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Of the three psychological pioneers of the first decade of the twentieth century (Freud, Jung, Adler), Adler is probably the least appreciated. This is, in part, due to the fact that he radically shifted his basic conceptual vision repeatedly and also due to the fact that the two books he published belong to his early period. His more mature concepts and elaborations appeared in later miscellaneous articles. Twenty-three of these papers are here collected, each one introduced by an expert who reflects on aspects of that paper, with emphasis on the relevance of Adler's concepts to the currently favored web of ideas. Unfortunately, these papers are not clearly dated, nor are they presented in chronological order. Papers from his mature period precede some of his earlier theoretical ventures. This can be confusing to the reader as it fails to highlight Adler's progression from earlier causal reductionistic concepts to later, far more sophisticated goal-oriented ideas.
In 1902, Adler, a physician, was one of the four founding members of the “Wednesday Psychological Society,” meeting in Freud's home. They met to debate new psychopathological theories and methods. Freud's innovative ideas were given prominence, but other ideas were welcome. Gradually Freud's psycho-sexual theories took center stage. But only in 1911 did the society change its name to become the “Psychoanalytic Society,” which was to be devoted exclusively to Freud's innovations. In 1906, Adler presented a paper to the Society on organ inferiority as cause for neurosis, challenging Freud's psycho-sexual theories. It was received with some interest. The following year, Adler published his first book, The Study of Organ Inferiority and its Psychical Compensation. People with organ inferiority develop neuroses by overcompensating for the felt inferiority with a drive for superiority. This notion had some personal roots. Adler had been a sickly child, having suffered from rickets and some problems with breathin