criminal psychology-第108章

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：》ser　saw　well…known　flowers　and　geometrical　figures　very　distinctly。　7。　Bonnet　knows　a　‘‘healthy''　man　who　saw　people；　birds；　etc。；　with　open　eyes。　8。　A　man　got　a　wound　in　his　left　ear　and　for　weeks　afterward　saw　a　cat。　9。　A　woman　eighty…eight　years　old　often　saw　everything　covered　with　flowers；otherwise　she　was　quite　‘‘well。''

A　part　of　these　stories　seems　considerably　fictitious；　a　part　applies　to　indubitable　pathological　cases；　and　certain　of　them　are　confirmed　elsewhere。　That　murderers；　particularly　women…murderers　of　children；　often　see　their　victims　is　well　known　to　us　criminalists。　And　for　this　reason　the　habit　of　confining　prisoners　in　a　dark　cell　for　twenty…four　hours　on　the　anniversary　of　a　crime　must　be　pointed　to　as　refined　and　thoroughly　medival　cruelty。　I　have　repeatedly　heard　from　people　so　tortured　of　the　terror　of　their　visions　on　such　days　of　martyrdom。　Cases　are　told　of　in　which　prisoners　who　were　constipated　had　all　kinds　of　visual　and　auditory　hallucinations　and　appeared；　e。　g。；　to　hear　in　the　rustling　of　their　straw；　all　sorts　of　words。　That　isolation　predisposes　people　to　such　things　is　as　well　known　as　the　fact　that　constipation　causes　a　rush　of　blood　to　the　head；　and　hence；　nervous　excitement。　The　well…known　stories　of　robbers　which　are　often　told　us　by　prisoners　are　not　always　the　fruit　of　malicious　invention。　Probably　a　not　insignificant　portion　are　the　result　of　hallucination。

Hoppe　tells　of　a　great　group　of　hallucinations　in　conditions　of　waking　and　half…waking；　and　asserts　that　everybody　has　them　and　can　note　them　if　he　gives　his　attention　thereto。　This　may　be　an　exaggeration；　but　it　is　true　that　a　healthy　person　in　any　way　excited　or　afraid　may　hear　all　kinds　of　things　in　the　crackling　of　a　fire；　etc。；　and　may　see　all　kinds　of　things；　in　smoke；　in　clouds；　etc。　The　movement　of　portraits　and　statues　is　particularly　characteristic；　especially　in　dim　light；　and　under　unstable　emotional　conditions。　I　own　a　relief　by　Ghiberti　called　the　‘‘Rise　of　the　Flesh；''　in　which　seven　femurs　dance　around　a　corpse　and　sing。　If；　at　night；　I　put　out　the　lamp　in　my　study　and　the　moon　falls　on　the　work；　the　seven　femurs

dance　as　lively　as　may　be　during　the　time　it　takes　my　eyes　to　adapt　themselves　from　the　lamplight　to　the　moonlight。　Something　similar　　I　see　on　an　old　carved　dresser。　The　carving　is　so　delicate　that　in　dim　light　it　shows　tiny　heads　and　flames　after　the　fashion　of　the　Catholic　church　pictures　of　‘‘poor　souls；''　in　purgatory。　Under　certain　conditions　of　illumination　the　flames　flicker；　the　heads　move；　and　out　of　the　fire　the　arms　raise　themselves　to　the　clouds　floating　above。　Now　this　requires　no　unusual　excitement；　simply　the　weary　sensing　of　evening；　when　the　eyes　turn　from　prolonged　uniform　reading　or　writing　to　something　else。＇1＇　It　has　happened　to　me　from　my　earliest　childhood。　High　bodily　temperature　may　easily　cause　hallucinations。　Thus；　marching　soldiers　are　led　to　shoot　at　non…　existing　animals　and　apparently…approaching　enemies。　Uniform　and　fatiguing　mental　activity　is　also　a　source　of　hallucination。　Fechner　says　that　one　day　having　performed　a　long　experiment　with　the　help　of　a　stop…watch；　he　heard　its　beats　through　the　whole　evening　after。　So　again　when　he　was　studying　long　series　of　figures　he　used　to　see　them　at　night　in　the　dark　so　distinctly　that　he　could　read　them　off。

Then　there　are　illusions　of　touch　which　may　be　criminalistically　important。　A　movement　of　air　may　be　taken　for　an　approaching　man。　A　tight　collar　or　cravat　may　excite　the　image　of　being　stifled！　Old　people　frequently　have　a　sandy　taste　while　eating；when　this　is　told　the　thought　occurs　that　it　may　be　due　to　coarsely　powdered　arsenic；　yet　it　may　be　merely　illusion。

