criminal psychology-第110部分

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riminal。


＇1＇　A。　Eulenberg：　Sexuale　Neuropathie。　Leipzig　1895。


Section　96。　（f）　Honor。

Kant　says　that　a　man's　honor　consists　in　what　people　think　about　him；　a　woman's　in　what　people　say　about　her。　Another　authority　believes　that　honor　and　a　sense　of　honor　are　an　extension　of　the　sense　of　self　in　and　through　others。　The　essence　of　my　honor　is　my　belief　that　I　exist　for　others；　that　my　conduct　will　be　judged　and　valued　not　only　by　myself　but　by　others。　Falstaff　calls　honor　the　painted　picture　at　a　funeral。　Our　authors　are　both　right　and　wrong；　for　honor　is　simply　the　position　a　man　takes　with　regard　to　the　world；　so　that　even　gamins　may　be　said　to　have　honor。　Unwillingness　to　see　this　may　cause　us　criminalists　considerable　trouble。　One　of　the　worst　men　I　ever　met　in　my　profession；　a　person　guilty　of　the　nastiest　crimes；　so　nasty　that　he　had　driven　his　honorable　parents　to　suicide；　had　at　the　expiration　of　his　last　sentence　of　many　years　in　prison；　said　literally；　‘‘I　offer　no　legal　objection　against　the　sentence。　I　beg；　however；　for　three　days'　suspension　so　that　I　may　write　a　series　of　farewell　letters　which　I　could　not　write　as　a　prisoner。''　Even　in　the　heart　of　this　man　there　was　still　the　light　of　what　other　people　call　honor。　We　often　find　similar　things　which　may　be　used　to　our　advantage　in　examination。　Not；　of　course；　for　the　purpose　of　getting　confession；　accusation　of　accomplices；　etc。　This　might；　　indeed；　serve　the　interests　of　the　case；　but　it　is　easy　to　identify　a　pliable　attitude　with　an　honorable　inclination；　and　the　former　must　certainly　not　be　exploited；　even　with　the　best　intention。　Moreover；　among　persons　of　low　degree；　an　inclination　toward　decency　will　hardly　last　long　and　will　briefly　give　way　to　those　inclinations　which　are　habitual　to　bad　men。　Then　they　are　sorry　for　what　they　had　permitted　to　occur　in　their　better　moment　and　curse　those　who　had　made　use　of　that　moment。

It　is　often　funny　to　see　the　points　at　which　the　criminal　seeks　his　‘‘honor。''　What　is　proper　for　a　thief；　may　be　held　improper　for　a　robber。　The　burglar　hates　to　be　identified　with　the　pick…pocket。　Many　a　one　finds　his　honor　in　this　wise　deeply　attacked；　particularly　when　it　is　shown　him　that　he　is　betraying　an　accomplice；　or　that　he　has　swindled　his　comrades　in　the　division　of　booty；　etc。　I　remember　one　thief　who　was　inconsolable　because　the　papers　mentioned　that　he　had　foolishly　overlooked　a　large　sum　of　money　in　a　burglary。　This　would　indicate　that　criminals　have　professional　ambitions　and　seek　professional　fame。


Section　97。　（g）　Superstition。

For　a　discussion　of　Superstition　see　my　Handbuch　fr　Untersuchungsrichter；　etc。　（English　translation　by　J。　Adam；　New　York；　1907）；　and　H。　Gross's　Archiv　I；　306；　III；　88；　IV；　340；　V；　290；　207；　IX；　253；　IV；　168；　VI；　312；　VII；　162；　XII；　334。



Topic　3。　MISTAKES。

（a）　Mistakes　of　the　Senses。

Section　98。　（1）　General　Considerations。

As　sensation　is　the　basis　of　knowledge；　the　sensory　process　must　be　the　basis　of　the　correctness　of　legal　procedure。　The　information　we　get　from　our　senses　and　on　which　we　construct　our　conclusion；　may　be　said；　all　in　all；　to　be　reliable；　so　that　we　are　not　justified　in　approaching　things　we　assume　to　depend　on　sense…perception　with　exaggerated　caution。　Nevertheless；　this　perception　is　not　always　completely　correct；　and　the　knowledge　of　its　mistakes　must　help　us　and　even　cause　us　to　wonder　that　we　make　no　greater　ones。

