criminal psychology-第72部分

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＇1＇　L。　Bazerque：　Essai　de　Psychopathologie　sur　l'Amuesie　Hystptique。　Toulouse　1901。


The　best　known　is　the　story　of　an　Irish　servant　girl；　who；　during　fever；　recited　Hebrew　sentences　which　she　had　heard　from　a　preacher　when　a　child。　Another　case　tells　of　a　very　great　fool　who；　during　fever；　repeated　prolonged　conversations　with　his　master；　so　that　the　latter　decided　to　make　him　his　secretary。　But　when　the　servant　got　well　he　became　as　foolish　as　ever。　The　criminalist　who　has　the　opportunity　of　examining　deeply　wounded；　feverish　persons；　makes　similar；　though　not　such　remarkable　observations。　These　people　give　him　the　impression　of　being　quite　intelligent　persons　who　tell　their　stories　accurately　and　correctly。　Later　on；　after　they　are　cured；　one　gets　a　different　opinion　of　their　intelligence。　Still　more　frequently　one　observes　that　these　feverish；　wounded　victims　know　　more；　and　know　more　correctly　about　the　crime　than　they　are　able　to　tell　after　they　have　recovered。　What　they　tell；　moreover；　is　quite　reliable；　provided；　of　course；　they　are　not　delirious　or　crazy。

The　cases　are　innumerable　in　which　people　have　lost　their　memory　for　a　short　time；　or　for　ever。　I　have　already　elsewhere　mentioned　an　event　which　happened　to　a　friend　of　mine　who　received　a　sudden　blow　on　the　head　while　in　the　mountains　and　completely　lost　all　memory　of　what　had　occurred　a　few　minutes　before　the　blow。　After　this　citation　I　got　a　number　of　letters　from　my　colleagues　who　had　dealt　with　similar　cases。　I　infer；　therefore；　that　the　instances　in　which　people　lose　their　memory　of　what　has　occurred　before　the　event　by　way　of　a　blow　on　the　head；　are　numerous。＇1＇


＇1＇　Cf。　H。　Gross's　Archiv。　I；　337。


Legally　such　cases　are　important　because　we　would　not　believe　statements　in　that　regard　made　by　accused；　inasmuch　as　there　seems　to　be　no　reason　why　the　events　_*before_　the　wound　should　disappear；　just　as　if　each　impression　needed　a　fixative；　like　a　charcoal　drawing。　But　as　this　phenomenon　is　described　by　the　most　reliable　persons；　who　have　no　axe　to　grind　in　the　matter；　we　must　believe　it；　other　things　being　equal；　even　when　the　defendant　asserts　it。　That　such　cases　are　not　isolated　is　shown　in　the　fact　that　people　who　have　been　stunned　by　lightning　have　later　forgotten　everything　that　occurred　shortly　before　the　flash。　The　case　is　similar　in　poisoning　with　carbonic…acid　gas；　with　mushrooms；　and　in　strangulation。　The　latter　cases　are　especially　important；　inasmuch　as　the　wounded　person；　frequently　the　only　witness；　has　nothing　to　say　about　the　event。

I　cannot　omit　recalling　in　this　place　a　case　I　have　already　mentioned　elsewhere；　that　of　Brunner。　In　1893　in　the　town　of　Dietkirchen；　in　Bavaria；　the　teacher　Brunner's　two　children　were　murdered；　and　his　wife　and　servant　girl　badly　wounded。　After　some　time　the　woman　regained　consciousness；　seemed　to　know　what　she　was　about；　but　could　not　tell　the　investigating　justice　who　had　been　sent　on　to　take　charge　of　the　case；　anything　whatever　concerning　the　event；　the　criminal；　etc。　When　he　had　concluded　his　negative　protocol　she　signed　it；　Martha　Guttenberger；　instead　of　Martha　Brunner。　Fortunately　the　official　noted　this　and　wanted　to　know　what　relation　she　had　to　the　name　Guttenberger。　He　was　told　that　a　former　lover　of　the　servant　girl　an　evil…mouthed　fellow；　was　called　by　that　name。　He　was　traced　to　Munich　and　there　arrested。　He　immediately　confessed　to　the　crime。　And　when　Mrs。　Brunner　　became　quite　well　she　recalled　accurately　that　she　had　definitely　recognized　Guttenberger　as　the　murderer。＇1＇


