criminal psychology-第123部分

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Another　question　is　the　limit　at　which　illusions　of　sense　begin；　how；　indeed；　they　can　be　distinguished　from　correct　perceptions。　The　possibility　of　doing　so　depends　upon　the　typical　construction　of　the　sense…organs　in　man。　By　oneself　it　would　be　impossible　to　determine　which　sensation　is　intrinsically　correct　and　which　is　an　illusion。　There　are　a　great　many　illusions　of　sense　which　all　men　suffer　from　under　similar　conditions；　so　that　the　judgment　of　the　majority　can　not　be　normative。　Nor　can　the　control　of　one　sense　by　another　serve　to　distinguish　illusory　from　correct　perception。　In　many　cases　it　is　quite　possible　to　test　the　sense　of　sight　by　touch；　or　the　sense　of　hearing　by　sight；　but　that　is　not　always　so。　The　simplest　thing　is　to　say　that　a　sense…impression　is　correct　and　implies　reality　when　it　remains　identical　under　various　circumstances；　in　various　conditions；　when　connected　with　other　senses；　and　observed　　by　different　men；　with　different　instruments。　It　is　illusory　when　it　is　not　so　constant。　But　here　again　the　limit　of　the　application　of　the　term　‘‘illusion''　is　difficult　to　indicate。　That　distant　things　seem　to　be　smaller　than　they　are；　that　railway　tracks　and　two　sides　of　a　street　seem　to　run　together　are　intrinsically　real　illusions　of　sense；　but　they　are　not　so　calledthey　are　called　the　laws　of　perspective；　so　that　it　would　seem　that　we　must　add　to　the　notion　of　sense…　perception　that　of　rarity；　or　extraordinary　appearance。

I　have　found　still　another　distinction　which　I　consider　important。　It　consists　in　the　difference　between　real　illusions　and　those　false　conceptions　in　which　the　mistake　originates　as　false　inference。　In　the　former　the　sense　organ　has　been　really　registering　wrongly；　as　when；　for　example；　the　pupil　of　the　eye　is　pressed　laterally　and　everything　is　seen　double。　But　when　I　see　a　landscape　through　a　piece　of　red　glass；　and　believe　the　landscape　to　be　really　red；　the　mistake　is　one　of　inference　only；　since　I　have　not　included　the　effect　of　the　glass　in　my　concluding　conception。　So　again；　when　in　a　rain　I　believe　mountains　to　be　nearer　than　they　really　are；　or　when　I　believe　the　stick　in　the　water　to　be　really　bent；　my　sensations　are　perfectly　correct；　but　my　inferences　are　wrong。　In　the　last　instance；　even　a　photograph　will　show　the　stick　in　water　as　bent。

This　difference　in　the　nature　of　illusion　is　particularly　evident　in　those　phenomena　of　expectation　that　people　tend　to　miscall　‘‘illusions　of　sense。''　If；　in　church；　anybody　hears　a　dull；　weak　tone；　he　will　believe　that　the　organ　is　beginning　to　sound；　because　it　is　appropriate　to　assume　that。　In　the　presence　of　a　train　of　steam　cars　which　shows　every　sign　of　being　ready　to　start　you　may　easily　get　the　illusion　that　it　is　already　going。　Now；　how　is　the　sense　to　have　been　mistaken　in　such　cases？　The　ear　has　really　heard　a　noise；　the　eye　has　really　seen　a　train；　and　both　have　registered　correctly；　but　it　is　not　their　function　to　qualify　the　impression　they　register；　and　if　the　imagination　then　effects　a　false　inference；　that　can　not　be　called　an　illusion　of　sensation。

The　incorrectness　of　such　classification　becomes　still　more　obvious　when　some　numerical；　arithmetical　demonstration　can　be　given　of　the　presence　of　faulty　inference。　For　example；　if　I　see　through　the　window　a　man　very　far　away　clearing　a　lot　with　an　ax；　I　naturally　see　the　ax　fall　before　I　hear　the　noise　of　the　blow。　Now；　it　may　happen　that　the　distance　may　be　just　great　enough　to　make　me　hear　the　sound　of　the　second　blow　at　the　moment　in　which　I　see　the　delivery　of　the　third　blow。　Thus　I　perceive　at　the　same　moment；　　in　spite　of　the　great　distance；　both　the　phenomena　of　light　and　of　sound；　just　as　if　I　were　directly　on　the　spot。　Perhaps　I　will　wonder　at　first　about　these　physical　anomalies；　and　then；　if　I　have　made　my　simple　mistake　in　inference；　I　shall　tell　somebody　about　the　remarkable　‘‘sensory　illusion''　I　had　today；　although　no　one　had　ever　supposed　me　capable　of　being　deceived　in　this　way。　Schopenhauer　calls　attention　to　the　familiar　fact　that　on　waking　after　a　short　nap　all　localizations　are　apparently　perverted；　and　the　mind　does　not　know　what　is　in　front；　what　behind；　what　to　the　right；　and　what　to　the　left。　To　call　also　this　sensory　illusion；　would　again　be　wrong；　since　the　mind　is　not　fully　awake；　and　sufficiently　orientated　to　know　clearly　its　condition。　The　matter　is　different　when　we　do　not　properly　estimate　an　uncustomary　sense…impression。　A　light　touch　in　an　unaccustomed　part　of　the　body　is　felt　as　a　heavy　weight。　After　the　loss　of　a　tooth　we　feel　an　enormous　cave　in　the　mouth；　and　what　a　nonsensical　idea　we　have　of　what　is　happening　when　the　dentist　is　drilling　a　hole　in　a　tooth！　In　all　these　cases　the　senses　have　received　a　new　impression　which　they　have　not　yet　succeeded　in　judging　properly；　and　hence；　make　a　false　announcement　of　the　object。　It　is　to　this　fact　that　all　fundamentally　incorrect　judgments　of　new　impressions　must　be　attributed；for　example；　when　we　pass　from　darkness　into　bright　light　and　find　it　very　sharp；　when　we　find　a　cellar　warm　in　winter　that　we　believe　to　be　ice…cold　in　summer；　when　we　suppose　ourselves　to　be　high　up　in　the　air　the　first　time　we　are　on　horseback；　etc。　Now；　the　actual　presence　of　sensory　illusions　is　especially　important　to　us　because　we　must　make　certain　tests　to　determine　whether　testimony　depends　on　them　or　not；　and　it　is　of　great　moment　to　know　whether　the　illusions　depend　on　the　individual's　mind　or　on　his　senses。　We　may　trust　a　man's　intellect　and　not　his　senses；　and　conversely；　from　the　very　beginning。