Psychological　examination　of　sense…perception　has　been　going　on　since　Heraclitus。　Most　of　the　mistakes　discovered　have　been　used　for　various　purposes；　from　sport　to　science。　They　are　surprising　and　attract　and　sustain　public　attention；　they　have；　hence；　become　　familiar；　but　their　influence　upon　other　phenomena　and　their　consequences　in　the　daily　life　have　rarely　been　studied。　For　two　reasons。　First；　because　such　illusions　seem　to　be　small　and　their　far…reaching　effects　are　rarely　thought　of；　as　when；　e。　g。；　a　line　drawn　on　paper　seems　longer　or　more　inclined　than　it　really　is。　Secondly；　it　is　supposed　that　the　influence　of　sensory　illusions　can　not　easily　make　a　difference　in　practical　life。　If　the　illusion　is　observed　it　is　thereby　rendered　harmless　and　can　have　no　effect。　If　it　is　not　observed　and　later　on　leads　to　serious　consequences；　their　cause　can　not　possibly　be　sought　out；　because　it　can　not　be　recognized　as　such；　and　because　there　have　been　so　many　intermediate　steps　that　a　correct　retroduction　is　impossible。

This　demonstrates　the　rarity　of　a　practical　consideration　of　sense…　perception；　but　does　not　justify　that　rarity。　Of　course；　there　are　great　difficulties　in　applying　results　of　limited　experiments　to　extensive　conditions。　They　arise　from　the　assumption　that　the　conditions　will　be　similar　to　those　which　the　scientist　studies；　and　that　a　situation　which　exhibits　certain　phenomena　under　narrow　experimental　conditions　will　show　them；　also；　in　the　large。　But　this　is　not　the　case；　and　it　is　for　this　reason　that　the　results　of　modern　psychology　have　remained　practically　unproductive。　This；　of　course；　is　not　a　reproach　to　the　discipline　of　experimental　psychology；　or　an　assault　upon　the　value　of　its　researches。　Its　narrow　limitations　were　necessary　if　anything　definite　was　to　be　discovered。　But　once　this　has　been　discovered　the　conditions　may　be　extended　and　something　practical　may　be　attained　to；　particularly　in　the　matter　of　illusion　of　sense。　And　this　possibility　disposes　of　the　second　reason　for　not　paying　attention　to　these　illusions。

Witnesses　do　not　of　course　know　that　they　have　suffered　from　illusions　of　sense；　we　rarely　hear　them　complain　of　it；　anyway。　And　it　is　for　this　very　reason　that　the　criminalist　must　seek　it　out。　The　requirement　involves　great　difficulties　for　we　get　very　little　help　from　the　immense　literature　on　the　subject。　There　are　two　roads　to　its　fulfilment。　In　the　first　place；　we　must　understand　the　phenomenon　as　it　occurs　in　our　work；　and　by　tracing　it　back　determine　whether　and　which　illusion　of　the　sense　may　have　caused　an　abnormal　or　otherwise　unclear　fact。　The　other　road　is　the　theoretical　one；　which　must　be　called；　in　this　respect；　the　preparatory　road。　It　requires　our　mastery　of　all　that　is　known　of　sense…illusion　and　particularly　of　such　examples　of　its　hidden　nature　as　exist。　Much　of　the　material　of　this　kind　is；　however；　irrelevant　to　our　purpose；　par…　　ticularly　all　that　deals　with　disease　and　lies　in　the　field　of　medicine。　Of　course；　where　the　nature　of　the　disease　is　uncertain　or　its　very　presence　is　unknown；　it　is　as　well　for　us　to　consider　the　case　as　for　the　physician。　But　above　all；　it　is　our　duty　to　consult　the　physician。