＇1＇　J。　Hubert：　Das　Verhalten　des　Gedchtnisses　nach　Kopfverletzungen。　Basel；　1901。


The　psychological　process　was　clearly　one　in　which　the　idea；　‘‘Guttenberger　is　the　criminal；''　had　sunk　into　the　secondary　sphere　of　consciousness；　the　subconsciousness；so　that　it　was　only　clear　to　the　real　consciousness　that　the　name　Guttenberger　had　something　to　do　with　the　crime。　The　woman　in　her　weakened　mental　condition　thought　she　had　already　sufficiently　indicated　this　fact；　so　that　she　overlooked　the　name；　and　hence　wrote　it　unconsciously。　Only　when　the　pressure　on　her　brain　was　reduced　did　the　idea　that　Guttenberger　was　the　murderer　pass　from　the　subconscious　to　the　conscious。　Psychiatrists　explain　the　case　as　follows：

The　thing　here　involved　is　retrograde　amnesia。　It　is　nowadays　believed　that　this　phenomenon　in　the　great　majority　of　cases　occurs　according　to　the　rule　which　defines　traumatic　hysteria；　i。　e。；　as　ideogen。　The　ideational　complexes　in　question　are　forced　into　the　subconsciousness；　whence；　on　occasion；　by　aid　of　associative　processes；　hypnotic　concentration；　and　such　other　similar　elements；　they　can　be　raised　into　consciousness。　In　this　case；　the　suppressed　ideational　complex　manifested　itself　in　signing　the　name。

All　legal　medicine　discusses　the　fact　that　wounds　in　the　head　make　people　forget　single　words。　Taine；　Guerin；　Abercrombie；　etc。；　cite　many　examples；　and　Winslow　tells　of　a　woman　who；　after　considerable　bleeding；　forgot　all　her　French。　The　story　is　also　told　that　Henry　Holland　had　so　tired　himself　that　he　forgot　German。　When　he　grew　stronger　and　recovered　he　regained　all　he　had　forgotten。

_Now　would　we　believe　a　prisoner　who　told　us　any　one　of　these　things？_

The　phenomena　of　memories　which　occur　in　dying　persons　who　have　long　forgotten　and　never　even　thought　of　these　memories；　are　very　significant。　English　psychologists　cite　the　case　of　Dr。　Rush；　who　had　in　his　Lutheran　congregation　Germans　and　Swedes；　who　prayed　in　their　own　language　shortly　before　death；　although　they　had　not　used　it　for　fifty　or　sixty　years。　I　can　not　prevent　myself　from　thinking　that　many　a　death…bed　confession　has　something　to　do　with　this　phenomenon。＇2＇


＇2＇　Cf。　H。　Gross's　Archiv。　XV；　123。


At　the　boundary　between　incorrect　perception　and　forgetting　are　those　cases　in　which；　under　great　excitement；　important　events　　do　not　reach　consciousness。　I　believe　that　the　responsibility　is　here　to　be　borne　by　the　memory　rather　than　by　sense…perception。　There　seems　to　be　no　reason　for　failing　to　perceive　with　the　senses　under　the　greatest　excitement；　but　there　is　some　clearness　in　the　notion　that　great　excitement　causes　what　has　just　been　perceived　to　be　almost　immediately　forgotten。　In　my　‘‘Manual''　I　have　discussed　a　series　of　cases　of　this　sort；　and　show　how　the　memory　might　come　into　play。　None　of　the　witnesses；　e。　g。；　had　seen　that　Mary　Stuart　received；　when　being　executed；　two　blows。　In　the　case　of　an　execution　of　many　years　ago；　not　one　of　those　present　could　tell　me　the　color　of　the　gloves　of　the　executioner；　although　everyone　had　noticed　the　gloves。　In　a　train　wreck；　a　soldier　asserted　that　he　had　seen　dozens　of　smashed　corpses；　although　only　one　person　was　harmed。　A　prison　warden　who　was　attacked　by　an　escaping　murderer；　saw　in　the　latter's　hand　a　long　knife；　which　turned　out　to　be　a　herring。　When　Carnot　was　murdered；　neither　one　of　the　three　who　were　in　the　carriage　with　him；　nor　the　two　footmen；　saw　the　murderer's　knife　or　the　delivery　of　the　blow；　etc。

