Phineas Parkhurst Quimby

Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802–1866) was an American healer and philosopher who taught that false beliefs could cause illness and that mental insight could restore health. His ideas helped shape New Thought.

Mesmerism: A nineteenth-century practice based on Franz Mesmer’s theory that an invisible fluid could influence health. Quimby began as a practitioner of mesmerism before developing his own account of healing.
Mental healing: The use of mental or spiritual means to address illness and suffering. Quimby treated illness through conversation and changes in patients’ beliefs.
Warren Felt Evans: An American writer who developed spiritual healing ideas influenced by Quimby and Swedenborgianism. Evans helped articulate and disseminate a system of mental healing after Quimby’s death.
New Thought: A religious and philosophical movement emphasizing the spiritual power of thought and the possibility of healing. Quimby’s teachings are among the formative influences commonly linked to New Thought.
Franz Mesmer: An eighteenth-century physician who proposed animal magnetism as a force affecting health. Mesmer’s theories supplied the framework for Quimby’s early healing practice.
Disease: A harmful disturbance of an organism’s normal structure or functioning. Quimby interpreted many illnesses as effects of false beliefs rather than bodily causes alone.
Emma Curtis Hopkins: An American religious teacher who trained leaders in the emerging New Thought movement. Hopkins’s teaching helped spread the movement that grew from ideas associated with Quimby.
Christian Science: A Christian religious movement founded by Mary Baker Eddy that teaches spiritual healing. Its relationship to Quimby remains disputed, and its theology differs from his approach.
Portland, Maine: A coastal city in Maine that became a center of Quimby’s healing work. Quimby treated patients and developed his ideas in Portland.
Suggestion: The communication of an idea that influences another person’s thoughts, feelings, or behavior. Quimby’s explanations and confidence could alter patients’ expectations and experiences.

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