criminal psychology-第58章

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sesses。　The　mistake　must　not　be　made；　however；　that　this　requires　splendid　deductions；　it　is　best　to　stick　to　simple　facts。　Goethe's　golden　word　is　still　true：　‘‘The　greatest　thing　is　to　understand　that　all　fact　is　theory　。　。　。　do　not　look　behind　phenomena；　they　are　themselves　the　doctrine。''　We　start；　therefore；　with　some　simple　fact　which　has　arisen　in　the　case　and　try　to　discover　what　the　witness　will　do　with　it。　It　is　not　difficult；　you　may　know　a　thing　badly　in　a　hundred　ways；　but　you　know　it　well　in　only　one　way。　If　　the　witness　handles　the　fact　properly；　we　may　trust　him。　We　learn；　moreover；　from　this　handling　how　far　the　man　may　be　objective。　His　perception　as　witness　means　to　him　only　an　experience；　and　the　human　mind　may　not　collect　experiences　without；　at　the　same　time；　weaving　its　speculations　into　them。　But　though　everyone　does　this；　he　does　it　according　to　his　nature　and　nurture。　There　is　little　that　is　as　significant　as　the　manner；　the　intensity；　and　the　direction　in　and　with　which　a　witness　introduces　his　speculation　into　the　story　of　his　experience。　Whole　sweeps　of　human　character　may　show　themselves　up　with　one　such　little　explanation。　It　is　for　this　reason　that　Kant　called　the　human　understanding　architectonic；　it　aims　to　bring　together　all　its　knowledge　under　one　single　system；　and　this　according　to　fixed　rules　and　systems　defined　by　the　needs　of　ordinary　mortals。　Only　the　genius　has；　like　nature；　his　own　unknown　system。　And　we　do　not　need　to　count　on　this　rarest　of　exceptions。

The　people　who　constitute　our　most　complicated　problems　are　the　average；　and　insignificant　members　of　the　human　race。　Hume　cited　the　prophet　Alexander　quite　justly。　Alexander　was　a　wise　prophet；　who　selected　Paphlagonis　as　the　first　scene　of　his　deception　because　the　people　there　were　extraordinarily　foolish　and　swallowed　with　pleasure　the　coarsest　of　swindles。　They　had　heard　earlier　of　the　genuineness　and　power　of　the　prophet；　and　the　smart　ones　laughed　at　him；　the　fools　believed　and　spread　his　faith；　his　cause　got　adherents　even　among　educated　people；　and　finally　Marcus　Aurelius　himself　paid　the　matter　so　much　attention　as　to　rest　the　success　of　a　military　enterprise　on　a　prophecy　of　Alexander's。　Tacitus　narrates　how　Vespasian　cured　a　blind　man　by　spitting　on　him；　and　the　story　is　repeated　by　Suetonius。

We　must　never　forget　that；　however　great　a　foolishness　may　be；　there　is　always　somebody　to　commit　it。　It　is　Hume；　again；　I　think；　who　so　excellently　describes　what　happens　when　some　inconceivable　story　is　told　to　uncritical　auditors。　Their　credulity　increases　the　narrator's　shamelessness；　his　shamelessness　convinces　their　credulity。　Thinking　for　yourself　is　a　rare　thing；　and　the　more　one　is　involved　with　other　people　in　matters　of　importance；　the　more　one　is　convinced　of　the　rarity。　And　yet；　so　little　is　demanded　in　thinking。　‘‘To　abstract　the　red　of　blood　from　the　collective　impression；　to　discover　the　same　concept　in　different　things；　to　bring　together　under　the　same　notion　blood　and　beer；　milk　and　snow；animals　do　not　do　this；　it　is　thinking。''＇1＇　I　might　suggest　that　in　the　first　　place；　various　animals　are　capable　of　something　of　the　sort；　and　in　the　second　place；　that　many　men　are　incapable　of　the　same　thing。　The　lawyer's　greatest　of　all　mistakes　is　always　the　presupposition　that　whoever　has　done　anything　has　also　thought　about　doing　it　and　while　he　was　doing　it。　This　is　especially　the　case　when　we　observe　that　many　people　repeatedly　speak　of　the　same　event　and　drive　us　to　the　opinion　that　there　must　be　some　intelligent　idea　behind　it；but　however　narrow　a　road　may　be；　behind　it　there　may　be　any　number　of　others　in　series。