How　often　may　we　make　mistakes　because　the　witnessesin　their　excitementhave　forgotten　the　most　important　things！


Section　55。　（d）　Illusions　of　Memory。

Memory　illusion；　or　paramnesia；　consists　in　the　illusory　opinion　of　having　experienced；　seen；　or　heard　something；　although　there　has　been　no　such　experience；　vision；　or　sound。　It　is　the　more　important　in　criminal　law　because　it　enters　unobtrusively　and　unnoticed　into　the　circle　of　observation；　and　not　directly　by　means　of　a　demonstrated　mistake。　Hence；　it　is　the　more　difficult　to　discover　and　has　a　disturbing　influence　which　makes　it　very　hard　to　perceive　the　mistakes　that　have　occurred　in　consequence　of　it。

It　may　be　that　Leibnitz　meant　paramnesia　with　his　‘‘perceptiones　insensibiles。''　Later；　Lichtenberg　must　have　had　it　in　mind　when　he　repeatedly　asserted　that　he　must　have　been　in　the　world　once　before；　inasmuch　as　many　things　seemed　to　him　so　familiar；　although；　at　the　time；　he　had　not　yet　experienced　them。　Later　on；　Jessen　concerned　himself　with　the　question；　and　Sander＇1＇　asserts　him　to　have　been　the　first。　According　to　Jessen；　everybody　is　familiar　with　the　phenomenon　in　which　the　sudden　impression　occurs；　that　　what　is　experienced　has　already　been　met　with　before　so　that　the　future　might　be　predicted。　Langwieser　asserts　that　one　always　has　the　sensation　that　the　event　occurred　a　long　time　ago；　and　Dr。　Karl　Neuhoff　finds　that　his　sensation　is　accompanied　with　unrest　and　contraction。　The　same　thing　is　discussed　by　many　other　authors。＇1b＇


＇1＇　W。　Sander：　ber　Erinnerungstuschungen；　Vol。　IV　of　Archiv　fr　Psychiatrie　u。　Nervenkrankheiten。

＇1b＇　Sommer：　Zur　Analyse　der　Erinnerungstuechungen。　Beitrge　zur　Psych。　d。　Aussage；　1。　1903。


Various　explanations　have　been　offered。　Wigand　and　Maudsley　think　they　see　in　paramnesia　a　simultaneous　functioning　of　both　relations。　Anje　believes　that　illusory　memory　depends　on　the　differentiation　which　sometimes　occurs　between　perception　and　coming…into…consciousness。　According　to　Klpe；　these　are　the　things　that　Plato　interpreted　in　his　doctrine　of　pre…existence。

Sully；＇2＇　in　his　book　on　illusions；　has　examined　the　problem　most　thoroughly　and　he　draws　simple　conclusions。　He　finds　that　vivacious　children　often　think　they　have　experienced　what　is　told　them。　This；　however；　is　retained　in　the　memory　of　the　adult；　who　continues　to　think　that　he　has　actually　experienced　it。　The　same　thing　is　true　when　children　have　intensely　desired　anything。　Thus　the　child…　stories　given　us　by　Rousseau；　Goethe；　and　De　Quincey；　must　come　from　the　airy　regions　of　the　dream　life　or　from　waking　revery；　and　Dickens　has　dealt　with　this　dream　life　in　‘‘David　Copperfield。''　Sully　adds；　that　we　also　generate　illusions　of　memory　when　we　assign　to　experiences　false　dates；　and　believe　ourselves　to　have　felt；　as　children；　something　we　experienced　later　and　merely　set　back　into　our　childhood。


＇2＇　James　Sully：　Illusions。　London。


So　again；　he　reduces　much　supposed　to　have　been　heard；　to　things　that　have　been　read。　Novels　may　make　such　an　impression　that　what　has　been　read　or　described　there　appears　to　have　be