criminal psychology-第61章

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ider　to　be　virtue　and　what　not。

Hartenstein　characterizes　Hegel　as　a　person　who　made　his　opponents　out　of　straw　and　rags　in　order　to　be　able　to　beat　them　down　the　more　easily。　This　characterizes　not　only　Hegel　but　a　large　group　of　individuals　whose　daily　life　consists　of　it。　Just　as　there　is　nowhere　any　particularly　definite　boundary　between　sanity　and　foolishness；　and　everything　flows　into　everything　else；　so　it　is　with　men　and　their　testimonies；　normal　and　abnormal。　From　the　sober；　clear；　and　true　testimony　of　the　former；　to　the　fanciful　and　impossible　assertions　of　the　latter；　there　is　a　straight；　slowly　rising　road　on　which　testimony　appears　progressively　less　true；　and　more　impossible。　　No　man　can　say　where　the　quality　of　foolishness　beginsnervousness；　excitement；　hysteria；　over…strain；　illusion；　fantasy；　and　pathoformic　lies；　are　the　shadings　which　may　be　distinguished；　and　the　quantity　of　untruth　in　such　testimonies　may　be　demonstrated；　from　one　to　one　hundred　per　cent。；　without　needing　to　skip　a　single　degree。　We　must　not；　however；　ignore　and　simply　set　aside　even　the　testimony　of　the　outlaws　and　doubtful　persons；　because　also　they　may　contain　some　truth；　and　we　must　pay　still　more　attention　to　such　as　contain　a　larger　percentage　of　truth。　But　with　this　regard　we　have　our　so…called　smart　lawyers　who　are　over…strained；　and　it　is　they　who　build　the　real　men　of　straw　which　cost　us　so　much　effort　and　labor。　The　form　is　indeed　correct；　but　the　content　is　straw；　and　the　figure　appears　subjectively　dangerous　only　to　its　creator。　And　he　has　created　it　because　he　likes　to　fight　but　desires　also　to　conquer　easily。　The　desire　to　construct　such　figures　and　to　present　them　to　the　authorities　is　widespread　and　dangerous　through　our　habit　of　seeking　some　particular　motive；　hatred；　jealousy；　a　long…drawn　quarrel；　revenge；　etc。　If　we　do　not　find　it　we　assume　that　such　a　motive　is　absent　and　take　the　accusation；　at　least　for　the　time；　to　be　true。　We　must　not　forget　that　frequently　there　can　be　no　other　defining　motive　than　the　desire　to　construct　a　man　of　straw　and　to　conquer　him。　If　this　explanation　does　not　serve　we　may　make　use　finally　of　a　curious　phenomenon；　called　by　Lazarus　_heroification_；　which　repeats　itself　at　various　levels　of　life　in　rather　younger　people。　If　we　take　this　concept　in　its　widest　application　we　will　classify　under　it　all　forms　that　contain　the　almost　invincible　demand　for　attention；　for　talking　about　oneself；　for　growing　famous；　on　the　part　of　people　who　have　neither　the　capacity　nor　the　perseverance　to　accomplish　any　extraordinary　thing；　and　who；　hence；　make　use　of　forbidden　and　even　criminal　means　to　shove　their　personalities　into　the　foreground　and　so　to　attain　their　end。　To　this　class　belong　all　those　half…grown　girls　who　accuse　men　of　seduction　and　rape。　They　aim　by　this　means　to　make　themselves　interesting。　So　do　the　women　who　announce　all　kinds　of　persecutions　which　make　them　talked　about　and　condoled　with；　and　the　numerous　people　who　want　to　do　something　remarkable　and　commit　arson；　then　again　certain　political　criminals　of　all　times　who　became　‘‘immortal''　with　one　single　stab；　and　hence　devoted　their　otherwise　worthless　lives　thereto；　and　finally；　even　all　those　who；　when　having　suffered　from　some　theft；　arson；　or　bodily　harm；　defined　their　damage　as　considerably　greater　than　it　actually　was；　not　for　the　purpose　　of　recovering　their　losses；　but　for　the　purpose　of　being　discussed　and　condoled　with。

As　a　rule　it　is　not　difficult　to　recognize　this　‘‘heroification；''　inasmuch　as　it　betrays　itself　through　the　lack　of　other　motives；　and　appears　definitely　when　the　intent　is　examined　and　exaggerations　are　discovered　which　otherwise　would　not　appear。



