The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1905-06-08
Insanity AS
a Defense

lie should become informed
theories Of insanity, from time to
promulgated relation responsibility for acts which in their
The question has been complicated by metap
steal discussion the freedom OF the will the hand and on
the other by physiological discoveries regarding the play
ed by mind in disease. The theory by French
expert Dr. Gasset From review OF his treatise the Cosmos the
Literary Digest has had the following translated:
when illegal act is under adjudication by court OF law fund
the time when he committed the act the integrity OF his in
telectua faculties?
"e problem always very easy trials have
equally celebrated experts contradictory conclusions
gardng the subject his complete responsibility his par
ial responsibility his complete responsibility We may imagine
the confusion Of Judge and jury Would the physician
that accused irresponsible sign certificate that
would commit him asum Certainly not in many cases when
a degree responsibility recognized What the criterion
that will enable the physician decide whether convicted person
should be consigned to the asylum or to prison?
"The theory OF double psycism has enabled Dr. Grae lay
down guiding principle this point Physiological responsibility is
function OF the superior psychsm and consequently connected
with the anatomical and functional integrity certain nerve-ces
In the sleep OF sommambum in the crisis OF epilepsy the state
OF profound hypnosis the uonSoSne the automatic conscious
the inferior psychm which Grae calls the poygona activity
IS alone IN play the superior consciousness which ne represents IN his
scheme by the letter O. control and in this pychoo-
gic disaggregaon there can be no responsibility.
What called free and voluntary act of very high py
chic synhes Mental diseases makes person Irresponsible but dis
that reaches only the neve-ce OF the lower mentality does not
involve responsibility
Now adds besides very cases. either Of
alteration Of the higher psychsm involving responsibility of in
OF pogonal lesion in which the responsibility is weakene
This absurd certain lay journalists think.
nerced with by disease the subject armed against the
his trouble as whose poygon intact In this the
subject responsible but his mind entirely normal
This weakening Of the responsibility susceptible of mahema
teal ask of
acona he would express physical ncapaty after accident
But this mpossby does exclude the reality of the thing
There then contradiction between these three propositions
stated together the end of experts report The accused
irresponsible The accused is responsible The responsibility OF
the accused is limited or weakened
"he following Dr. Grasses conclusions given word for word
"Ihe yeXatOu through which legal medicine passing i'll
the matter of responsibility would appear have which
well know, and whose Inconvenience impossible disguise
"I The first cause which philosophical arises from the differ
metaphysical doctrines OF free will and moral responsibility and
expert opinion because they do away with the ideas of individual lib
erty and responsibility
The remedy lies separating the medical question completely
from the philosophical question: medical expert should
wholly medical ground examining only the physopathoogic
problem of responsibility On this ground the only region where they
really home all physicians whatever their
opinions on metaphysics or religion
" The second which medical arises the recent
vesgaons that have analysed the psychic phenomena
thus multiplying considerably the number of mental malades
and consequently extending the field of responsibility
The remedy consists denial that all the psychic neryecs
in the degree factors responsibility responsibility and in
showing that for this function for Others distinguish and
observe separately the superior and inferior mechanism Al
eratons the superior mentality diseases of the mind alone involve