Apart　from　what　belongs　to　the　physician　there　is　the　material　which　concerns　other　professions　than　ours。　That　must　be　set　aside；　though　increasing　knowledge　may　require　us　to　make　use　even　of　that。　It　is　indubitable　that　we　make　many　observations　in　which　we　get　the　absolute　impression　that　matters　of　sensory　illusion　which　do　not　seem　to　concern　us　lie　behind　some　witnesses'　observations；　etc。；　although　we　can　not　accurately　indicate　what　they　are。　The　only　thing　to　do　when　this　occurs　is　either　to　demonstrate　the　possibility　of　their　presence　or　to　wait　for　some　later　opportunity　to　test　the　witness　for　them。

Classification　will　ease　our　task　a　great　deal。　The　apparently　most　important　divisions　are　those　of　‘‘normal''　and　‘‘abnormal。''　But　as　the　boundary　between　them　is　indefinite；　it　would　be　well　to　consider　that　there　is　a　third　class　which　can　not　fall　under　either　heading。　This　is　a　class　where　especially　a　group　of　somatic　conditions　either　favor　or　cause　illusory　sense…perceptions；　e。　g。；　a　rather　over…loaded　stomach；　a　rush　of　blood　to　the　head；　a　wakeful　night；　physical　or　mental　over…exertion。　These　conditions　are　not　abnormal　or　diseased；　but　as　they　are　not　habitual；　they　are　not　normal　either。　If　the　overloaded　stomach　has　turned　into　a　mild　indigestion；　the　increase　of　blood　into　congestion；　etc。；　then　we　are　very　near　disease；　but　the　boundary　between　that　and　the　other　condition　can　not　be　determined。

Another　question　is　the　limit　at　which　illusions　of　sense　begin；　how；　indeed；　they　can　be　distinguished　from　correct　perceptions。　The　possibility　of　doing　so　depends　upon　the　typical　construction　of　the　sense…organs　in　man。　By　oneself　it　would　be　impossible　to　determine　which　sensation　is　intrinsically　correct　and　which　is　an　illusion。　There　are　a　great　many　illusions　of　sense　which　all　men　suffer　from　under　similar　conditions；　so　that　the　judgment　of　the　majority　can　not　be　normative。　Nor　can　the　control　of　one　sense　by　another　serve　to　distinguish　illusory　from　correct　perception。　In　many　cases　it　is　quite　possible　to　test　the　sense　of　sight　by　touch；　or　the　sense　of　hearing　by　sight；　but　that　is　not　always　so。　The　simplest　thing　is　to　say　that　a　sense…impression　is　correct　and　implies　reality　when　it　remains　identical　under　various　circumstances；　in　various　conditions；　when　connected　with　other　senses；　and　observed　　by　different　men；　with　different　instruments。　It　is　illusory　when　it　is　not　so　constant。　But　here　again　the　limit　of　the　application　of　the　term　‘‘illusion''　is　difficult　to　indicate。　That　distant　things　seem　to　be　smaller　than　they　are；　that　railway　tracks　and　two　sides　of　a　street　seem　to　run　together　are　intrinsically　real　illusions　of　sense；　but　they　are　not　so　calledthey　are　called　the　laws　of　perspective；　so　that　it　would　seem　that　we　must　add　to　the　notion　of　sense…　perception　that　of　rarity；　or　extraordinary　appearance。

I　have　found　still　another　distinction　which　I　consider　important。　It　consists　in　the　difference　between　real　illusions　and　those　false　conceptions　in　which　the　mistake　originates　as　false　inference。　In　the　former　the　sense　organ　has　been　really　registering　wrongly；　as　when；　for　example；　the　pupil　of　the　eye　is　pressed　laterally　and　everything　is　seen　double。　But　when　I　see　a　landscape　through　a　piece　of　red　glass；　and　believe　the　landscape　to　be　really　red；　the　mistake　is　one　of　inference　only；　since　I　have　not　included　the　effect　of　the　glass　in　my　concluding　conception。　So　again；　when　in　a　rain　I　believe　mountains　to　be　nearer　than　they　really　are；　or　when　I　belie