The　slightest　abnormality　makes　hallucinations　and　illusions　very　easy。　Persons　who　are　in　great　danger　have　all　kinds　of　hallucinations；　particularly　of　people。　In　the　court　of　law；　when　witnesses　who　have　been　assaulted　testify　to　having　seen　people；　hallucination　may　often　be　the　basis　of　their　evidence。　Hunger　again；　or　loss　of　blood；　gives　rise　to　the　most　various　hallucinations。　Menstruation　and　hmorrhoids　may　be　the　occasions　of　definite　periodic　visions；　and　great　pain　may　be　accompanied　by　hallucinations　which　begin　with　the　pain；　become　more　distinct　as　it　increases；　and　disappear　when　it　ceases。

It　might　seem　that　in　this　matter；　also；　the　results　are　destructive　and　that　the　statements　of　witnesses　are　untrue　and　unreliable。　I　do　not　assert　that　our　valuation　of　these　statements　shall　be　checked　from　all　possible　directions；　but　I　do　say　that　much　of　what　we　have　considered　as　true　depends　only　on　illusions　in　the　broad　sense　of　the　word　and　that　it　is　our　duty　before　all　things　rigorously　to　test　everything　that　underlies　our　researches。


＇1＇　Cf。　A。　Mosso：　Die　Ermdung。　Leipzig　1892。

　Section　105。　（C）　Imaginative　Ideas。

Illusions　of　sense；　hallucinations；　and　illusions　proper　taken　as　a　group；　differ　from　imaginative　representations　because　the　individual　who　has　them　is　more　or　less　passive　and　subject　to　the　thing　from　which　they　arise；　while　with　the　latter　the　individual　is　more　active　and　creates　new　images　by　the　_*combination_　of　existing　or　only　imagined　conditions。　It　does　not　matter　whether　these　consist　of　the　idea　only；　or　whether　they　are　the　product　of　word；　manuscript；　picture；　sculpture；　music；　etc。　We　have　to　deal　only　with　their　occurrence　and　their　results。　Of　course　there　is　no　sharp　boundary　between　imaginative　ideas　and　sense…perception；　etc。　Many　phenomena　are　difficult　to　classify　and　even　language　is　uncertain　in　its　usage。　The　notion　‘‘illusion''　has　indicated　many　a　false　ideal；　many　a　product　of　incoherent　fancy。

The　activity　of　the　imagination；　taken　in　the　ordinary　sense；　requires　analysis　first　of　all。　According　to　Meinong＇1＇　there　are　two　kinds　of　imaginative　imagesa　generative；　and　a　constructive　kind。　The　first　exhibits　elements；　the　second　unites　them。　Thus：　I　imagine　some　familiar　house；　then　I　reproduce　the　idea　of　fire　（generative）；　now　I　unite　these　two　elements；　and　imagine　the　house　in　question　in　flames　（constructive）。　This　involves　several　conditions。

The　conditions　of　generation　offer　no　difficulties。　The　difficulty　lies　in　the　constructive　aspect　of　the　activity；　for　we　can　imagine　astonishingly　little。　We　can　not　imagine　ourselves　in　the　fourth　dimension；　and　although　we　have　always　had　to　make　use　of　such　quantities；　we　all　have　the　idea　that　the　quantity　A　represents；　e。　g；；　a　line；　A；　a　square；　A；　a　cube；　but　as　soon　as　we　have　to　say　what　image　A；　A；　etc。；　represents；　our　mathematical　language　is　at　an　end。　Even　twelve　men　or　a　green　flame　seen　through　red　glass　or　two　people　speaking　different　things　can　barely　be　imagined　with　any　clearness。　We　have　the　elements　but　we　can　not　construct　their　compounds。　This　difficulty　occurs　also　in　the　consideration　of　certain　objects。　Suppose　we　are　looking　at　an　artistically　complete　angel；　we　are　always　bothered　by　the　idea　that　his　wings　are　much　too　small　to　enable　him　to　fly。　If　an　angel　constructed　like　a　man　is　to　be　borne　by　his　wings；　they　must　be　so　gigantic　as　to　be　unreproducible　by　an　artist。　Indeed　a　person　slightly　more　grubby；


