I get this from Maudsley,[170] and it leads us to keep in mind that
_our_ knowledge is very one-sided and limited, and that an event is
known only when all have spoken who possess especial knowledge of its
type. Hence, every criminalist is required to found his knowledge upon
that of the largest possible number of experts and not to judge or
discuss any matter which requires especial information without having
first consulted an expert with regard to it. Only the sham knows
everything; the trained man understands how little the mind of any
individual may grasp, and how many must coöperate in order to explain
the very simplest things.
The complexity of the matter lies in the essence of the concept “to
be.” We use the word “to be” to indicate the intent of all perceived and
perceivable. “‘To be’ and ‘to know’ are identical in so far as they have
identical content, and the content may be known?”[171]
PART II.
OBJECTIVE CONDITIONS OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION: THE MENTAL ACTIVITY OF
THE EXAMINEE.
TITLE A. GENERAL CONDITIONS.
Topic I. OF SENSE-PERCEPTION.
Section 35.
Our conclusions depend upon perceptions made by ourselves and others.
And if the perceptions are good our judgments _may_ be good, if they are
bad our judgments _must_ be bad. Hence, to study the forms of
sense-perception is to study the fundamental conditions of the
administration of law, and the greater the attention thereto, the more
certain is the administration.
It is not our intention to develop a theory of perception. We have only
to extract those conditions which concern important circumstances,
criminologically considered, and from which we may see how we and those
we examine, perceive matters. A thorough and comprehensive study of this
question can not be too much recommended. Recent science has made much
progress in this direction, and has discovered much of great importance
for us. To ignore this is to confine oneself merely to the superficial
and external, and hence to the inconceivable and incomprehensible, to
ignoring valuable material for superficial reasons, and what is worse,
to identifying material as important which properly understood has no
value whatever.
Section 36. (a) General Considerations.
The criminalist studies the physiological psychology[172] of the senses
and their functions, in order to ascertain their nature, their influence
upon images and concepts, their trustworthiness, their reliability and
its conditions, and the relation of perception to the object. The
question applies equally to the judge, the jury, the witness, and the
accused. Once the essence of the function and relation of
sense-perception is understood, its application in individual cases
becomes easy.
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