criminal psychology-第29部分

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　work；　even　tumbling；　piano　playing；　etc。；　should　alter　the　form　of　a　hand　is　self…evident；　since　muscles　grow　stronger　with　practice　and　the　skin　becomes　coarser　and　drawn　through　friction；　sharp　wind　and　insufficient　care。　As　is　well　known；　physical　properties　are　hereditary　and　observable　in　any　study　of　races；　is　it　any　wonder　that　a　skilled　glance　at　a　man's　hand　may　uncover　a　number　of　facts　concerning　the　circumstances　of　his　life？　Nobody　doubts　that　there　are　raw；　low；　sensual；　fat　hands。　And　who　does　not　know　the　suffering；　spiritual；　refined；　and　delicate

＇1＇　W。　Esser：　Psychologie。　Mnster　1854。

　hand？　Hands　cannot　of　course　be　described　and　distinguished　according　to　fixed　classification；　and　no　doubt　Hellenbach　was　right　when　he　said；　‘‘Who　can　discover　the　cause　of　the　magic　charm　which　lies　in　one　out　of　a　hundred　thousand　equally　beautiful　hands？''

And　this　is　remarkable　because　we　are　not　fooled　through　a　well　cared　for；　fine　and　elegant　hand。　Everybody；　I　might　say；　knows　the　convincing　quality　that　may　lie　in　the　enormous　leathery　fist　of　a　peasant。　For　that；　too；　is　often　harmoniously　constructed；　nicely　articulated；　appears　peaceful　and　trustworthy。　We　feel　that　we　have　here　to　do　with　a　man　who　is　honest；　who　presents　himself　and　his　business　as　they　are；　who　holds　fast　to　whatever　he　once　gets　hold　of；　and　who　understands　and　is　accustomed　to　make　his　words　impressive。　And　we　gain　this　conviction；　not　only　through　the　evidence　of　honest　labor；　performed　through　years；　but　also　through　the　stability　and　determination　of　the　form　of　his　hands。　On　the　other　hand；　how　often　are　we　filled　with　distrust　at　the　sight　of　a　carefully　tended；　pink　and　white　hand　of　an　elegant　gentleman　whether　because　we　dislike　its　condition　or　its　shape；　or　because　the　form　of　the　nails　recalls　an　unpleasant　memory；　or　because　there　is　something　wrong　about　the　arrangement　of　the　fingers；　or　because　of　some　unknown　reason。　We　are　warned；　and　without　being　hypnotised；　regularly　discover　that　the　warning　is　justified。　Certain　properties　are　sure　to　express　themselves：　coldness；　prudence；　hardness；　calm　consideration；　greed；　are　just　as　indubitable　in　the　hand　as　kindness；　frankness；　gentleness；　and　honesty。

The　enchantment　of　many　a　feminine　hand　is　easily　felt。　The　surrender；　the　softness；　the　concession；　the　refinement　and　honesty　of　many　a　woman　is　so　clear　and　open　that　it　streams　out；　so　to　speak；　and　is　perceivable　by　the　senses。

To　explain　all　this；　to　classify　it　scientifically　and　to　arrange　it　serially；　would　be；　nowadays　at　least；　an　unscientific　enterprise。　These　phenomena　pass　from　body　to　body　and　are　as　reliable　as　inexplicable。　Who　has　never　observed　them；　and　although　his　attention　has　been　called　to　them；　still　has　failed　to　notice　them；　need　not　consider　them；　but　persons　believing　in　them　must　be　warned　against　exaggeration　and　haste。　The　one　advice　that　can　be　given　is　to　study　the　language　of　the　hand　before　officially　ignoring　it；　not　to　decide　immediately　upon　the　value　of　the　observations　one　is　supposed　to　have　made；　but　to　handle　them　cautiously　and　to　test　them　with　later　experiences。　It　is　of　especial　interest　to　trace　　the　movement　of　the　hand；　especially　the　fingers。　I　do　not　mean　those　movements　which　are　external；　and　co…ordinate　with　the　movements　of　the　arm；　those　belong　to　mimicry。　I　mean　those　that　begin　at　the　wrist　and　therefore　occur　in　the　hand　only。　For　the　study　of　those　movements　the　hand　of　childhood　is　of　little　use；　being　altogether　too　untrained；　unskilled；　and　neutral。　It　shows　most　clearly　the　movement　of　the　desire　to　possess；　of　catching　hold　and　drawing　toward　oneself；　generally　toward　the　mouth；　as　does　the　suckling　child　its　mother's　breast。　This　movement；　Darwin　has　observed　even　among　kittens。

