criminal psychology-第107部分

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nuated。

There　is　the　characteristic　state　of　mind　which　might　be　called　the　refraction　of　an　idea　by　the　presence　of　another　idea。　An　example　is　the　habit　of　saying；　‘‘Unprepared；　as　I　have''　before　beginning　a　speech。　The　speaker　means　to　say　that　he　has　not　prepared　himself；　but；　as　he　really　has　prepared　himself；　both　expressions　come　out　　together。　This　habitual　concurrence　of　the　real　thought　is　of　importance；　and　offers；　frequently；　the　opportunity　of　correcting　what　is　said　by　what　is　thought。　This　process　is　similar　to　that　in　which　a　gesture　contradicts　a　statement。　We　often　hear：　‘‘I　had　to　take　it　because　it　was　right　there。''　This　assertion　indicates　theft　through　need；　and　at　the　same　time；　theft　through　opportunity。　Or　again；　we　hear：　‘‘We　had　not　agreed；　before''this　assertion　denies　agreement　and　can　indicate　merely；　because　of　the　added　‘‘before；''　that　the　agreement　was　not　of　already　_*long_　standing。　Still　again；　we　hear；　‘‘When　we　fell　to　the　floor；　I　defended　myself；　and　struck　down　at　him。''　Here　what　is　asserted　is　self…defense；　and　what　is　admitted　is　that　the　enemy　was　underneath　the　speaker。　Such　refractions　of　thought　occur　frequently　and　are　very　important；　particularly　in　witnesses　who　exaggerate　or　do　not　tell　the　whole　truth。　They　are；　however；　rarely　noticed　because　they　require　accurate　observation　of　each　word　and　that　requires　time；　and　our　time　has　no　time。


Section　92。　（b）　Heredity。＇1＇


＇1＇　Benedict：　Heredity。　Med　Times；　1902；　XXX；　289。　　Richardson：　Theories　of　Heredity。　Nature；　1902；　LXVI；　630。　　Petruskewisch：　Gedanken　zur　Vererbung。　Freiburg　1904。


However　important　the　question　of　heredity　may　be　to　lawyers　psychologically；　its　application　to　legal　needs　is　impossible。　It　would　require；　on　the　one　hand；　the　study　of　all　the　literature　concerning　it；　together　with　the　particular　teachings　of　Darwin　and　his　disciples；　and　of　Lombroso　and　his。　The　criminal…psychological　study　of　it　has　not　yet　been　established。　The　unfounded；　adventurous；　and　arbitrary　assertions　of　the　Lombrosists　have　been　contradicted；　especially　through　the　efforts　of　German　investigators。　But　others；　like　Debierre　in　Lille；　Sernoff　in　Moscow；　Taine；　Drill；　Marchand　have　also　had　occasion　to　controvert　the　Italian　positivists。　At　the　same　time；　the　problem　of　heredity　is　not　dead；　and　will　not　die。　This　is　being　shown　particularly　in　the　retort　of　Marchand　concerning　the　examinations　he　made　with　M。　E。　Koslow；　in　the　asylum　for　juvenile　offenders　founded　by　the　St。　Petersburg　Anthropological　Society。　Between　Buckle；　who　absolutely　denies　heredity；　and　the　latest　of　the　modern　doctrines；　there　are　a　number　of　intermediate　views；　one　of　which　may　possibly　be　true。　There　is　an　enormous　literature　which　every　criminalist　should　study。＇2＇


＇2＇　Calton：　Hereditary　Genius　2d　Ed。　London　1892。　　Martinak：　Einige　Ansichten　ber　Vererbung　moralischer　Eigenschaften。　Transactions；　Viennese　Philological　society。　Leipzig　1893。　　Haacke：　Gestaltung　u　Vererbunsr　Leipzig　1893。　　Tarde：　Les　Lois　de　l'Imitation。　Paris　1904。　Etc。；　etc。