＇1＇　L。　Geiger：　Der　Ursprung　der　Sprache。　Stuttgart　1869。


We　also　are　bound　to　be　mistaken　if　we　presuppose　the　lack　of　reason　as　a　peculiarity　of　the　uneducated　only；　and　accept　as　well　thought…out　the　statements　of　people　who　possess　academic　training。　But　not　everybody　who　damns　God　is　a　philosopher；　and　neither　do　academic　persons　concern　themselves　unexceptionally　with　thinking。　Concerning　the　failure　of　our　studies　in　the　high…　schools　and　in　the　gymnasia；　more　than　enough　has　been　written；　but　Helmholtz；　in　his　famous　dissertation；　‘‘Concerning　the　Relation　of　the　Natural　Sciences　to　the　Whole　of　Knowledge；''　has　revealed　the　reason　for　the　inadequacy　of　the　material　served　up　by　gymnasia　and　high…schools。　Helmholtz　has　not　said　that　the　university　improves　the　situation　only　in　a　very　small　degree；　but　it　may　be　understood　from　his　words。　‘‘The　pupils　who　pass　from　our　grammar…schools　to　exact　studies　have　two　defects；　1。　A　certain　laxity　in　the　application　of　universally　valid　laws。　The　grammatical　rules　with　which　they　have　been　trained；　are　as　a　matter　of　fact；　buried　under　series　of　exceptions；　the　pupils　hence　are　unaccustomed　to　trust　unconditionally　to　the　certainty　of　a　legitimate　consequence　of　some　fixed　universal　law。　2。　They　are　altogether　too　much　inclined　to　depend　upon　authority　even　where　they　can　judge　for　themselves。''

Even　if　Helmholtz　is　right；　it　is　important　for　the　lawyer　to　recognize　the　distinction　between　the　witness　who　has　the　gymnasium　behind　him　and　the　educated　man　who　has　helped　himself　without　that　institution。　Our　time；　which　has　invented　the　Ph。　D。；　which　wants　to　do　everything　for　the　public　school　and　is　eager　to　cripple　the　classical　training　in　the　gymnasium；　has　wholly　forgotten　that　the　incomparable　value　of　the　latter　does　not　lie　in　the　minimum　of　Latin　and　Greek　which　the　student　has　acquired；　but　in　the　disciplinary　intellectual　drill　contained　in　the　grammar　of　the　ancient　tongues。　It　is　superfluous　to　make　fun　of　the　fact　that　the　technician　writes　on　his　visiting　cards：　Stud。　Eng。　or　Stud。　Mech。　and　can　not　　pronounce　the　words　the　abbreviations　stand　for；　that　he　becomes　Ph。　D。　and　can　not　translate　his　title；these　are　side　issues。　But　it　is　forgotten　that　the　total　examination　in　which　the　public　school　pupil　presents　his　hastily　crammed　Latin　and　Greek；　never　implies　a　careful　training　in　his　most　impressionable　period　of　life。　Hence　the　criminalist　repeatedly　discovers　that　the　capacity　for　trained　thinking　belongs　mainly　to　the　person　who　has　been　drilled　for　eight　years　in　Greek　and　Latin　grammar。　We　criminalists　have　much　experience　in　this　matter。

Helmholtz's　first　point　would；　for　legal　purposes；　require　very　broad　interpretation　of　the　term；　‘‘universally　valid　laws；''　extending　it　also　to　laws　in　the　judicial　sense　of　the　word。　The　assertion　is　frequently　made　that　laws　are　passed　in　the　United　States　in　order　that　they　might　not　be　obeyed；　and　political　regulations　are　obeyed　by　the　public　for；　at　most；　seven　weeks。　Of　course；　the　United　States　is　no　exception；　it　seems　as　if　the　respect　for　law　is　declining　everywhere；　and　if　this　decline　occurs　in　one　field　no　other　is　likely　to　be　free　from　it。　A　certain　subjective　or　egoistic　attitude　is　potent　in　this　regard；　for　people　in　the　main　conceive　the　law　to　be　made　only　for　others；　they　themselves　are　exceptions。　Narrow；　unconditional　adherence　to　general　norms　is　not　modern；　and　this　fact　is　to　be　seen　not　only　in　the　excuses　offered；　but　also　in　the　statements　of　witnesses；　who　expect　others　to　follow　prescriptions　approximately；　and　themselves　hardly　at　all。　This　fact　has　tremendous　influence　on　the　conceptions　and　constructions　of　people；　and　a　failure　to　take　it　into　consideration　means　considerable　error。