Topic　5。　ASSOCIATION　OF　IDEAS。

Section　50。

The　question　of　association　is　essentially　significant　for　lawyers　because；　in　many　cases；　it　is　only　by　use　of　it　that　we　can　discover　the　conditions　of　the　existence　of　certain　conceptions；　by　means　of　which　witnesses　may　be　brought　to　remember　and　tell　the　truth；　etc。；　without　hypnotizing　them；　or　overtesting　the　correctness　of　their　statements。　We　will　cursorily　make　a　few　general　observations　only：

Concerning　the　law　of　association；　very　little　has　been　learned　since　the　time　of　Aristotle。　It　is　determined　by：

1。　Similarity　（the　common　quality　of　the　symbol）。

2。　Contrast　（because　every　image　involves　opposition　between　its　extremes）。

3。　Co…existence；　simultaneity　（the　being　together　of　outer　or　inner　objects　in　space）。

4。　Succession　（images　call　each　other　out　in　the　same　order　in　which　they　occur）。

Hume　recognized　only　three　grounds　of　association　of　objects　similarity；　contact　in　time　and　space；　and　causality。　Theo。　Lipps　recognizes　as　the　really　different　grounds　of　association　only　similarity　and　simultaneity　（the　simultaneity　of　their　presence　in　the　mind；　especially）。

If；　however；　simultaneity　is　to　be　taken　in　this　sense　it　may　be　considered　the　sole　ground　of　association；　for　if　the　images　are　not　simultaneous　there　can　be　no　question　of　association。　Simultaneity　in　the　mind　is　only　the　second　process；　for　images　are　simultaneous　in　the　mind　only　because　they　have　occurred　simultaneously；　existed　in　the　same　space；　were　similar；　etc。　Mnsterberg；＇1＇　who　dealt　with　the　matter　and　got　important　results；　points　out　that　all　so…called　inner　associations；　like　similarity；　contrast；　etc。；　may　be　reduced　to　external　association；　and　all　the　external　associations；　even　that　of　　temporal　sequence；　may　be　reduced　to　co…existence；　and　all　co…　existence…associations　are　psychophysically　intelligible。　Further：　‘‘The　fundamental　error　of　all　association　processes　leading　to　incorrect　connection　of　ideas；　must　be　contained　in　their　incompleteness。　One　idea　was　associated　with　another；　the　latter　with　a　third；　and　then　we　connect　the　first　with　the　third　。　。　。　a　thing　we　should　not　have　done；　since　the　first；　while　it　co…existed　with　the　second；　was　also　connected　with　many　others。''


＇1＇　H。　Mnsterberg：　Beitrage　I…IV。　Freiburg　1882…1892。


But　even　this　account　does　not　account　for　certain　difficulties；　because　some　associations　are　simply　set　aside；　although　they　should　have　occurred。　Man　is　inclined；　according　to　Stricker；　to　inhibit　associations　which　are　not　implied　in　his　‘‘funded''　complexes。

If　we　find　direct　contradiction　with　regard　to　associations；　the　way　out　is　not　easy。　We　have　then；　first；　to　consider　how；　by　comparatively　remote　indirection；　to　introduce　those　conditions　into　the　‘‘funded''　complex；　which　will　give　rise　to　the　association。　But　such　a　consideration　is　often　a　big　problem　in　pedagogy；　and　we　are　rarely　in　the　position　of　teaching　the　witness。