Nevertheless；　this　literature　can　tell　us　nothing　about　the　legitimacy　of　the　premise　of　heredity。　Every　educated　man　still　believes　Darwin's　doctrines；　and　the　new　theories　that　seek　to　emancipate　themselves　from　it　do　so　only　by　pushing　them　out　of　the　big　front　door；　and　insinuating　them　through　the　little　back　door。　But　according　to　Bois…Reymond　Darwinism　is　only　the　principle　of　the　hereditary　maintenance　of　the　child's　variation　from　its　parents。　Everybody　knows　of　real　inherited　characters；　and　many　examples　of　it　are　cited。　According　to　Ribot；　suicide　is　hereditary；　according　to　Despine；　kleptomania；　according　to　Lucas；　vigorous　sexuality；　according　to　Darwin；　hand…writing；　etc。　Our　personal　acquaintances　show　the　inheritance　of　features；　figure；　habits；　intellectual　properties；　particularly　cleverness；　such　as；　sense　of　space　and　time；　capacity　for　orientation；　interests；　diseases；　etc。　Even　ideas　have　their　ancestors　like　men；　and　we　learn　from　the　study　of　animals　how　instincts；　capacities；　even　acquired　ones；　are　progressively　inherited。　And　yet　we　refuse　to　believe　in　the　congenital　criminal！　But　the　contradiction　is　only　apparent。

A　study　of　the　works　of　Darwin；　Weismann；　DeVries；　etc。；　shows　us　indubitably　that　no　authority　asserts　the　inheritance　of　great　alterations　appearing　for　the　first　time　in　an　individual。　And　as　to　the　inheritance　of　acquired　characteristics；　some　authorities　assert　this　to　be　impossible。

Until　Darwin　the　old　law　of　species　demanded　that　definite　traits　of　a　species　should　not　change　through　however　long　a　period。　The　Darwinian　principle　indicates　the　inheritance　of　minute　variations；　intensified　by　sexual　selection；　and；　in　the　course　of　time；　developed　into　great　variations。　Now　nobody　will　deny　that　the　real　criminal　is　different　from　the　majority　of　other　people。　That　this　difference　is　great　and　essential；　is　inferred　from　the　circumstance　that　a　habit　a　single　characteristic；　an　unhappy　inclination；　etc。；　does　not　constitute　a　criminal。　If　a　man　is　a　thief　it　will　not　be　asserted　that　he　is　otherwise　like　decent　people；　varying　only　in　the　accidental　inclination　to　theft。　We　know　that；　besides　the　inclination　to　theft；　we　may　assign　him　a　dislike　for　honest　work；　lack　of　moral　power；　indifference　to　the　laws　of　honor　when　caught；　the　lack　of　real　religion；in　short；　the　inclination　to　theft　must　be　combined　with　a　large　number　of　very　characteristic　qualities　in　order　to　make　a　thief　of　a　man。　There　must；　in　a　word；　be　a　complete　and　profound　change　in　his　whole　nature。　Such　great　changes　in　the　individual　are　never　directly　inherited；　only　particular　properties　can　be　　inherited；　but　these　do　not　constitute　a　criminal。　Hence；　the　son　of　a　criminal　need　not　in　his　turn　be　a　criminal。

This　does　not　imply　that　in　the　course　of　generations　characters　might　not　compound　themselves　until　a　criminal　type　is　developed；　but　this　is　as　rare　as　the　development　of　new　species　among　the　animals。　Races　are　frequently　selected；　species　develop　rarely。


