Alfred Adler was een Oostenrijkse arts en de grondlegger van de individuele psychologie. Hij benadrukte het belang van minderwaardigheidsgevoelens en hun rol in de persoonlijkheidsontwikkeling. Zijn werk belichtte de wisselwerking tussen externe invloeden en interne aanleg, waarmee hij een holistische psychologische benadering voorvoerde.
Alfred Adler emphasizes the importance of social interest as a crucial factor in navigating life's challenges, including building meaningful relationships and advancing in one’s career. His insights position social interest as a fundamental component of personal success and psychological well-being, highlighting its role in the broader context of modern psychoanalysis.
When we hear such expressions as feelings of inferiority & insecurity, striving for self-enhancement & 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 & 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. The purpose of the present volume is to make Adler's contributions to the theory & practice of psychology available in a systematic & at the same time authentic form. To this end we made selections from his writings & organized them with the aim of approximating the general presentation 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.
2011 Reprint of 1925 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. This book is a compilation of twenty-eight lectures and other papers written by the chief exponent of the "organ inferiority" theory of the neuroses and psychoses during the years from 1908 to 1920. Each paper deals with a special phase either of theory or practice of the individual method of attacking the inferiority mechanisms which the author believes and asserts he has conclusively demonstrated to be the basis of all forms of neuroses and developmental failures. The basic principle for the understanding and practice of the "individual-psychological method" is the tracing of all symptoms occurring in an individual case back to their "lowest common denominator," which is the real psychical situation of the patient's earliest childhood, the psychic foundations of the neurosis and its symptoms having been perpetuated unchanged from childhood. This was one of Adler's key publications, along with "Understanding Human Nature" and "What Life Should Mean to You." In his lifetime, Adler published more than 300 books and articles.
This antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of an original work, reflecting its historical significance. It may include imperfections such as marks, notations, and flawed pages due to its age. The reprint is part of an initiative to protect and promote important literature, ensuring that it remains accessible in high-quality editions that stay true to the original.
2011 Reprint of 1930. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Adler left behind many theories and practices that very much influenced the world of psychiatry. Today these concepts are known as Adlerian psychology. His theories focused on the feelings of inferiority, and how each person tries to overcome such feelings by overcompensating (trying too hard to make up for what is lacking). Adler claimed that an individual's lifestyle becomes established by the age of four or five, and he stressed the importance of social forces, or the child's environment, on the development of behavior. He believed that each person is born with the ability to relate to other people and realize the importance of society as a whole. As a therapist, Adler was a teacher who focused on a patient's mental health, not sickness. Adler encouraged self-improvement by pinpointing the error in patients' lives and correcting it. He thought of himself as an enabler, one who guides the patient through "self-determination," so that the patients themselves can make changes and improve their state. Adler was a pioneer in that he was one of the first psychiatrists to use therapy in social work, the education of children, and in the treatment of criminals. The Science of Living is an intended to help the reader realize his potential.
In Understanding Human Nature, Adler explores human personality from all angles - how character develops, the nature of the psyche, how we see the world and how we become who we are.
The exaggerated drive for power with which some children wish to assure their prestige over their environment soon forces them into an attitude of resistance against the ordinary tasks and duties of everyday life. Compare such a power-hungry individual with the ideal social being, and one can, after some little experience, specify, so to speak, his social index, that is, the degree to which he has removed himself from his fellow man. A keen judge of human nature, keeping his eyes open to the value of physical defects and inferiorities, knows nevertheless that such character traits were impossible without antecedent difficulties in the evolution of his soul.
Under the guidance of Dr. Alfred Adler, this volume documents the establishment and operation of twenty-eight child guidance clinics across Vienna, Berlin, and Munich from 1910 to 1930. It presents a comprehensive account of the challenges and successes faced in these clinics, emphasizing the principles of Adler's Individual Psychology. Edited by Adler and contributed to by various specialists, the book serves as a valuable resource for welfare workers, physicians, and parents, balancing factual rigor with accessibility for progressive readers.