How and when the witness is to be told things there is no rule for. The
wise adjustment between saying enough to awaken interest and not too
much to cause danger is a very important question of tact. Only one
certain device may be recommended--it is better to be careful with a
witness during his preliminary examination and to keep back what is
known or suspected; thus the attention and interest of the witness may
perhaps be stimulated. If, however, it is believed that fuller
information may increase and intensify the important factors under
examination, the witness is to be recalled later, when it is safe, and
his testimony is, under the new conditions of interest, to be corrected
and rendered more useful. In this case, too, the key to success lies in
increase of effort--but that is true in all departments of law, and the
interest of a witness is so important that it is worth the effort.
Topic III. PHENOMENOLOGY: STUDY OF THE OUTWARD EXPRESSION OF MENTAL
STATES.
Section 10.
Phenomenology is in general the science of appearances. In our usage it
is the systematic co-ordination of those outer symptoms occasioned by
inner processes, and conversely, the inference from the symptoms to
them. Broadly construed, this may be taken as the study of the habits
and whole bearing of any individual. But essentially only those external
manifestations can be considered that refer back to definite psychical
conditions, so that our phenomenology may be defined as the semiotic of
normal psychology. This science is legally of immense importance, but
has not yet assumed the task of showing how unquestionable inferences
may be drawn from an uncounted collection of outward appearances to
inner processes. In addition, observations are not numerous enough, far
from accurate enough, and psychological research not advanced enough.
What dangerous mistakes premature use of such things may lead to is
evident in the teaching of the Italian positivistic school, which
defines itself also as psychopathic semiotic. But if our phenomenology
can only attempt to approximate the establishment of a science of
symptoms, it may at least study critically the customary popular
inferences from such symptoms and reduce exaggerated theories concerning
the value of individual symptoms to a point of explanation and proof. It
might seem that our present task is destructive, but it will be an
achievement if we can show the way to later development of this science,
and to have examined and set aside the useless material already to hand.
Section 11. (a) General External Conditions.
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