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criminal psychology-第114部分

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te…playing is an example。 Such people may easily cause mistakes。 The knowledge of their attainment in one field causes us involuntarily to respect their assertions。 Now; if their assertions deal with their hobbies many a silly thing is taken at its face value; and that value is counterfeit。


Section 88。 (4) _Inclination_。

Whether a scientific characterization of inclination is possible; whether the limits of this concept can be determined; and whether it is the result of nature; culture; or both together; are questions which can receive no certain answer。 We shall not here speak of individual forms of inclination; i。 e。; to drink; to gamble; to steal; etc。; for these are comparatively the most difficult of our modern problems。 We shall consider them generally and briefly。 Trees and men; says the old proverb; fall as they are inclined。 Now; if we examine the inclination of the countless fallen ones we meet in our calling we shall have fewer difficulties in qualifying and judging their crimes。 As a rule; it is difficult to separate inclination; on the one hand; from opportunity; need; desire; on the other。 The capacity for evil is a seduction to its performance; as Alfieri says somewhere; and this idea clarifies the status of inclination。 The ability may often be the opportune cause of the development of an evil tendency; and frequent success may lead to the assumption of the presence of an inclination。

Maudsley points out that feelings that have once been present leave their unconscious residue which modify the total character and even reconstruct the moral sense as a resultant of particular experiences。 That an inclination or something similar thereto might  develop in this way is certain; for we may even inherit an inclination; but only under certain conditions。 This fact is substantiated by the characteristics of vagabonds。 It may; perhaps; be said that the enforcement of the laws of vagabondage belongs to the most interesting of the pyschological researches of the criminal judge。 Even the difference between the real bona fide tramp; and the poor devil who; in spite of all his effort can get no work; requires the consideration of a good deal of psychological fact。 There is no need of description in such cases; the difference must be determined by the study of thousands of details。 Just as interesting are the results of procedure; especially certain statistical results。 The course of long practice will show that among real tramps there is hardly ever an individual whose calling requires very hard or difficult work。 Peasants; smiths; well…diggers; mountaineers; are rarely tramps。 The largest numbers have trades which demand no real hard work and whose business is not uniform。 Bakers; millers; waiters are hence more numerous。 The first have comparatively even distribution of work and rest; the latter sometimes have much; sometimes little to do; without any possible evenness of distribution。 Now; we should make a mistake if we inferred that because the former had hard work; and an equivalent distribution of work and rest; they do not become tramps; while the latter; lacking these; do become tramps。 In truth; the former have naturally a need and inclination for hard work and uniform living; have; therefore; no inclination to tramping; and have for that reason chosen their difficult calling。 The latter; on the other hand; felt an inclination for lighter; more irregular work; i。 e。; were already possessed of an inclination for vagabondage; and had; hence; chosen the business of baking; grinding; or waiting。 The real tramp; therefore; is not a criminal。 Vagabondage is no doubt the kindergarten of criminals; because there are many criminals among tramps; but the true vagabond is one only because of his inclination for tramping。 He is a degenerate。

Possibly a similar account of other types may be rendered。 If it is attained by means of a statistic developed on fundamental psychological principles; it would give us ground for a number of important assumptions。 It would help us to make parallel inferences; inasmuch as it would permit us to determine the fundamental inclination of the person by considering his calling; his way of approaching his work; his environment; his choice of a wife; his preferred pleasures; etc。 And then we should be able to connect this inclination with the deed in question。 It is difficult to fix upon the  relation between inclination and character; and the agreement will be only general when a man's character is called all those things to which he is naturally; or by education; inclined。 But it is certain that a good or bad character exists only then when its maxims of desire and action express themselves in fact。 The emphasis must be on the fact; what is factual may be discovered; and these discoveries may be of use。


Section 89。 (5) _Other Differences_。

The ancient classification of individuals according to temperaments is of little use。 There were four of them; called humors; and a series of characteristics was assigned to each; but not one of them had all of its characteristics at once。 Hence temperaments determined according to these four categories do not really exist; and the categorical distinction can have no practical value。 If; however; we make use of the significant general meaning of temperament; the apparatus of circumstance which is connected with this distinction becomes superfluous。 If you call every active person choleric; every truculent one sanguine; every thoughtful one phlegmatic; and every sad one melancholy; you simply add a technical expression to a few of the thousands of adjectives that describe these things。 These four forms are not the only ones there are。 Apart from countless medial and transitional forms; there are still large numbers that do not fit in any one of these categories。 Moreover; temperament alters with age; health; experience; and other accidents; so that the differentiation is not even justified by the constancy of the phenomenon。 Nevertheless; it is to some degree significant because any form of it indicates a certain authority; and because each one of these four categories serves to connect a series of phenomena and assumes this connection to be indubitable; although there is absolutely no necessity for it。 When Machiavelli says that the world belongs to the phlegmatic; he certainly did not have in mind that complex of phenomena which are habitually understood as the characteristics of the phlegmatic humor。 He wanted simply to say that extremes of conduct lead to as little in the daily life as in politics; that everything must be reflected upon and repeatedly tested before its realization is attempted; that only then can progress; even if slow; be made。 If he had said; the world belongs to the cautious or reflective person; we should not have found his meaning to be different。

When we seek clearly to understand the nature and culture of  an individual; an investigation into his temperament does not help us in the least。 Let us consider then; some other characteristic on which is based the judgment of individuals。 The proverb says that laughter betrays a man。 If in the theater; you know the subject of laughter; the manner of laughter; and the point at which laughter first occurred; you know where the most educated and the least educated people are。 Schopenhauer says that the intelligent man finds everything funny; the logical man nothing; and according to Erdmann (in ber die Dummheit); the distressing or laughable characteristics of an object; shows not its nature; but the nature of the observer。 It would seem that the criminalist might save himself much work by observing the laughter of his subjects。 The embarrassed; foolish snickering of the badly observing witness; the painful smile of the innocent prisoner; or the convicted penitent; the cruel laughter of the witness glad of the damage he has done; the evil laughter of the condemning accomplice; the happy; weak laughter of the innocent who has adduced evidence of his innocence; and the countless other forms of laughter; all these vary so much with the character of the laugher; and are so significant; that hardly anything compares with them in value。 When you remember; moreover; that concealment during laughter is not easy; at least at the moment when the laughter ceases; you see how very important laughter may be in determining a case。

Of equal importance with laughter are certain changes which may occur in people during a very short time。 If we observe in the course of the daily life; that people; without any apparent reason; so change that we can hardly recognize them; the change becomes ten times more intense under the influence of guilt or even of imprisonment。 Somebody said that isolation has revealed the greatest men; the greatest fools; and the greatest criminals。 What; then; might be the influence of compulsory isolation; i。 e。; of imprisonment! We fortunately do not live in a time which permits imprisonment for months and years in even the simplest cases; but under certain circumstances even a few days' imprisonment may completely alter a person。 Embitterment or wildness may exhibit itself; just as sorrow and softness; during the stay under arrest。 And hence; the c
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