Not　less　unimportant　is　the　second　point　raised　in　the　notion　of　‘‘authority。''　To　judge　for　himself　is　everybody's　business；　and　should　be　required　of　everybody。　Even　if　nobody　should　have　the　happy　thought　of　making　use　of　the　better　insight；　the　dependent　person　who　always　wants　to　go　further　will　lead　himself　into　doubtful　situations。　The　three　important　factors；　school；　newspaper；　and　theater；　have　reached　an　extraordinary　degree　of　power。　People　apperceive；　think；　and　feel　as　these　three　teach　them；　and　finally　it　becomes　second　nature　to　follow　this　line　of　least　resistance；　and　to　seek　intellectual　conformity。　We　know　well　enough　what　consequences　this　has　in　law；　and　each　one　of　us　can　tell　how　witnesses　present　us　stories　which　we　believe　to　rest　on　their　own　insight　but　which　show　themselves　finally　to　depend　upon　the　opinion　of　some　other　element。　We　frequently　base　our　constructions　upon　the　remarkable　and　convincing　unanimity　of　such　witnesses　when　upon　　closer　examination　we　might　discover　that　this　unanimity　has　a　single　source。　If　we　make　this　discovery　it　is　fortunate；　for　only　time　and　labor　have　then　been　lost　and　no　mistake　has　been　committed。　But　if　the　discovery　is　not　made；　the　unanimity　remains　an　important；　but　really　an　unreliable　means　of　proof。


Section　47。　（b）　The　Mechanism　of　Thinking。

Since　the　remarkable　dissertation　of　W。　Ostwald；＇1＇　on　Sept。　20；　1905；　we　have　been　standing　at　a　turning　point　which　looks　toward　a　new　view　of　the　world。　We　do　not　know　whether　the　‘‘ignorabimus''　of　some　of　the　scientists　will　hold；　or　whether　we　shall　be　able　to　think　everything　in　terms　of　energy。　We　merely　observe　that　the　supposedly　invincible　principles　of　scientific　materialism　are　shaken。


＇1＇　W。　Ostwald：　Die　berwindung　des　wissenschaftlichen　Materialismus。


Frederick　the　Great；　in　a　letter　to　Voltaire；　says　something　which　suggests　he　was　the　first　to　have　thought　of　the　purely　mechanical　nature　of　thought。　Cabanis　had　said　briefly；　that　the　brain　secretes　thought　as　the　liver　bile。　Tyndall　expressed　this　conception　more　cautiously；　and　demanded　merely　the　confession　that　every　act　of　consciousness　implies　a　definite　molecular　condition　of　the　brain；　while　Bois…Reymond　declared　that　we　could　not　explain　certain　psychical　processes　and　events　by　knowledge　of　the　material　processes　in　the　brain。　‘‘You　shall　make　no　picture　or　comparison；　but　see　as　directly　as　the　nature　of　our　spirit　will　permit；''　Ostwald　tells　us；　and　it　is　well　to　stick　to　this　advice。　We　need　neither　to　cast　aside　the　mechanical　view　of　the　world　nor　to　accept　energism；　neither　of　them　is　required。　But　according　to　the　teachings　of　the　latter；　we　shall　be　enabled　to　recognize　the　meaning　of　natural　law　in　the　determination　of　how　actual　events　are　conditioned　by　possible　ones。　And　thus　we　shall　see　that　the　form　that　all　natural　laws　turn　to　expresses　the　mediation　of　an　invariable；　a　quantity　that　remains　unchangeable　even　when　all　the　other　elements　in　the　formula　of　a　possible　event　alter　within　the　limits　defined　by　the　law。＇2＇


＇2＇　A。　Hfler：　Psychologie。　Vienna　1897。


Every　science　must　provide　its　own　philosophy；　and　it　is　our　duty　to　know　properly　and　to　understand　clearly　how　far　we　may　perceive　connections　between　the　physical　qualities　of　any　one　of　our　witnesses　and　his　psychic　nature。　We　will　draw　no　inferences　ourselves；　but　we　will　take　note　of　what　does　not　explain　itself　and　apply　　to　experts　to　explain　what　we　can　not。　This　is　especially　necessary　where　the　relation　of　the　normal　to　the　abnormal　becomes　a　question。

The　normal　effects　to　be　spoken　of　are　very　numerous；　but　we　shall　consider　only　a　few。　The　first　is　the　connection　of　symbol　and　symbolized。　‘‘The　circumstance　that　the　symbol；　on　its　side　of　th