Alfred Adler's journal articles, booklets and books, published from 1898-1936, document the sequence of his conceptual development. By reading the complete series of his clinical writings in chronological order, we can appreciate the gradual emergence of Adler's remarkably integrated model of the personality, theory of psychopathology, principles of prevention, technique of psychotherapy, and philosophy of living. His ground-breaking odyssey of psychological exploration and refinement creates a uniquely unified vision of man.
We can gain a macrocosmic view of his work by first tracking his early sense of a physician's social responsibility, then his brief engagement with the psychoanalytic circle, including the stimulation of Freud and Jung, and finally the gradual maturation of his own theory. It is interesting to follow the early emphasis on the aggression drive, to the later prominence of the striving for significance, and eventually the emergence of the feeling of community.
His very first publication, Health Manual for The Tailoring Trade, published in 1898, is remarkably vivid and moving. Rich in illuminating detail, it provides a powerful impression of the hellish life of tailors in Vienna during the late 1890's, and the devastating impact of their work, economic situation, and living conditions on their health. Eventually, when we discover that the life expectancy of tailors at that time was only 33-48 years, we are appalled, but not surprised.
In his next two articles, The Penetration of Social Forces into Medicine and An Academic Chair for Social Medicine, published in 1902, Adler argues for expanding state health care and prevention programs. He amplifies this message in his 1903 article State Aid or Self Help. His eloquent appeal for effective medical insurance, nearly a century ago, seems remarkably fresh and timely today in the midst of our managed care crisis.
Adler's early interest in child guidance and education is expressed in The Physician as Educator, published in 1904. From 1905-1909, Adler deals with sexuality, dreams, the aggression drive, organ inferiority, the child's need for affection, and the neurotic disposition. We can trace his journey from a physician's awareness of the human body, through an emerging social consciousness, to a fascination with the interconnectedness of intellect, emotions, and body.
