The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler: A Systematic Presentation in Selections from His Writings

496 Pages·1964·2.32 MB·English

by  Alfred Adler

THE
INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY
OF ALFRED ADLER
A SYSTEMATIC PRESENTATION IN
SELECTIONS FROM HIS WRITINGS
Edited and annotated by
HEINZ L. ANSBACHER, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology, University of Vermont
and
ROWENA R. ANSBACHER, Ph.D.
NEW YORK
BASIC BOOKS, INC.
PUBLISHERS
Do not forget the most important fact that not heredity and not
environment are determining factors.—-Both are giving only the frame and
the influences which are answered by the individual in regard to his styled
creative power.
— adler
PHOTO COURTESY OF DR ALEXANDRA ADLER
'b
PREFACE
When we hear such expressions as feelings of inferiority and insecurity,
striving for self-enhancement and power, woman’s revolt against her
feminine role, the oversolicitous mother, the dethronement of the first­
born, the need for affection; when maladjustment is spoken of as self-
centeredness, psychological health as other-centeredness, psychiatry as the
science of interpersonal relations, neurotic symptoms as ego-defenses and
forms of aggression, to mention only a few instances—we are meeting
ideas in which Alfred Adler was the pioneer from 1907, the date of his first
important publication, until his death in 1937.
Yet Adler’s name appears relatively infrequently in the literature of
psychology and psychiatry today. How is this paradox to be explained?
The explanation, in our opinion, is in large part the fact that Adler’s writ­
ings are unsystematic and therefore make unsatisfactory reading. As the
number of those who learned from Adler through personal contact has
grown smaller, he has understandably become less well known, and others
who expressed the same ideas more lucidly and more recently are referred
to instead.
The purpose of the present volume is to make Adler’s contributions to
the theory and practice of psychology available in a systematic and at the
same time authentic form. To this end we made selections from his writ­
ings and organized them with the aim of approximating the general pres­
entation of a college textbook. Because every word in the main body of
the work is Adler’s, the outcome of our efforts, if we have been successful,
should be the equivalent of a textbook by Adler on Individual Psychology,
the name which he gave to his system.
Three reasons for the compilation of such a book might be given. As
indicated at the outset, the ideas of Adler have today come into their own.
Thus it would seem important to show them at their source. This was the
main reason for our undertaking.
PREFACE
It is our thesis that Adler may be regarded as the original field theorist
in a dynamic or depth psychology which has a social-science and “subjec-
tivistic” orientation. Since his contributions represent a comprehensive
and relatively simple system once all the parts are gathered together,
Adler’s Individual Psychology might well introduce the orientation in
psychology for which he laid the groundwork. By starting with Adler, the
student would obtain a good foundation for better appreciating subse­
quent developments. To provide this introduction for the student was a
second reason for our work.
After an initial close association with Freud, Adler, in the course of his
development, not only separated from him, but provided what one might
call the antithesis to Freud’s theory all along the line. Because of this
antithetical parallelism and because Adler was the adversary whom Freud
heeded most, a better knowledge of Adler will at the same time afford a
better understanding of Freud, regardless of one’s position toward his the­
ories. To afford this better understanding was then a third reason for the
present work.
In making the selections we were guided by the following criteria: (1)
Adler’s mature theory of the normal and abnormal personality should be
presented completely. (2) All his diagnostic and therapeutic methods
should be included. (3) All the fields into which his interest and influence
extended should be presented. (4) The points in Adler which are of par­
ticular current pertinence should be brought out. (5) The concepts that
Adler is known for—or misunderstood for—should be clarified. (6) Ad­
ler’s development should be traced in order to explain certain apparent
inconsistencies between earlier and later writings. (7) The full range of
his historical controversy with Freud should be shown. (8) Little case
material need be included, since such material can be found in many of
Adler’s publications; this would keep the present work to a convenient
size.
The selections are preceded by an introduction by the editors in which
we show that Adler is the original proponent of a depth psychology which
is “subjectivistic,” in contrast to Freud who founded depth psychology
from an “objective” position. This is followed by a discussion of the simi­
larities of various other “subjectivistic” points of view to Individual Psy­
chology.
A running commentary accompanying the selections seeks to give ex­
planations, emphasis, and integration to the material. It is also a continu­
ation of the introduction to the extent that it points out contrasts to
PREFACE Vll
Freud and similarities with other systems. These comments by the editors
are distinguished from the selections by italics.
Nearly half of the selections were translated by the editors. Much of this
material has not appeared in English heretofore, while for the rest the
existing translations were considered inadequate. When existing transla­
tions were used, occasional changes were made where checking with the
original indicated this to be necessary, or where the English version could
be improved.
As the editors consider lack of systematization the great shortcoming of
the extant writings of Adler, they consider it their most important contri­
bution to have provided the organization of the material, including nearly
all the headings and side headings. To accomplish such an organization,
sequences by Adler could be left intact only in certain instances, whereas
in others even what is found under a single side heading had to be brought
together from material widely scattered throughout Adler’s writings.
In Part I of the selections, “Personality Theory and its Development,”
the first two chapters deal with Adler’s writings between 1907 and 1911.
