A discussion on Alfred Adler, his origins, background, influences and theories, focusing specifically on his analysis of dreams.
The following paper discusses Adler’s theory of individual psychology. The writer discusses how Adler saw the the conscious and unconscious, not as contradictory but forming a single unity. This paper focuses on Adler’s notion of the ‘inferiority complex’, discussing his belief that our feelings of inferiority while awake are revealed in our dream, and he saw this as a connection between wake and sleep states.
“Adler began his career as a psychoanalyst as part of Freud’s inner circle. However, he came to the conclusion that Freud was incorrect to place the source of all personal conflict in our sexual development. (Weider, 1995) So eventually he broke from Freud’s philosophy and formed his own theory of personality development. His approach emphasizes the person as a social individual rather than a sexual individual. He put more importance on the values the person holds and the choice he makes.He saw early childhood as crucial in later personality development. He saw individuals as constantly working for individual perfection, and he believed that as a young child we are profoundly affected by feelings of inadequacy as we compare ourselves to our parents. This has been described as an “inferiority complex,” but that is an oversimplification.”