criminal psychology-第50部分

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s　aspects　and　have　accounted　for　every　little　detail；　we　have　explained　it　and　have　done　our　duty。

But　the　word　explain　does　not　lead　us　very　far。　It　is　mainly　a　matter　of　reducing　the　mass　of　the　inexplicable　to　a　minimum　and　the　whole　to　its　simplest　terms。　If　only　we　succeed　in　this　reduction！　In　most　cases　we　substitute　for　one　well…known　term；　not　　another　still　better　one；　but　a　strange　one　which　may　mean　different　things　to　different　people。　So　again；　we　explain　one　event　by　means　of　another　more　difficult　one。　It　is　unfortunate　that　we　lawyers　are　more　than　all　others　inclined　to　make　unnecessary　explanations；　because　our　criminal　law　has　accustomed　us　to　silly　definitions　which　rarely　bring　us　closer　to　the　issue　and　which　supply　us　only　with　a　lot　of　words　difficult　to　understand　instead　of　easily　comprehensible　ones。　Hence　we　reach　explanations　both　impossible　and　hard　to　make；　explanations　which　we　ourselves　are　often　unwilling　to　believe。　And　again　we　try　to　explain　and　to　define　events　which　otherwise　would　have　been　understood　by　everybody　and　which　become　doubtful　and　uncertain　because　of　the　attempt。　The　matter　becomes　especially　difficult　when　we　feel　ourselves　unsure；　or　when　we　have　discovered　or　expect　contradiction。　Then　we　try　to　convince　ourselves　that　we　know　something；　although　at　the　beginning　we　were　clearly　enough　aware　that　we　knew　nothing。　We　must　not　forget　that　our　knowledge　can　attain　only　to　ideas　of　things。　It　consists　alone　in　the　perception　of　the　relation　and　agreement；　or　in　the　incompatibility　and　contradiction　of　some　of　our　ideas。　Our　task　lies　exactly　in　the　explication　of　these　impressions；　and　the　more　thoroughly　that　is　done　the　greater　and　more　certain　is　the　result。　But　we　must　never　trust　our　own　impressions　merely。　‘‘When　the　theologian；　who　deals　with　the　supersensible；　has　said　all　that；　from　his　point　of　view；　he　can　say；　when　the　jurist；　who　represents　those　fundamental　laws　which　are　the　result　of　social　experience；　has　considered　all　reasons　from　his　own　point　of　view；　the　final　authority　in　certain　cases　must　be　the　physician　who　is　engaged　in　studying　the　life　of　the　body。''

I　get　this　from　Maudsley；＇1＇　and　it　leads　us　to　keep　in　mind　that　our　knowledge　is　very　one…sided　and　limited；　and　that　an　event　is　known　only　when　all　have　spoken　who　possess　especial　knowledge　of　its　type。　Hence；　every　criminalist　is　required　to　found　his　knowledge　upon　that　of　the　largest　possible　number　of　experts　and　not　to　judge　or　discuss　any　matter　which　requires　especial　information　without　having　first　consulted　an　expert　with　regard　to　it。　Only　the　sham　knows　everything；　the　trained　man　understands　how　little　the　mind　of　any　individual　may　grasp；　and　how　many　must　coperate　in　order　to　explain　the　very　simplest　things。


＇1＇　Henry　Maudsley：　Physiology　and　Pathology　of　the　Mind。


The　complexity　of　the　matter　lies　in　the　essence　of　the　concept　　‘‘to　be。''　We　use　the　word　‘‘to　be''　to　indicate　the　intent　of　all　perceived　and　perceivable。　‘‘　‘To　be'　and　‘to　know'　are　identical　in　so　far　as　they　have　identical　content；　and　the　content　may　be　known？''＇1＇


＇1＇　Jessen：　Versuch　einer　wissenschaftlichen　Begrndung　der　Psychologie。　Berlin　1855。