They are essentially historical and include a detailed account of his fun­
damental diEerences from Freud, which led to the separation from Freud.
Chapter 3 deals with Adler’s philosophical background and his own final-
ism or purposivism; it could be dated 1911-1912.
Chapters 4 to 8 present Adler’s theory of personality proper. Here the
historical approach has been abandoned. Instead, it was often found best
to start with Adler’s latest writings which present his theory most compre­
hensively, and to fit the earlier writings into the framework provided by
the later views. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 are concerned with the general, nomo­
thetic aspects of the theory organized around the concepts of striving for
superiority, social interest, and degree of activity. Chapters 7 and 8 deal
with the individual, idiographic aspects under the headings of “Style of
Life” and “Psychology of Use,” Adler’s term for his complete functional­
ism. For the reader whose first interest is the actual theory of Individual
psychology it is entirely feasible to begin with Chapter 4.
In Part II, “Abnormal Psychology and Related Fields,” Adler’s theory
of the neuroses is covered in Chapters 9 to 12. Methods of treatment and
diagnosis, including dream theory, are presented in Chapters 13 and 14.
The next two chapters are concerned with psychological problems of
childhood, Chapter 15 with the social factors of early childhood, especially
as these may influence the development toward a neurotic disposition,
and Chapter 16 with the behavior disorders of childhood and their treat-
vin PREFACE
ment in the clinic and in the classroom. The remaining Chapters 17 to 19
deal with crime and related disorders, problems of everyday living, and
problems of social psychology, specifically including social prejudice, war,
and religion.
Autobiographical and biographical material on Adler is found in the
last part of Chapter 7 and incidentally throughout the book.
In addition to the selections from Adler and the comments by the
editors the book contains three readings by other authors. The first, in
Chapter 2, is from a paper by Kenneth M. Colby presenting an account
of the discussion which followed Adler’s critique of Freud before the
Psychoanalytic Society of Vienna in 1911. The second, in Chapter 3,
consists of excerpts from The Philosophy of ‘As If by Hans Vaihinger
which exerted a far-reaching influence on Adler, as becomes evident
throughout this volume. The third, in Chapter 5, is from the monograph
on “Psychoanalysis and Ethics” by Carl Furtmiiller, Adler’s foremost
early coworker; this paper seems to have played an important part in Ad­
ler’s formulation of the concept of social interest.
This book could not have been conceived nor completed if we had
not had extensive personal contact with Adler. From his public lectures,
many informal seminars, and private conversations we had become well
enough acquainted with Adler’s ideas to continue the search of his writ­
ings until we found what we knew ought to be there somewhere. We must
add, however, that in this search we also found a considerable amount
of material, especially among the earlier writings, which was altogether
new to us.
In a sense this book originated when the first editor was introduced to
psychology through popular lectures which Adler gave under the auspices
of Columbia University in 1930. From that time on he was challenged
by Adler’s system and the problem of its place in and relationship to the
larger body of psychology. As he took up the formal study of psychology,
Individual Psychology furnished him a serviceable point of departure for
approaching and evaluating results and theories in many areas of psy­
chology. The second editor, while working for her doctorate at the
University of Vienna in 1928, attended for a year the informal lectures
which Adler gave daily in his home at Dominikanerbastei 10, as well as
the weekly meetings of the Individual Psychology Society of Vienna.
Close contact by both editors with Adler continued throughout the rest
of his life.
PREFACE ix
Despite our positive attitude toward Individual Psychology we are not
unaware of certain limitations. A deliberate critical examination and
evaluation is, however, beyond the scope of this book, which is the
presentation and clarification of the work of Adler.
HEINZ L. ANSBACHER
ROWENA R. ANSBACHER
Burlington, Vermont
October, 1955
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We are glad to express our thanks for the help we have received in the
preparation of this book. Professor A. H. Maslow gave the first and most
sustained stimulation by concurring with us in the need for a compre­
hensive book on the psychology of Alfred Adler, by urging us to embark
upon such an enterprise, and by supporting us throughout the years with
his continued interest. Professor Paul F. Lazarsfeld suggested that a book
of readings would best fill this existing need, and through his suggestion
our plan began to take its final shape. Professors Gordon W. Allport and
Gardner Murphy read our preliminary introduction and advanced our
work through their understanding and their criticism. Professors David
Krech and Richard S. Crutchfield helped us indirectly through their book,
Theory and Problems of Social Psychology. This work, based on the re­
lated points of view of Wolfgang Kohler, Kurt Lewin, and Edward Chace
Tolmann, has helped us to see many points of Individual Psychology in
a broader perspective. Certain preliminary work was aided through a
summer research grant to the first editor by the University of Vermont.
In the preparation of the manuscript with all its tribulations, the unfail­
ing care and efficiency of Mrs. Madeline W. Chaplin was a great con­
solation.
Great support and encouragement came to us from those who are
actively carrying on the Adlerian tradition. Dr. Alexandra Adler, daugh­
ter of Alfred Adler and herself a psychiatrist, has given continuous assur­
ances of her confidence in us to present and interpret her father’s work
and has made available to us certain of his inaccessible yet important pub­
lications. Dr. Kurt A. Adler, the son of Alfred Adler, and also a psychia­
trist, undertook the task of giving the manuscript a careful and critical
reading. He gave us invaluable suggestions which could only have been
made by someone in his position of long and most intimate association
with the development of Individual Psychology. Through the offices of