On February 28th, we will begin a discussion of The Collected Clinical Works of Alfred Adler, Volume , Chapters III & IV. The following chapter summaries were prepared by Manu Jaaskelainen.
Ch. III in Vol. 4 of CCWAA,
Individual Psychology: Its Presumptions and Results (1914) is a study on the philosophical and theoretical premises of Individual Psychology. In the beginning of the chapter, Adler defends his thesis that the unity of the individual and intuitive are essential elements of a psychology that has practical aims as its goal of study. If one knows the goals of the person, one is able to deduce the concrete actions the person performs. As a prerequisite, Adler presumes that the social context of the person and of his/her actions is also known. Adler emphasizes the importance of the goal: "It is not possible for us to think, feel, desire, or act without envisioning a goal. All the causalities are not sufficient for a living organism to overcome a chaotic future and obviate the haphazardness to which we would become victim." The psychological manifestations of the personality are best understood as directed toward superiority. Adler argues that "personal feelings" are predominant over "objective views". In the end of his paper, Adler formulates that our goal is to achieve a strengthened sense of reality and responsibility, and to seek to replace latent hatred with mutual good will. Adler refers also to Dostoevsky. In the novel A Raw Youth one can find a masterful description of the power fantasies in young children.
Ch. IV in Vol. 4 of CCWAA,
Child Psychology and Neurosis Research (1914), Adler discusses the origin of neurosis. According to Adler, neurotic developments can be traced back to a person's first and second years of life. During this time the child's attitude toward its environment is formed. A common feature to children and neurotics is their lack of independence. Both need others to serve them. Adler says that it is imperative that one should never draw conclusions or make interpretations based on a single detail, but one should always judge from the total context. In the second part of the chapter, Adler examines more closely and in the light of some case-studies the complicated manifestations of neuroses. Adler closes the chapter presenting ten concluding remarks, or theses. Of these, I have chosen thesis number 3: Just as an insufficient organ creates an unbearable situation out of which grow numerous attempts of compensation until the organism feels itself equal to the demands, so does the child's psyche out of a feeling of insecurity seek that font of extra strength to rise above that feeling of insecurity.
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