PART　II。

OBJECTIVE　CONDITIONS　OF　CRIMINAL　INVESTIGATION：　THE　MENTAL　ACTIVITY　OF　THE　EXAMINEE。

TITLE　A。　GENERAL　CONDITIONS。

Topic　I。　OF　SENSE…PERCEPTION。

Section　35。


Our　conclusions　depend　upon　perceptions　made　by　ourselves　and　others。　And　if　the　perceptions　are　good　our　judgments　_*may_　be　good；　if　they　are　bad　our　judgments　_*must_　be　bad。　Hence；　to　study　the　forms　of　sense…perception　is　to　study　the　fundamental　conditions　of　the　administration　of　law；　and　the　greater　the　attention　thereto；　the　more　certain　is　the　administration。

It　is　not　our　intention　to　develop　a　theory　of　perception。　We　have　only　to　extract　those　conditions　which　concern　important　circumstances；　criminologically　considered；　and　from　which　we　may　see　how　we　and　those　we　examine；　perceive　matters。　A　thorough　and　comprehensive　study　of　this　question　can　not　be　too　much　recommended。　Recent　science　has　made　much　progress　in　this　direction；　and　has　discovered　much　of　great　importance　for　us。　To　ignore　this　is　to　confine　oneself　merely　to　the　superficial　and　external；　and　hence　to　the　inconceivable　and　incomprehensible；　to　ignoring　valuable　material　for　superficial　reasons；　and　what　is　worse；　to　identifying　material　as　important　which　properly　understood　has　no　value　whatever。


Section　36。　（a）　General　Considerations。

The　criminalist　studies　the　physiological　psychology＇1＇　of　the　senses　and　their　functions；　in　order　to　ascertain　their　nature；　their　influence　upon　images　and　concepts；　their　trustworthiness；　their　reliability　and　its　conditions；　and　the　relation　of　perception　to　the　object。　The　question　applies　equally　to　the　judge；　the　jury；　the　witness；　and　the　accused。　Once　the　essence　of　the　function　and　relation　of　sense…perception　is　understood；　its　application　in　individual　cases　becomes　easy。


＇1＇　For　a　general　consideration　of　perception　see　James；　Principles　of　Psychology。　Angell；　Psychology。



The　importance　of　sense…perception　need　not　be　demonstrated。　‘‘If　we　ask；''　says　Mittermaier；　‘‘for　the　reason　of　our　conviction　of　the　truth　of　facts　even　in　very　important　matters；　and　the　basis　of　every　judgment　concerning　existence　of　facts；　we　find　that　the　evidence　of　the　senses　is　final　and　seems；　therefore；　the　only　true　source　of　certainty。''

There　has　always；　of　course；　been　a　quarrel　as　to　the　objectivity　and　reliability　of　sense…perception。　That　the　senses　do　not　lie；　‘‘not　because　they　are　always　correct；　but　because　they　do　not　judge；''　is　a　frequently　quoted　sentence　of　Kant's；　the　Cyrenaics　have　already　suggested　this　in　asserting　that　pleasure　and　pain　alone　are　indubitable。　Aristotle　narrows　the　veracity　of　sensation　to　its　essential　content；　as　does　Epicurus。　Descartes；　Locke　and　Leibnitz　have　suggested　that　no　image　may　be　called；　as　mere　change　of　feeling；　true　or　false。　Sensationalism　in　the　work　of　Gassendi；　Condillac；　and　Helvetius　undertook　for　this　reason　the　defense　of　the　senses　against　the　reproach　of　deceit；　and　as　a　rule　did　it　by　invoking　the　infallibility　of　the　sense　of　touch　against　the　reproach　of　the　contradictions　in　the　other　senses。　Reid　went　back　to　Aristotle　in　distinguishing　specific　objects　for　each　sense　and　in　assuming　the　truth　of　each　sense　within　its　own　field。

