). Its interpretation has been mainly based on concepts like suggestibility, dissociation, hallucination, impairment of sense of agency, and free will. Nevertheless, little evidence and agreement has been reached so far on the nature of hypnosis and hypnotic ability, an uncertainty enhanced by the wide range of meanings and ambiguities of the used terms. This article analyzes the main epistemological implications involved in the topic.
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Background and Overview Hypnosis, despite its effectiveness, has been neglected. The aim of this study is to show the effectiveness and manageability of hypnosis as a stand-alone technique in dentistry. Case Description Three patients underwent 6 oral surgery procedures (surgical third-molar removal, implant surgery, maxillary bone augmentation, and mucogingival surgery) with hypnosis as the only anesthetic. Two of the 3 patients had difficulties: 1 was sensitive to multiple chemicals, had Addison disease, and had previously experienced anaphylactic reactions to local anesthetics; the other was allergic to lidocaine and had undergone a paradoxical reaction to pharmacologic sedation in the past. All 3 patients had 2 preoperative sessions each to assess their perioperative risk, level of anxiety, hypnotic susceptibility, and capacity to develop full hypnotic analgesia. On a surgery day, hypnosis was induced and hypnotic analgesia was obtained according to a standard protocol, a procedure taking no more than 9 minutes in each case. Each surgical procedure was then completed successfully with the patient in a painless condition of full relaxation and sense of well-being, with stable cardiovascular parameters. None of the patients required postoperative analgesics, which were prescribed for use as needed. Conclusions and Practical Implications Hypnosis is a valuable tool in dentistry, enabling the safe and rapid relief of anxiety and phobia and raising patient pain thresholds to the level of surgical analgesia. Unlike drugs and equipment, it is always readily available, cost-free, and has no adverse effects when administered by competent professionals. Hypnosis can be used for sedation in most patients and as a stand-alone technique in those with appropriate hypnotic susceptibility, improving the well-being and safety of patients.
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Hypnotic-focused analgesia (HFA) was produced in 20 highly hypnotizable subjects receiving nociceptive stimulations while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The fMRI pattern in brain cortex activation while receiving a painful stimulus was recorded both during nonhypnosis and during HFA. The scanning protocol included the acquisition of a T1-weighted structural scan, 4 functional scans, a T2-weighted axial scan, and a fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) scan. Total imaging time, including localization and structural image acquisitions, was approximately 60 minutes. Without HFA, the subjects reported subjective presence of pain, and the cortex primary sensory areas S1, S2, and S3 were activated. During HFA, the subjects reported complete absence of subjective pain and S1, S2, and S3 were deactivated. The findings suggest that HFA may prevent painful stimuli from reaching the sensory brain cortex, possibly through a gate-control mechanism.