Adler and Teleology

Dr. Fineltain,

Since no one I know is fluent in French, I was unable to answer your previous message. I tried using the AltaVista online translator, but the results were very limited. Thank you for providing an English version of your message.

Adler theory was indeed teleological (fictional finalism), but also holistic. In his own words:

"The development of man's inner life occurs with the help of a presumed teleology, by which a goal is established under pressure of a teleological apperception. Therefore, we will find in all psychological phenomena the characteristic of goal-striving that incorporates all forces, experiences, judgments, desires and fears, deficiencies and abilities. From this we conclude that a true understanding of a psychological phenomenon, or of a person, can be gained only from a teleological concept of the whole."

".....every person acts and endures according to his individual teleology which, to the person who does not understand this, seems like fate . The origins of a person's teleology lead back to earliest childhood and seems almost always to have been under the adverse influence of physical and psychological problems....."

"The fiction of a terminating finale is the answer to the child's feeling of inferiority."

You mention the term "teleoanalyse." Could you tell me more about this approach. I visited your web page but cannot read any of the articles since they are all in French.

You might find it interesting to read "Classical Adlerian Theory and Practice" at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/hstein/theoprac.htm .

Dr. Stein

Replies:

There are no replies to this message.

| Behavior OnLine Home Page | Disclaimer |

Copyright © 1996-2004 Behavior OnLine, Inc. All rights reserved.