That　these　various　theories　can　be　adjusted　is　doubtful；　even　if；　from　a　more　conservative　point　of　view；　the　subject　may　be　treated　quantitatively。　The　modern　quantification　of　psychology　was　begun　by　Herbart；　who　developed　a　mathematical　system　of　psychology　by　introducing　certain　completely　unempirical　postulates　concerning　the　nature　of　representation　and　by　applying　certain　simple　premises　in　all　deductions　concerning　numerical　extent。　Then　came　Fechner；　who　assumed　the　summation　of　stimuli。　And　finally　these　views　were　determined　and　fixed　by　the　much…discussed　Weber's　Law；　according　to　which　the　intensity　of　the　stimulus　must　increase　in　the　proportion　that　the　intensity　of　the　sensation　is　to　increase；　i。　e。；　if　a　stimulus　of　20　units　requires　the　addition　of　3　before　it　can　be　perceived；　a　stimulus　of　60　units　would　require　the　addition　of　9。　This　law；　which　is　of　immense　importance　to　criminalists　who　are　discussing　the　sense…perceptions　of　witnesses；　has　been　thoroughly　and　conclusively　dealt　with　by　A。　Meinong。＇1＇


＇1＇　Meinong：　ber　die　Bedeutung　der　Weberschen　Gesetzes。　Hamburg　and　Leipzig；　1896。


‘‘Modern　psychology　takes　qualities　perceived　externally　to　be　in　themselves　subjective　but　capable　of　receiving　objectivity　through　　our　relation　to　the　outer　world。。。。　The　qualitative　character　of　our　sensory　content　produced　by　external　stimuli　depends　primarily　on　the　organization　of　our　senses。　This　is　the　fundamental　law　of　perception；　of　modern　psychology；　variously　expressed；　but　axiomatic　in　all　physiological　psychology。''＇1＇　In　this　direction　Helmholtz＇2＇　has　done　pioneer　work。　He　treats　particularly　the　problem　of　optics；　and　physiological　optics　is　the　study　of　perception　by　means　of　the　sense　of　sight。　We　see　things　in　the　external　world　through　the　medium　of　light　which　they　direct　upon　our　eyes。　The　light　strikes　the　retina；　and　causes　a　sensation。　The　sensation　brought　to　the　brain　by　means　of　the　optic　nerve　becomes　the　condition　of　the　representation　in　consciousness　of　certain　objects　distributed　in　space。。。。　We　make　use　of　the　sensation　which　the　light　stimulates　in　the　mechanism　of　the　optic　nerve　to　construct　representations　concerning　the　existence；　form；　and　condition　of　external　objects。　Hence　we　call　images　perceptions　of　sight。　（Our　sense…perception；　according　to　this　theory；　consists；　therefore；　entirely　of　sensations；　the　latter　constitute　the　stuff　or　the　content　from　which　the　other　is　constructed）。　Our　sensations　are　effects　caused　in　our　organs；　externally；　and　the　manifestation　of　such　an　effect　depends　essentially　upon　the　nature　of　the　apparatus　which　has　been　stimulated。


＇1＇　T。　Pesch　Das　Weltphnomen

＇2＇　H。　Helmholtz：　Die　Tatsachen　der　Wahrnehmung。　Braunsehweig　1878。


There　are　certain　really　known　inferences；　e。　g。；　those　made　by　the　astronomer　from　the　perspective　pictures　of　the　stars　to　their　positions　in　space。　These　inferences　are　founded　upon　well…　studied　knowledge　of　the　principles　of　optics。　Such　knowledge　of　optics　is　lacking　in　the　ordinary　function　of　seeing；　nevertheless　it　is　permissible　to　conceive　the　psychical　function　of　ordinary　perception　as　unconscious　inferences；　inasmuch　as　this　name　will　completely　distinguish　them　from　the　commonly　so…called　conscious　inferences。

The　last…named　condition　is　of　especial　importance　to　us。　We　need　investigation　to　determine　the　laws　of　the　influence　of　optical　and　acoustical　knowledge　upon　perception。　That　these　laws　are　influential　may　be　verified　easily。　Whoever　is　ignorant；　e。　g。；　that　a　noise　is　reflected　back　considerably；　will　say　that　a　wagon　is　turning　from　the　side　from　which　the　noise　comes；　though　if　he　knows　the　law；　if　he　knows　that　fact；　his　answer　would　be　reversed。　S