The Mysterious Inner Self
We think we know ourselves. How we would react under certain circumstances. What happens when inner forces we have no idea exist, surface and temporarily control
our reactions? We have free will, after all, so how can we conceivably claim on the one hand to be responsible, and on the other, confused by events that overtake us and which we cannot understand, but which have resulted from reactions emanating from some inner conflict? Are we then not responsible?
A beautiful young British woman living in France described to police the events that unfolded the night she stabbed a young man to death in her flat in a Paris suburb, as he sat on her bed. She could remember, she affirmed, inviting Olivier Mugnier, an unemployed university graduate, to her home. She recalled opening a bottle of wine with a knife, prior to having sexual intercourse. That never succeeded; his erection failed.
"The next thing I can remember is telephoning the emergency services, holding the phone with one hand and trying to stem the flow of blood with the other", she explained. Olivier Mugnier, 24 years old, will never enjoy his future. Jessica Davis had over four times the legal driving limit of alcohol in her blood. She, six years the senior of Mr. Mugnier, told the French court trying her she had no explanation for her attack on the naked young man.
They'd met in a pub. She invited him to her home. When the first police officer arrived after her emergency call she screamed "It's me who did that, I'm a monster. I wanted to cut him a bit and it went right in." The why of it, she claims, is beyond her understanding. But the fact was she murdered a human being. She chose to be under the influence of alcohol. She reacted horribly to something that she initiated but could not conclude.
"I have to accept the obvious. I have never tried to deny it. I am sincere in my answers and in my lack of answers. It's strange to feel so guilty and yet not to know what happened. The remorse is there, the distress is there, but you cannot make sense of it. It's terrible because I'm not the only one needing answers", she said in reference to the young man's parents and brother, sitting in the courtroom.
Psychiatrists who had examined Ms. Davies diagnosed "borderline" personality disorder. That's ambiguous enough to relate to almost everyone in society. What is full mental health? She was deemed fit to stand trial on charges of unpremeditated murder. But her level of responsibility is held to have been in a diminished state at the time of her victim's death.
This is an agonizingly difficult situation to meet head on and reach a reasonable conclusion, one that would be just and fair and satisfy the bereaved parents, let alone the young woman who will live forever with the dreadful - partial - memory of what she has done.
our reactions? We have free will, after all, so how can we conceivably claim on the one hand to be responsible, and on the other, confused by events that overtake us and which we cannot understand, but which have resulted from reactions emanating from some inner conflict? Are we then not responsible?
A beautiful young British woman living in France described to police the events that unfolded the night she stabbed a young man to death in her flat in a Paris suburb, as he sat on her bed. She could remember, she affirmed, inviting Olivier Mugnier, an unemployed university graduate, to her home. She recalled opening a bottle of wine with a knife, prior to having sexual intercourse. That never succeeded; his erection failed.
"The next thing I can remember is telephoning the emergency services, holding the phone with one hand and trying to stem the flow of blood with the other", she explained. Olivier Mugnier, 24 years old, will never enjoy his future. Jessica Davis had over four times the legal driving limit of alcohol in her blood. She, six years the senior of Mr. Mugnier, told the French court trying her she had no explanation for her attack on the naked young man.
They'd met in a pub. She invited him to her home. When the first police officer arrived after her emergency call she screamed "It's me who did that, I'm a monster. I wanted to cut him a bit and it went right in." The why of it, she claims, is beyond her understanding. But the fact was she murdered a human being. She chose to be under the influence of alcohol. She reacted horribly to something that she initiated but could not conclude.
"I have to accept the obvious. I have never tried to deny it. I am sincere in my answers and in my lack of answers. It's strange to feel so guilty and yet not to know what happened. The remorse is there, the distress is there, but you cannot make sense of it. It's terrible because I'm not the only one needing answers", she said in reference to the young man's parents and brother, sitting in the courtroom.
Psychiatrists who had examined Ms. Davies diagnosed "borderline" personality disorder. That's ambiguous enough to relate to almost everyone in society. What is full mental health? She was deemed fit to stand trial on charges of unpremeditated murder. But her level of responsibility is held to have been in a diminished state at the time of her victim's death.
This is an agonizingly difficult situation to meet head on and reach a reasonable conclusion, one that would be just and fair and satisfy the bereaved parents, let alone the young woman who will live forever with the dreadful - partial - memory of what she has done.
Labels: Human Relations, Justice, Life's Like That
posted by Pieface | 6:34 PM
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