Image Source

Disclaimer: The following content has been generated by ai.

Alfred Adler’s psychology, as presented in the provided sources, offers a distinctive philosophical and psychological framework that challenges conventional views on happiness, trauma, and interpersonal relationships. It is often referred to as “individual psychology,” a term coined by Alfred Adler himself, meaning “indivisible,” emphasizing that humans are unified wholes, not separable parts like mind and body or reason and emotion.

Here are the core tenets and important ideas of Adlerian psychology:

• Core Argument and Happiness
  • Adlerian psychology posits that the world is fundamentally simple, and happiness is instantly within everyone’s reach.
  • Unhappiness is a choice, not a predetermined fate.
  • Individuals possess the courage and agency to change their lives and find happiness by altering their “lifestyle” (tendencies of thought and action) and confronting “life tasks” within their interpersonal relationships.
  • The ultimate definition of happiness is the “feeling of contribution” – the subjective sense that “I am of use to someone,” regardless of whether that contribution is visible or recognized by others.

• Denial of Trauma and Primacy of Teleology
  • Adlerian psychology fundamentally rejects the Freudian concept of trauma, arguing that past experiences do not determine an individual’s present or future.
  • It operates on the principle of teleology (the study of purpose), rather than etiology (the study of causation). This means individuals choose their present “goals” and fabricate emotions and symptoms to achieve those goals.
    • For example, anxiety preventing someone from going out is not caused by past trauma, but is created to achieve the goal of “not going out,” perhaps for parental attention.
    • Anger is a “tool that can be taken out as needed” to achieve a goal, such as making someone submit, rather than an uncontrollable outburst.
  • Individuals are not controlled by emotion or the past; it is “the meaning that is attributed to it [past events] that determines the way someone’s present will be”. This empowers individuals to take responsibility for their own lives.

• Interpersonal Relationships: Source of All Problems and Happiness
  • Adlerian psychology asserts that “All problems are interpersonal relationship problems”. This extends even to seemingly individual feelings like loneliness or inferiority, which require the presence of others to exist.
  • Feelings of inferiority are considered normal, universal desires to improve oneself (“pursuit of superiority”) and are not inherently bad, arising from comparing oneself to an ideal self.
  • An inferiority complex occurs when one uses a feeling of inferiority as an “excuse” to avoid life tasks or efforts (e.g., “I’m not well educated, so I can’t succeed” implies “If only I were well educated, I could be really successful”).
  • A superiority complex is a compensatory mechanism for strong feelings of inferiority, where one acts as if superior or boasts about achievements, often through “giving authority” (showing off connections) or “bragging about one’s own misfortune” to elicit special treatment.
  • Viewing life as a competition leads to fear, distrust, and seeing everyone as an “enemy,” preventing inner peace. A healthy feeling of inferiority comes from comparing oneself to an ideal self, not to others.
  • When challenged, people may engage in power struggles or enter a revenge stage (e.g., a child acting out to upset parents). The philosopher advises stepping down from conflicts as soon as a power struggle is sensed. Communication without anger is possible through language and logic.

• The Path to Freedom: Separation of Tasks
  • True freedom is achieved by having the “courage to be disliked” and practicing the “separation of tasks“. This involves distinguishing one’s own tasks from others’ and refusing to intervene in the latter.
  • There is “no need to be recognized by others” and one “must not seek recognition”. This desire, often stemming from “reward-and-punishment education,” leads to living “other people’s lives” by constantly trying to satisfy expectations.
  • The fundamental question for separating tasks is “Whose task is this?“. The ultimate recipient of the choice’s result determines whose task it is (e.g., studying is the child’s task). Parents intervening in studying often do so to fulfill their own goals, like social appearance.
  • One should not “intervene” (meddle or force) but offer “assistance” by letting the person know support is available when they are ready to act.
  • “Freedom is Being Disliked by Other People”. Being disliked is “proof that you are exercising your freedom and living in freedom, and a sign that you are living in accordance with your own principles”. The “cost of freedom in interpersonal relationships is that one is disliked by other people”.
  • Complex interpersonal problems (“Gordian knots”) must be “severed by some completely new approach” – the separation of tasks.

• Building Community Feeling: Three Pillars
  • The ultimate goal and path to genuine happiness is “community feeling” (also called “social interest”). This is achieved through a circular interplay of three concepts:
    1. Self-Acceptance: Accepting “one’s incapable self” as is, and focusing on “what use one makes of that equipment” rather than what one is born with. It involves “affirmative resignation”—accepting what cannot be changed and having the courage to change what can. It means accepting oneself “on the level of being” (worth just by existing), not “on the level of acts” (worth through visible contributions).
    2. Confidence in Others: Believing in others “unconditionally, without concerning oneself with such things as security”. This is distinct from “trust,” which has conditions. Doubt prevents deep relationships. Unconditional confidence is a means to build deep, horizontal relationships.
    3. Contribution to Others: Acting in some way on one’s comrades. This is not self-sacrifice, but done “in order to be truly aware of the worth of the ‘I’”. Feeling “I am of use to someone” provides a true sense of one’s worth and is the definition of happiness.

• Living in the Here and Now
  • The ability to live authentically and happily comes from focusing on the present moment.
  • “Your Life Is Decided Here and Now”; the past is not a deterministic force and should have “no bearing at all on how you live from now on”.
  • Workaholism is a “life-lie” – a way of avoiding other responsibilities by using work as an excuse, lacking “harmony of life”.
  • “People Can Change” is a foundational premise. Inability to change stems from a “persistent decision not to change your lifestyle,” often due to fear or the perceived ease of the status quo. This is framed as a lack of “courage to be happy”.
  • Life is a “series of moments” (“here and now”), not a linear story leading to a destination. This is an “energeial life,” where the process itself is the outcome, like a dance or a journey, rather than a “kinetic life” focused on efficient movement to a destination.
  • The “meaning of life” is not inherent; “Whatever meaning life has must be assigned to it by the individual”. Contribution to others serves as a “guiding star” for a life of freedom and happiness.

• Nature and Philosophy
  • Adlerian psychology is described as a “psychology of courage” and a “psychology of use,” rather than a “psychology of possession” which attributes causality to past experiences.
  • Adler is recognized as one of the “three giants” in psychology, alongside Freud and Jung. His ideas were often counter to Freud’s, leading him to establish “individual psychology”.
  • The book itself is a dialogue, following the tradition of Socratic dialogue, and highlights Adler’s connection to Greek philosophy.

In essence, Adlerian psychology empowers individuals by placing responsibility for their happiness and life choices firmly in their own hands, emphasizing courage, self-acceptance, unconditional belief in others, and active contribution to a broad community as the keys to a fulfilling and free life.