criminal psychology-第66章

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lso　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　been　really　experienced。　A　name　or　region　then　seems　to　be　familiar　because　we　have　read　of　something　similar。

It　will　perhaps　be　proper　not　to　reduce　all　the　phenomena　of　paramnesia　to　the　same　conditions。　Only　a　limited　number　of　them　seem　to　be　so　reducible。　Impressions　often　occur　which　one　is　inclined　to　attribute　to　illusory　memory；　merely　to　discover　later　that　they　were　real　but　unconscious　memory；　the　things　had　been　actually　experienced　and　the　events　had　been　forgotten。　So；　for　example；　I　visit　some　region　for　the　first　time　and　get　the　impression　that　I　have　seen　it　before；　and　since　this；　as　a　matter　of　fact；　is　not　the　case；　I　believe　myself　to　have　suffered　from　an　illusion　of　memory。　　Later；　I　perceive　that　perhaps　in　early　childhood　I　had　really　been　in　a　country　that　resembled　this　one。　Thus　my　memory　was　really　correct；　I　had　merely　forgotten　the　experience　to　which　it　referred。

Aside　from　these　unreal　illusions　of　memory；　many；　if　not　all　others；　are　explicable；　as　Sully　indicates；　by　the　fact　that　something　similar　to　what　has　been　experienced；　has　been　read　or　heard；　while　the　fact　that　it　has　been　read　or　heard　is　half　forgotten　or　has　sunk　into　the　subconsciousness。　Only　the　sensation　has　remained；　not　the　recollection　that　it　was　read；　etc。　Another　part　of　this　phenomenon　may　possibly　be　explained　by　vivid　dreams；　which　also　leave　strong　impressions　without　leaving　the　memory　of　their　having　been　dreams。　Whoever　is　in　the　habit　of　dreaming　vividly　will　know　how　it　is　possible　to　have　for　days　a　clear　or　cloudy　feeling　of　the　discovery　of　something　excellent　or　disturbing；　only　to　find　out　later　that　there　has　been　no　real　experience；　only　a　dream。　Such　a　feeling；　especially　the　memory　of　things　seen　or　heard　in　dreams；　may　remain　in　consciousness。　If；　later；　some　similar　matter　is　really　met　with；　the　sensation　may　appear　as　a　past　event。＇1＇　This　is　all　the　easier　since　dreams　are　never　completely　rigid；　but　easily　modeled　and　adaptable；　so　that　if　there　is　the　slightest　approximation　to　similarity；　memory　of　a　dream　lightly　attaches　itself　to　real　experience。


＇1＇　H　Gross's　Archiv　I；　261；　335。


All　this　may　happen　to　anybody；　well　or　ill；　nervous　or　stolid。　Indeed；　Krpelin　asserts　that　paramnesia　occurs　only　under　normal　circumstances。　It　may　also　be　generally　assumed　that　a　certain　fatigued　condition　of　the　mind　or　of　the　body　renders　this　occurrence　more　likely；　if　it　does　not　altogether　determine　it。　So　far　as　self…　observation　throws　any　light　on　the　matter；　this　statement　appears　to　be　correct。　I　had　such　illusions　of　memory　most　numerously　during　the　Bosnian　war　of　occupation　of　1878；　when　we　made　our　terrible　forced　marches　from　Esseg　to　Sarajevo。　The　illusions　appeared　regularly　after　dinner；　when　we　were　quite　tired。　Then　the　region　which　all　my　preceding　life　I　had　not　seen；　appeared　to　be　pleasantly　familiar；　and　when　once；　at　the　very　beginning；　I　received　the　order　to　storm　a　village　occupied　by　Turks；　I　thought　it　would　not　be　much　trouble；　I　had　done　it　so　frequently　and　nothing　had　ever　happened。　At　that　time　we　were　quite　exhausted。　Even　when　we　had　entered　the　otherwise　empty　village　this　extraordinary　circumstance　did　not　impress　me；　and　I　thought　that　the　inside　of　　a　village　always　looked　like　thatalthough　I　had　never　before　seen　such　a　Turkish　street…hotel　‘‘in　nature''　or　pictured。

Another　mode　of　explanation　may　be　mentioned；　i。　e。；　explanation　by　heredity。　Hering＇1＇　and　Sully　have　dealt　with　it。　According　to　the　latter；　especially；　we　may　think　that　we　have　undergone　some　experience　that　really　belongs　to　some　ancestor。　Sully　believes　that　this　contention　can　not　be　generically　contradicted　because　a　group　of　skilled　activities　（nest…building；　food…seeking；　hiding　from　the　enemy；　migration；　etc。）　have　been　indubitably　inherited　from　the　animals；　but　on　the　other　hand；　that　paramnesia　is　inherited　memory　can　be　proved　only　with；　e。　g。；　a　child　which　had　been　brought　up　far　from　the　sea　but　whose　parents　and　grandparents　had　been　coast…dwellers。　If　that　child　should　at　first　sight　have　the　feeling　that　he　is　familiar　with　the　sea；　the　inheritance　of　memory　would　be　proved。　So　long　as　we　have　not　a　larger　number　of　such　instances　the　assumption　of　hereditary　influence　is　very　suggestive　but　only　probable。


＇1＇　E。　Hering：　ber　das　Gedchtnis；　etc。　Vienna　1876。


With　regard　to　the　bearing　of　memory…illusions　on　criminal　cases　I　shall　cite　only　one　possible　instance。　Somebody　just　waking　from　sleep　has　perceived　that　his　servant　is　handling　his　purse　which　is　lying　on　the　night…table；　and　in　consequence　of　the　memory…illusion　he　believes　that　he　has　already　observed　this　many　times　before。　The　action　of　the　servant　was　perhaps　harmless　and　in　no　way　directed　toward　theft。　Now　the　evidence　of　the　master　is　supposed　to　demonstrate　that　this　has　repeatedly　occurred；　then　perhaps　no　doubt　arises　that　the　servant　has　committed　theft　frequently　and　has　had　the　intention　of　doing　so　this　time。

To　generalize　this　situation　would　be　to　indicate　that　illusions　of　memory　are　always　likely　to　have　doubtful　results　when　they　have　occurred　only　once　and　when　the　witness　in　consequence　of　paramnesia　believes　the　event　to　have　been　repeatedly　observed。　It　is　not　difficult　to　think　of　numbers　of　such　cases　but　it　will　hardly　be　possible　to　say　how　the　presence　of　illusions　of　memory　is　to　be　discovered　without　the　knowledge　_*that_　they　exist。

When　we　consider　all　the　qualities　and　idiosyncrasies　of　memory；　this　so　varied　function　of　the　mind；　we　must　wonder　that　its　estimation　in　special　cases　is　frequently　different；　although　proceeding　from　a　second　person　or　from　the　very　owner　of　the　questionable　memory。　Sully　finds　rightly；　that　one　of　the　keenest　tricks　in　fighting　deep…　　rooted　convictions　is　to　attack　the　memory　of　another　with　regard　to　its　reliability。　Memory　is　the　private　domain　of　the　individual。　From　the　secret　council…chamber　of　his　own　consciousness；　into　which　no　other　may　enter；　it　draws　all　its　values。

The　case　is　altered；　how