On October 31st, we will begin a discussion of The Collected Clinical Works of Alfred Adler, Volume 6, Chapters XXVI. The following chapter summary was prepared by Manu Jaaskelainen.
Ch. XXVI
The Structure of Neurosis (1931) is, in the opinion this reviewer, one of the best and most interesting papers Adler wrote. The chapter is well-organized, there is less rambling than in many other papers written by him, and its argument is logical, well-founded, and concise. The paper contains not only Adler's theory of neuroses, but also some important comments on his theory of general psychology as well. The paper was originally written for Lancet. The paper begins with a list of examples of the symptoms of neuroses. Adler presents a criticism of Watson's behaviorism and any psychology that includes the various manifestations of human personality. In order to organize this data, there is a need for theoretical insight "to understand the context of data which may lead beyond the province of experience." The essence of life is motion; every movement has a goal. The inferiority feeling includes a minus and a plus simultaneously - a feeling of inferiority and a striving to superiority. All individuals possess a typical, individual and different way of compensating for their feeling of inferiority. The basic problem in neurosis is the [relative] lack of social feeling, or social interest. To understand a neurotic person, we must recognize the individual as a unity. All neurotic symptoms are safeguards, the means to save face, while at the same time avoiding to meet the real challenges of life.
To order your copy of Volume 6, go to
http://go.ourworld.nu/hstein/cwaa-v6.htm .