The　masculine　hand　is　generally　too　heavy　and　slow；　clearly　to　exhibit　the　more　refined　movements；　these　are　fully　developed　only　in　the　feminine；　particularly　in　the　hands　of　vivacious；　nervous；　and　spiritually　excitable　women。　The　justice　who　observes　them　may　read　more　than　he　can　in　their　owner's　words。　The　hand　lies　in　the　lap　apparently　inert；　but　the　otherwise　well　concealed　anger　slowly　makes　a　fist　of　it；　or　the　fingers　bend　characteristically　forward　as　if　they　wished　to　scratch　somebody's　eyes　out。　Or　they　cramp　together　in　deep　pain；　or　the　balls　of　the　four　other　fingers　pass　with　pleasure　over　the　ball　of　the　thumb；　or　they　move　spasmodically；　nervously；　impatiently　and　fearfully；　or　they　open　and　close　with　characteristic　enjoyment　like　the　paws　of　cats　when　the　latter　feel　quite　spry。

Closer　observation　will　show　that　toes　reveal　a　great　deal；　particularly　among　women　who　wear　rather　fine　shoes　and　hence　can　move　their　feet　with　greater　ease。　In　anger；　when　they　cannot；　because　it　would　be　suggestive；　stamp　their　feet；　the　women　press　their　toes　closely　to　the　ground。　If　they　are　embarrassed　they　turn　the　sole　of　their　shoe　slightly　inwards　and　make　small　curves　with　the　point　on　the　ground。　Impatience　shows　itself　through　alternating　and　swinging　pressure　of　heel　and　toe；　repeated　with　increasing　rapidity；　defiance　and　demand　through　raising　the　toes　in　such　a　way　that　the　sole　is　directly　forward　and　the　foot　rests　only　on　the　heel。　Sensuality　is　always　indicated　when　the　foot　is　put　forward　and　the　shin　bone　lightly　stretched　out；　when　all　the　toes　are　drawn　in　toward　the　sole　just　as　the　cat　does　when　she　feels　good。　What　women　do　not　say　in　words　and　do　not　express　in　their　features　and　do　not　indicate　in　the　movement　of　their　hands；　they　say　with　their　feet；　the　inner　experience　must　express　itself　externally　and　the　foot　most　betrays　it。

In　conclusion　it　ought　to　be　kept　in　mind　that　the　hands　of　all　　those　people　who　claim　to　be　hard　workers　but　who　really　try　to　live　without　work；　i。　e。　thieves；　gamblers；　etc。；　ought　to　be　carefully　examined。　Concerning　the　value　of　graphology　see　my　‘‘Manual　for　Examining　Judges。''