＇1＇　Phantasie　u。　Phantasienvorstellung。　Zeitsehrift　f。　Philosophie　u。　philosophische　Kritik。　Vol。　95。

　and　interested　in　anatomy；　will　bother；　at　the　sight　of　the　most　beautiful　statue　of　an　angel；　concerning　the　construction　of　the　limbs；　the　wings；　and　their　relation　to　the　skeleton。　In　certain　directions；　therefore；　the　imagination　is　too　weak　to　conceive　an　ethereal　being　in　human　form　floating　in　the　air。　Further；　one　authority　points　out　that　we　think　more　frequently　of　centaurs　than　of　human　beings　with　serpentine　bodies；　not　because　centaurs　are　more　sthetic　but　because　horses　are　more　massive　than　serpents。　I　do　not　believe　this　to　be　the　true　explanation；　for　otherwise　we　should　have　had　to　imagine　people　with　canine　bodies；　inasmuch　as　we　see　as　many　dogs　as　horses；　if　not　more。　But　the　fact　is　correct　and　the　explanation　may　be　that　we　imagine　a　centaur　because　of　the　appropriate　size；　the　implied　power；　and　because　it　is　not　a　wide　leap　from　a　horseman　to　a　centaur。　In　short；　here　also　we　see　that　the　imagination　prefers　to　work　where　difficulties　are　fewer。　Thus；　with　the　ease　of　imagining　an　object　there　goes　its　definite　possibility。　I　know　an　old　gentleman　in　A　and　another　one　in　B　who　have　never　seen　each　other；　but　I　can　easily　imagine　them　together；　speaking；　playing　cards；　etc。；　and　only　with　difficulty　can　I　think　of　them　as　quarreling　or　betting。　In　the　_*possibility_　there　is　always　a　certain　ease；　and　this　is　appropriated　by　the　imagination。

It　is　significant　that　when　others　help　us　and　we　happen　to　find　pleasure　therein；　we　answer　to　very　difficult　demands　upon　the　imagination。　In　the　opera　the　deviation　from　reality　is　so　powerful　that　it　seems　silly　to　one　unaccustomed　to　it。　But　we　do　not　need　the　unaccustomed　person。　We　need　only　to　imagine　the　most　ordinary　scene　in　an　opera；　i。　e。；　a　declaration　of　love；　sung；　an　aria　declining　it；　an　aria　before　committing　suicide；　a　singing　choir　with　a　moral　about　this　misfortune。　Has　anything　even　remotely　like　it　ever　been　seen　in　real　life？　But　we　accept　it　quietly　and　find　it　beautiful　and　affecting　simply　because　others　perform　it　without　difficulty　before　our　eyes　and　we　are　willing　to　believe　it　possible。

The　rule　to　be　derived　from　all　the　foregoing　is　this。　Whenever　we　believe　a　statement　to　be　based　on　imagination；　or　to　have　been　learned　from　some　imaginative　source；　we　must　always　connect　it　with　its　most　proximate　neighbors；　and　step　by　step　seek　out　its　elements　and　then　compound　them　in　the　simplest　possible　form。　We　may；　in　this　fashion；　get　perhaps　at　the　proper　content　of　the　matter。　Of　course　it　need　not　yield　another　imaginary　image。　And　its　failure　to　do　so　would　be　an　objection　if　the　compound　were　the　end　of　the　work　and　were　to　be　used　in　itself。　But　that　is　not　the　　case。　All　that　is　required　is　to　derive　a　certain　starting…point　from　the　hodge…podge　of　uncertainties　and　unintelligibility。　When　the　construction　is　made　it　must　be　compared　with　all　the　material　at　hand　and　tested　by　that　material。　If　the　two　agree；　and　only　when　they　agree；　may　it　be　assumed　that　the　starting…point　has　been　properly　chosen。　But　not　to　make　this　construction　means　to　feel　around　aimlessly；　and　to　give　up　the　job　before　it　has　been　really　begun。

Let　us　take　the　simplest　possible　instance　of　such　a　situation。　In　a　bowling　alley；　two　youths；　A　and　B；　had　a　lively　quarrel；　in　which　A　held　the　ball　in　his　hand　and　threatened　to　throw　it　at　B's　head。　B；　frightened；　ran　away；　A　pursued　him；　after　a　few　steps　threw　the　ball　into　the　grass；　caught　B；　and　then　gave　him　an　easy　blow　with　the　fiat　of　his　hand　on　the　back　of　his　head。　B　began　to　wabble；　sank　to　the　ground；　became　unconscious；　and　showed　all　the　signs　of　a　broken　head　（unconsciousness；　vomiting；　distention　of　the　pupils；　etc。）。　All　the　particular　details　of　the　event　are　unanimously　testified　to　by　many　witnesses；　non…partisan　friends　of　A　and　B；　and　among　them　the　parish　priest。　Simulation　is　completely　excl