criminal psychology-第37节

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machine　is　found　on　a　desert　island；　the　conclusion　is　drawn　that　men　are　or　were　on　the　island。　The　application　is　easy　enough。　The　presence　of　a　clock；　the　presence　of　a　three…cornered　wound　is　perceived　by　the　sensesthat　men　were　there；　that　the　wound　was　made　with　a　specific　kind　of　in…

＇1＇　Meinong：　Humestudien。　Vienna　1882。

　strument；　is　a　causal　inference。　Simple　as　this　proposition　of　Hume's　is；　it　is　of　utmost　importance　in　the　law　because　of　the　permanent　and　continually　renewed　problems：　What　is　the　effect　in　_*this_　case？　What　is　the　cause？　Do　they　belong　together？　Remembering　that　these　questions　make　our　greatest　tasks　and　putting　them；　even　beyond　the　limit　of　disgust；　will　save　us　from　grave　errors。

There　is　another　important　condition　to　which　Hume　calls　attention　and　which　is　interpreted　by　his　clever　disciple　Meinong。　It　is　a　fact　that　without　the　help　of　previous　experience　no　causal　nexus　can　be　referred　to　an　observation；　nor　can　the　presence　of　such　be　discovered　in　individual　instances。　It　may　be　postulated　only。　A　cause　is　essentially　a　complex　in　which　every　element　is　of　identical　value。　And　this　circumstance　is　more　complicated　than　it　appears　to　be；　inasmuch　as　it　requires　reflection　to　distinguish　whether　only　one　or　more　observations　have　been　made。　Strict　self…control　alone　and　accurate　enumeration　and　supervision　will　lead　to　a　correct　decision　as　to　whether　one　or　ten　observations　have　been　made；　or　whether　the　notion　of　additional　observations　is　not　altogether　illusory。

This　task　involves　a　number　of　important　circumstances。　First　of　all　must　be　considered　the　manner　in　which　the　man　on　the　street　conceives　the　causal　relation　between　different　objects。　The　notion　of　causality；　as　Schwarz＇1＇　shows；　is　essentially　foreign　to　the　man　on　the　street。　He　is　led　mainly　by　the　analogy　of　natural　causality　with　that　of　human　activity　and　passivity；　e。　g。；　the　fire　is　active　with　regard　to　water；　which　simply　must　sizzle　passively。　This　observation　is　indubitably　correct　and　significant；　but　I　think　Schwarz　wrong　to　have　limited　his　description　to　ordinary　people；　it　is　true　also　of　very　complex　natures。　It　is　conceivable　that　external　phenomena　shall　be　judged　in　analogy　with　the　self；　and　inasmuch　as　the　latter　often　appears　to　be　purely　active；　it　is　also　supposed　that　those　natural　phenomena　which　appear　to　be　especially　active　are　really　so。

In　addition；　many　objects　in　the　external　world　with　which　we　have　a　good　deal　to　do；　and　are　hence　important；　do　as　a　matter　of　fact　really　appear　to　be　activethe　sun；　light；　warmth；　cold；　the　weather；　etc。；　so　that　we　assign　activity　and　passivity　only　according　to　the　values　the　objects　have　for　us。　The　ensuing　mistake　is　the　fact　that　we　overlook　the　alternations　between　activity　and　pas…

＇1＇　Das　Wahrnehmungsproblem　von　Standpunkte　des　Physikers；　Physiologen　und　Philosophen。　Leipzig　1892。

　sivity；　or　simply　do　not　make　the　study　such　alternations　require；　yet　the　correct　apportionment　of　action　and　reaction　is；　for　us；　of　greatest　importance。　In　this　regard；　moreover；　there　is　always　the　empty　problem　as　to　whether　two　things　may　stand　in　causal　relation；　empty；　because　the　answer　is　always　yes。　The　scientific　and　practical　problem　is　as　to　whether　there　exists　an　actual　causal　nexus。　The　same　relation　occurs　in　the　problem　of　reciprocal　influences。　No　one　will　say；　for　example；　that　any　event　exercises　a　reciprocal　influence　on　the　sun；　but　apart　from　such　relatively　few　cases　it　would　not　only　be　supposed　that　A　is　the　cause　of　the　effect　B；　but　also　that　B　might　have　reciprocally　influenced　A。　Regard　for　this　possibility　may　save　one　from　many　mistakes。

One　important　source　of　error　with　regard　to　cause　and　effect　lies　in　the　general　and　profound　supposition　that　the　cause　must　have　a　certain　similarity　to　the　effect。　So　Ovid；　according　to　J。　S。　Mill；　has　Medea　brew　a　broth　of　long…lived　animals；　and　popular　superstitions　are　full　of　such　doctrine。　The　lung　of　a　long…winded　fox　is　used　as　a　cure　for　asthma；　the　yarrow　is　used　to　cure　jaundice；　agaricos　is　used　for　blisters；　aristolochia　（the　fruit　of　which　has　the　form　of　a　uterus）　is　used　for　the　pains　of　child…birth；　and　nettle…tea　for　nettle…rash。　This　series　may　be　voluntarily　increased　when　related　to　the　holy　patron　saints　of　the　Catholic　Church；　who　are　chosen　as　protectors　against　some　especial　condition　or　some　specific　difficulty　because　they　at　one　time　had　some　connection　with　that　particular　matter。　So　the　holy　Odilia　is　the　patron　saint　for　diseases　of　the　eye；　not　because　she　knew　how　to　cure　the　eyes；　but　because　her　eyes　were　put　out　with　needles。　The　thief　Dismas　is　the　patron　of　the　dying　because　we　know　nothing　about　him　save　that　he　died　with　Christ。　St。　Barbara；　who　is　pictured　together　with　a　tower　in　which　she　was　imprisoned；　and　which　was　supposed　to　be　a　powder　house；　has　become　the　patron　saint　of　artillery。　In　the　same　manner　St。　Nicholas　is；　according　to　Simrock；　the　patron　of　sailors　because　his　name　resembles　Nichus；　Nicor；　Nicker；　which　is　the　name　of　the　unforgotten　old　German　sea…deity。