Section　93。　（c）　Prepossession。

Prepossession；　prejudice；　and　anticipatory　opinion　are；　perhaps；　the　most　dangerous　foes　of　the　criminalist。　It　is　believed　that　the　danger　from　them　is　not　great；　since；　in　most　cases；　prepossession　controls　only　one　individual；　and　a　criminal　case　is　dealt　with　by　several；　but　this　proves　nothing。　When　the　elegant　teacher　of　horseback　riding　has　performed　his　subtlest　tricks；　he　gracefully　removes　his　hat　and　bows　to　the　public；　and　only　at　that　moment　does　the　public　observe　that　it　has　been　seeing　something　remarkable　and　applauds　heartily；　not　because　it　has　understood　the　difficulty　of　the　performance；　but　because　the　rider　has　bowed。　This　happens　to　us　however　good　our　will。　One　man　has　a　case　in　hand；　he　develops　it；　and　if；　at　the　proper　time；　he　says　‘‘Voila；''　the　others　say；　‘‘Oh；　yes；''　and　‘‘Amen。''　He　may　have　been　led　by　a　prepossession；　but　its　presence　is　now　no　longer　to　be　perceived。　Thus；　though　our　assumptions　may　be　most　excellently　meant；　we　still　must　grant　that　a　conviction　on　false　grounds；　even　when　unconsciously　arrived　at；　so　suffuses　a　mind　that　the　event　in　itself　can　no　longer　be　honestly　observed。　To　have　no　prejudices　indicates　a　healthy；　vigorous　mind　in　no　sense。　That　is　indicated　by　the　power　to　set　aside　prejudices　as　soon　as　their　invalidity　is　demonstrated。　Now　this　demonstration　is　difficult；　for　when　a　thing　is　recognized　as　a　prejudice；　it　is　one　no　longer。　I　have　elsewhere；＇1＇　under　the　heading　‘‘anticipatory　opinion；''　indicated　the　danger　to　which　the　examining　justice　is　subject　thereby；　and　have　sought　to　show　how　even　a　false　idea　of　location　may　lead　to　a　prepossession　in　favor　of　a　certain　view；　how　vigorous　the　influence　of　the　first　witness　is；　inasmuch　as　we　easily　permit　ourselves　to　be　taken　in　by　the　earliest　information；　and　later　on　lack　time　to　convince　ourselves　that　the　matter　may　not　be　as　our　earliest　advice　paints　it。　Hence；　false　information　necessarily　conceals　a　danger；　and　it　always　is　a　matter　of　effort　to　see　that　the　crime　is　a　fictitious　one；　or　that　something　which　has　been　called　accident　may　conceal　a　crime。　The　average　man　knows　　this　well；　and　after　a　brawl；　after　contradictory　testimony；　etc。；　both　parties　hurry　to　be　beforehand　in　laying　the　information。　Whoever　lays　the　information　first　has　the　advantage。　His　story　effects　a　prepossession　in　favor　of　his　view；　and　it　requires　effort　to　accustom　oneself　to　the　opposite　view。　And　later　it　is　difficult　to　reverse　the　rles　of　witness　and　defendant。


＇1＇　Manual。


But　we　have　to　deal　with　prepossession　in　others　besides　ourself；　in　witnesses；　accused；　experts；　jury；　colleagues；　subordinates；　etc。　The　more　we　know；　the　newer　new　things　seem。　Where；　however；　the　apperceptive　mass　is　hard　and　compact；　the　inner　reconstruction　ceases；　and　therewith　the　capacity　for　new　experiences；　and　hence；　we　get　those　judges　who　can　learn　nothing　and　forget　nothing。　Indefiniteness　in　the　apperceptive　masses　results　in　the　even　movement　of　apperception。　Minds　with　confused　ideational　complexes　hit　little　upon　the　particular　characteristic　of　presented　fact；　and　find　everywhere　only　what　they　have　in　mind。

The　one…sidedness　of　apperception　frequently　contains　an　error　in　conception。　In　most　cases；　the　effective　influence　is　egoism；　which　inclines　men　to　presuppose　their　own　experiences；　views；　and　principles　in　others；　and　to　build　according　to　them　a　system　of　prepossessions　and　prejudices　to　apply　to　the　new　case。　Especially　dangerous　are　the　_*similar_　experiences；　for　these　tend　to　lead　to　the　firm　conviction　that　the　present　case　can　in　no　sense　be　different　from　former　ones。　If　anybody　has　been　at　work　on　such　earlier；　similar　cases；　he　tends　to　behave　now　as　then。　His　behavior　at　that　time　sets　the　standard　for　the　present；　and　whatever　differs　from　it　he　calls　false；　even　though　the　similarity　between　the　two　cases　is　only　external　and　apparent。

It　is　characteristic　of　egoism　that　it　causes　people　to　permit　themselves　to　be　bribed　by　being　met　half…way。　The　inclination　and　favor　of　most　men　is　won　by　nothing　so　ea