It　would　be　superfluous　to　talk　of　the　importance　of　sensory　illusion　in　the　determination　of　a　sentence。　The　correctness　of　the　judgment　depends　on　the　correctness　of　the　transmitted　observations；　and　to　understand　the　nature　of　sense…illusion　and　its　frequency　is　to　know　its　significance　for　punishment。　There　are　many　mistakes　of　judges　based　entirely　on　ignorance　of　this　matter。　Once　a　man　who　claimed；　in　spite　of　absolute　darkness；　to　have　recognized　an　opponent　who　punched　him　in　the　eye；　was　altogether　believed；　simply　because　it　was　assumed　that　the　punch　was　so　vigorous　that　the　wounded　man　saw　sparks　by　the　light　of　which　he　could　recognize　　the　other。　And　yet　already　Aristotle　knew　that　such　sparks　are　only　subjective。　But　that　such　things　were　believed　is　a　notable　warning。＇1＇


＇1＇　　For　literature　of　Edmund　Parish：　ber　Trugwahrnehmung。　Leipsig　1894。　　A　Cramer：　Geriehtliche　Psychiatrie。　Jena　1897。　　Th。　Lipps：　sthetische　Eindrcke　u。　optische。　Taschung。　　J。　Sully：　Illusions；　London；　1888。


Section　99。　（2）　_Optical　Illusions_。

It　will　be　best　to　begin　the　study　of　optical　illusions　with　the　consideration　of　those　conditions　which　cause　extraordinary；　lunatic　images。　They　are　important　because　the　illusion　is　recognizable　with　respect　to　the　possibility　of　varied　interpretations　by　any　observer；　and　because　anybody　may　experiment　for　himself　with　a　bit　of　paper　on　the　nature　of　false　optical　apprehension。　If　we　should　demonstrate　no　more　than　that　the　simplest　conditions　often　involve　coarse　mistakes；　much　will　have　been　accomplished　for　the　law；　since　the　‘‘irrefutable　evidence''　of　our　senses　would　then　show　itself　to　need　corroboration。　Nothing　is　proved　with　‘‘I　have　seen　it　myself；''　for　a　mistake　in　one　point　shows　the　equal　possibility　of　mistakes　in　all　other　points。

Generally；　it　may　be　said　that　the　position　of　lines　is　not　without　influence　on　the　estimation　of　their　size。＇2＇　Perpendicular　dimensions　are　taken　to　be　somewhat　greater　than　they　are。　Of　two　crossed　lines；　the　vertical　one　seems　longer；　although　it　is　really　equal　to　the　horizontal　one。　An　oblong；　lying　on　its　somewhat　longer　side；　is　taken　to　be　a　square；　if　we　set　it　on　the　shorter　side　it　seems　to　be　still　more　oblong　than　it　really　is。　If　we　divide　a　square　into　equal　angles　we　take　the　nearer　horizontal　ones　to　be　larger；　so　that　we　often　take　an　angle　of　thirty　degrees　to　be　forty…five。　Habit　has　much　influence　here。　It　will　hardly　be　believed；　and　certainly　is　not　consciously　known；　that　in　the　letter　S　the　upper　curve　has　a　definitely　smaller　radius　than　the　lower　one；　but　the　inverted　S　shows　this　at　once。　To　such　types　other　false　estimations　belong：　inclinations；　roofs；　etc。；　appear　so　steep　in　the　distance　that　it　is　said　to　be　impossible　to　move　on　them　without　especial　help。　But　whoever　does　move　on　them　finds　the　inclination　not　at　all　so　great。　Hence；　it　is　necessary；　whenever　the　ascension　of　some　inclined　plane　is　declared　impossible；　to　inquire　whether　the　author　of　the　declaration　was　himself　there；　or　whether　he　had　judged　the　thing　at　a　distance。


＇2＇　Cf。　Lotze：　Medizinische　Psychologie。　Leipzig　1852。



Slight　crooks　are　underestimated。　Exner＇1＇　rightly　calls　attention　to　the　fact　that　in　going　round　the　rotunda　of　the　Viennese　Prater；　he　always　reached　the　exit　much　sooner　than　he　expected。　This　is　due　to　the　presence　of　slight　deviations　and　on　them　are　based　the　numerous　false　estimates　of　distance　and　the　curious　fact　that　people；　on　being　lost　at　night　in　the　woods；　go　round　in　a　significantly　small　circle。　It　is　frequently　observed　that　perso