Against　such　combinations；　external　and　unjustified；　not　even　the　most　educated　and　skilful　is　safe。　Nobody　will　doubt　that　he　is　required　to　make　considerable　effort　in　his　causal　interpretation　because　of　the　sub…conscious　influence　of　such　similarities。　The　matter　would　not　be　so　dangerous；　all　in　all；　because　such　mistakes　may　be　easily　corrected　and　the　attention　of　people　may　be　called　　to　the　inadequacy　of　such　causationbut　the　reason　for　this　kind　of　correlations　is　rarely　discovered。　Either　people　do　not　want　to　tell　it　because　they　instinctively　perceive　that　their　causal　interpretation　cannot　be　justified；　or　they　cannot　even　express　it　because　the　causal　relation　had　been　assumed　only　subconsciously；　and　they　are　hence　unaware　of　the　reasons　for　it　and　all　the　more　convinced　that　they　are　right。　So　for　example；　an　intelligent　man　told　me　that　he　suspected　another　of　a　murder　because　the　latter's　mother　died　a　violent　death。　The　witness　stuck　to　his　statement：　‘‘the　man　who　had　once　had　something　to　do　with　killing　must　have　had　something　to　do　with　this　killing。''　In　a　similar　manner；　a　whole　village　accused　a　man　of　arson　because　he　was　born　on　the　night　on　which　a　neighboring　village　burned　down。　Here；　however；　there　was　no　additional　argument　in　the　belief　that　his　mother　had　absorbed　the　influence　of　the　fire　inasmuch　as　the　latter　was　told　that　there　had　been　a　fire　only　after　the　child　was　born。　‘‘He　once　had　something　to　do　with　fire；''　was　the　basis　of　the　judgment；　also　in　this　case。

There　are　innumerable　similar　examples　which；　with　a　large　number　of　habitual　superstitious　presuppositions；　make　only　false　causality。　Pearls　mean　tears　because　they　have　similar　form；　inasmuch　as　the　cuckoo　may　not　without　a　purpose　have　only　two　calls　at　one　time　and　ten　or　twenty　at　another；　the　calls　must　mean　the　number　of　years　before　death；　before　marriage；　or　of　a　certain　amount　of　money；　or　any　other　countable　thing。　Such　notions　are　so　firmly　rooted　in　the　peasantry　and　in　all　of　us；　that　they　come　to　the　surface；　whether　consciously　or　unconsciously；　and　influence　us　more　than　we　are　accustomed　to　suppose　they　do。　Whenever　anybody　assures　us　that　he　is　able　to　assert　absolutely；　though　not　altogether　prove　a　thing；　this　assurance　may　be　variously　grounded；　but　not　rarely　it　is　no　more　than　one　of　these　false　correlations。　Schopenhauer　has　said；　that　‘‘motivation　is　causality　seen　from　within；''and　one　may　add　conversely　that　causality　is　motivation　seen　from　without。　What　is　asserted　must　be　motivated；　and　that　is　done　by　means　of　causalityif　no　real　ultimate　cause　is　found　a　false；　superficial　and　insufficient　one　is　adopted；　inasmuch　as　we　ever　strive　to　relate　things　causally；　in　the　knowledge　that；　otherwise；　the　world　would　be　topsy…turvy。　‘‘Everywhere；''　says　Stricker；　‘‘we　learn　that　men　who　do　not　associate　their　experiences　according　to　right　cause　are　badly　adapted　to　their　environment；　the　pictures　of　artists　are　disliked；　the　laborer's　　work　does　not　succeed；　the　tradesman　loses　his　money；　and　the　general　his　battle。　And　we　may　add；　‘‘The　criminalist　his　case。''　For　whoever　seeks　the　reason　for　a　lost　case　certainly　will　find　it　in　the　ignorance　of　the　real　fact　and　in　the　incorrect　cordination　of　cause　and　effect。　The　most　difficult　thing　in　such　cordination　is　not　that　it　has　to　be　tested　according　to　the　notion　one　has　for　himself　of　the　chain　of　events；　the　difficulty　lies　in　the　fact　that　the　point　of　view　and　mental　habits　of　the　man　who　is　suspected　of　the　effects　must　be　adopted。　Without　this　the　causal　relations　as　they　are　arrived　at　by　the　other　can　never　be　reached；　or　different　results　most　likely　ensue。

The　frequency　of　mistakes　like　those　just　mentioned　is　well　known。　They　affect　history。　Even　La　Rochefoucauld　was　of　the　opinion　that　the　great　and　splendid　deeds　which　are　presented　by　statesmen　as　the　outcome　of　far…reaching　plans　are；　as　a　rule；　merely　the　result　of　inclination　and　passion。　This　opinion　concerns　the　lawyer's　task　also；　for　the　lawyer　is　almost　always　trying　to　discover　the　m