There　is　still　the　additional　difficulty　that　we　frequently　do　not　know　the　circumstance　with　the　help　of　which　the　witness　has　made　his　association。　Thomas　Hobbes　tells　the　story　of　an　association　which　involved　a　leap　from　the　British　Civil　War　to　the　value　of　a　denarius　under　the　Emperor　Tiberius。　The　process　was　as　follows：　King　Charles　I　was　given　up　by　the　Scotch　for　200；000；　Christ　was　sold　for　80　denarii；　what　then　was　a　denarius　worth？　In　order　to　pursue　the　thread　of　such　an　association；　one　needs；　anyway；　only　a　definite　quantity　of　historical　knowledge；　but　this　quantity　must　be　possessed。　But　such　knowledge　is　a　knowledge　of　universal　things　that　anybody　may　have；　while　the　personal　relations　and　purely　subjective　experiences　which　are　at　the　command　of　an　individual　are　quite　unknown　to　any　other　person；　and　it　is　often　exceedingly　difficult　to　discover　them。＇1＇　The　case　is　simplest　when　one　tries　to　aid　the　memory　of　a　witness　in　order　to　make　him　place　single　dates；　e。　g。；　when　the　attempt　is　made　to　determine　some　time　and　the　witness　is　reminded　of　certain　events　that　occurred　during　the　time　in　question　in　order　to　assist　him　in　fixing　the　calendar　time。　Or　again；　when　the　witness　is　brought　to　the　place　of　the　crime　and　the　individual　conditions　are　associated　with　the　local　situation。　But　when　not　merely　single　dates　are　to　　be　associated；　when　complete　events　are　to　be　associated；　a　profound　knowledge　of　the　situation　must　precede；　otherwise　no　association　is　successful；　or　merely　topsy…turvy　results　are　attained。　The　difficulties　which　here　ensue　depend　actually　upon　the　really　enormous　quantity　of　knowledge　every　human　being　must　possess　in　making　use　of　his　senses。　Anything　that　a　man　has　learned　at　school；　in　the　newspapers；　etc。；　we　know　approximately；　but　we　have　no　knowledge　of　what　a　man　has　thought　out　for　himself　and　what　he　has　felt　in　his　localized　conditions；　e。　g。；　his　home；　his　town；　his　travels；　his　relations　and　their　experiences；　etc。However　important　this　may　be；　we　have　no　means　of　getting　hold　of　it。


＇1＇　A。　Mayer　and　J。　Orth：　Zur　qualitativen　Untersuchung　der　Assoziation。　Ztschrft。　f。　Psychol。　u。　Physiol。　der　Sinnesorgane；　XXVI；　1；　1901。


Those　associations　which　have　physical　expression　are　of　importance　only　in　particular　cases。　For　example；　the　feeling　of　ants　all　over　the　body　when　you　think　that　you　have　been　near　an　ant…　hill；　or　the　feeling　of　physical　pain　on　hearing　the　description　of　wounds。　It　is　exceedingly　funny　to　see　how；　during　the　lectures　of　dermatologists；　the　whole　audience　scratches　that　part　of　the　body　which　is　troubling　the　patient　who　is　being　described。

Such　associations　may　be　legally　valuable　in　so　far　as　the　accused　who　plead　innocence　make　unconscious　movements　which　imply　the　denied　wounds。　In　any　event；　it　is　necessary　to　be　cautious　because　frequently　the　merely　accurate　description　of　a　wound　may　bring　about　the　same　effect　in　nervous　persons　as　the　sight　of　that　wound。　If；　however；　the　wound　is　not　described　and　even　its　place　not　mentioned；　and　only　the　general　harm　is　spoken　of；　then　if　the　accused　reaches　for　that　part　of　his　body　in　which　the　wound　of　his　victim　is　located；　you　have　a　clew；　and　your　attention　should　be　directed　upon　it。　Such　an　index　is　worth　no　more；　but　even　as　a　clew　it　has　some　value。

All　in　all；　we　may　say　that　the　legally　significant　direction　of　association　falls　in　the　same　class　with　‘‘getting　an　idea。''　We　need　association　for　the　purpose　of　constructing　an　image　and　an　explanation　of　the　event　in　question；　something　must　‘‘occur　to　us。''　We　must　‘‘get　an　idea；''　if　we　are　to　know　how　something　happened。　We　need　association；　moreover；　in　order　to　discover　that　something　has　occurred　to　the　witness。

‘‘Getting　an　idea''　or　‘‘occurrence''　is　essentially　one　and　the　same　in　all　its　forms。　We　have　only　to　study　its　several　manifestations：

1。　‘‘Constructive　occurrence；''　by　means　of　which　the　correct　thing　may　possibly　be　discovered　in　the　way　of　combining；　inferring；　　comparing　and　testing。　Here　the　association　must　be　intentional　and　such　ideas　must　be　brought　to　a　fixed　image；　which　may　be　in　such　wise　associated　with　them　as　to　make　a　result　possible。　Suppose；　e。　g。；　that　the　case　is　one　of　arson；　and　the　criminal　is　unknown。　Then　we　will　require　the　plaintiff　to　make　local；　temporal；　identifying；　and　contrasting　associations　with　the　idea　of　all　and　each　of　his　enemies；　or　of　discharged　servants；　beggars；　etc。　In　this　wise　we　can　attain　to　other　ideas；　w