TITLE　B。　THE　CONDITIONS　FOR　DEFINING　THEORIES。

Topic　I。　THE　MAKING　OF　INFERENCES。

Section　22。


The　study　of　the　human　soul　as　psychology；　has　for　its　subject　the　whole　stream　of　conscious　life　and　for　its　aim　the　discovery　of　the　occurrence　and　relation　of　the　laws　of　human　thought。　Now　whether　these　relations　imply　the　coherence　of　the　objects　thought　about　or　not；　so　long　as　logic　is　dealing　with　the　laws　according　to　which　thoughts　must　be　correlated　in　order　to　attain　to　objectively　valid　knowledge；　all　questions　that　deal　with　the　formal　aspect　of　thinking　do　not　enter　the　field　of　psychological　investigation。　The　general　psychological　problem　is　to　describe　the　actual　psychic　events　as　they　occur；　to　analyze　them　into　their　simplest　elements；　and　inasmuch　as　it　is　this　purely　pragmatic　application　of　psychology　to　the　problem　of　inference　that　concerns　us；　we　need　to　deal　only　with　that　law　which　defines　the　combination　of　images　and　with　the　question；how　the　spirit　achieves　this　combination。　The　material　aspect　of　this　question　is　therefore　psychological。　The　legal　importance　of　the　problem　lies　in　the　very　potent　fact　that　inferences　and　theories　are　often　constructed　which　are　formally　or　logically　absolutely　free　of　error；　yet　psychologically　full　of　errors　that　no　logic　whatever　could　correct。　We　have；　therefore；　to　consider　at　least　the　most　important　conditions　which　determine　the　manner　of　our　inferences。

The　right　which　lawyers　possess　of　studying　these　questions；　so　far　as　they　lie　in　our　field；　is　of　modern　establishment。　According　to　Hillebrand＇1＇　the　theory　of　knowledge　has　to…day　broken　up　into　individual　theories；　involving　the　certain　needs　of　special　fields　of　knowledge。　The　place　of　the　epistomologists；　who　are　professionals　and　beyond　the　pale　of　individual　disciplines；　is　now　taken　by　the　representatives　of　those　disciplines　and　each　works　expressly　on　his　own　epistomological　problem。　Our　especial　problem　is　the　drawing　of　inferences　from　the　material　presented　to　us　or　brought　together　by　our　efforts；　just　as　in　other　disciplines。　If　we　set　ourselves　the

＇1＇　F。　Hillebrand：　zur　Lehre　der　Hypothesenbildung。

　task　of　determining　the　procedure　when　subjecting　the　fundamental　principles　of　our　work　to　revision　and　examining　their　utility；　we　merely　ask　whether　the　process　is　voluntary　or　according　to　fixed　laws；　and　having　cleared　up　that　point　we　ask　what　influence　psychological　conditions　exercise　on　the　situation。　It　is；　indeed；　said　that　thinking　is　a　congenital　endowment；　not　to　be　learned　from　rules。　But　the　problem　is　not　teaching　the　inferrer　to　think；　the　problem　is　the　examination　of　how　inferences　have　been　made　by　another　and　what　value　his　inferences　may　have　for　our　own　conclusions。　And　our　own　time；　which　has　been　bold　enough　to　lay　this　final　conclusion　in　even　the　most　important　criminal　cases；　in　the　hands　of　laymen；　this　time　is　doubly　bound　at　least　to　prepare　all　possible　control　for　this　work；　to　measure　what　is　finally　taken　as　evidence　with　the　finest　instruments　possible；　and　to　present　to　the　jury　only　what　has　been　proved　and　repeatedly　examined。

It　might　almost　seem　as　if　the　task　the　jury　trial　sets　the　judge　has　not　been　clearly　perceived。　A　judge　who　thinks　he　has　performed　it　when　he　has　cast　before　the　jury　the　largest　possible　mass　of　testimony；　more　or　less　reviewed；　and　who　sees　how　people；　who　perhaps　for　the　first　time　in　their　lives；　are　involved　in　a　court　of　law；　who　perhaps　see　a　criminal　for　the　first　time；　and　are　under　these　circumstances　the　arbiters　of　a　man's　fate；a　judge　who　sees　all　this　and　is　satisfied；　is　not　effective　in　his　work。　Nowadays　more　than　ever；　it　is　for　the　judge　to　test　all　evidence　psychologically；　to　review　what　is　only　apparently　clear；　to　fill　out　lacunae；　and　to　surmount　difficulties；　before　he　permits　the　material　brought　together　in　a　very　few　hours　to　pass　into　the　jury's　hands。　According　to　Hillebrand；　much　that　seems　‘‘self…evident''　shows　itself　dependent　on　definite　experience　attained　in　the　process　of　hundreds　of　repetitions　in　the　daily　life；　the　very　impression　of　self…evidence　is　frequently　produced　by　a　mere　chance　instinct　about　what　should　be　held　for　true。　Hume　has　already　show