Re: Parallels to Adlerian Psychology
Adler's opinion about artists is echoed at the end of his article "Dostoyevski," (Chapter XVII in "The Collected Clinical Works of Alfred Adler, Volume 4").
..... "Thus, Dostoyevsky stands before us as an artist and a great and unequaled moral philosopher.
His achievements as a psychologist have still not been exhausted. We venture to proclaim that his psychological vision penetrated deeper because he was more attuned to nature than those whose knowledge of psychology rested only on abstract perceptions. Consider Dostoyevsky’s observations on the Meaning of Laughter , where he examines the possibility of understanding an individual based on his laughter better than from his attitude on life. Also, consider the concept of the accidental family where every member lives isolated from one another, and where children are inculcated with self-love. These perceptions show that Dostoyevsky had seen more than can be asked of, or expected, from any psychologist today. Consider how Dostoyevsky described in A Raw Youth that the boy under the cover of his blanket allows all fantasies to stream out culminating in one, single, concept: Power! Consider how he described so clearly and accurately the origin of emotional disturbances as a way of revolting. Consider also how Dostoyevsky recognized that human beings have a tendency to be despotic. Such a person can still teach us today and, as Nietsche advocated, should be celebrated as our teacher. His understanding and explanation for dreams have still not been superseded, and his perception that no one acts without a goal, a finality, coincides with the most modern achievements of Individual Psychology.
It is thus that Dostoyevsky has endeared himself as a great teacher. The reality of life is what impacts on us like a shaft of light striking the eyes of a person asleep. The sleeper rubs his eyes, turns in his sleep, and knows nothing of what had happened. Dostoyevsky slept little and awakened many. His characters, his ethics, and his art lead us deep into the concept of a social existence."
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