Re: The Neurotic Constitution

Before you dismiss Adler on the basis of having read an inaccurate and incomplete translation of the first edition [1912] of "The Neurotic Constitution" (a new translation of the fourth edition [1927] will be published in the near future), read "The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler," edited by Heinz and Rowena Ansbacher. Look at Ansbacher's comments about 'objective versus subjective psychology' and 'tough-minded versus tender-minded temperaments.' The section on 'Freud and Adler' will clarify your mistaken impression of Freud as Adler's mentor.

To further clarify the concept of 'masculine protest,' it would be helpful to read "The Collected Works of Lydia Sicher: An Adlerian Perspective," edited by Adele Davidson, and "Cooperation between the Sexes," by Alfred Adler, edited by Heinz Ansbacher. Regarding more recent material on male spousal abuse and homophobia, for the past several years, some of the Adlerian journal articles have not been very astute (or Adlerian).

Finally, I would suggest that you read "The Philosophy of As If," by Hans Vaihinger, especially his comments about mathematical and scientific fictions. Vaihinger offers a humbling antidote to the 'myth of measurement.'

If you insist on depreciating all of contemporary psychology, you will, of course, have to discredit Adler, since, according to Henri Ellenberger in "The Discovery of the Unconscious," Adler's influence has gradually permeated almost all of contemporary theory and practice.

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