flos push book - "Adler on Human Nature: Knowing Others and Knowing Himself"

background

Before talking about this book, we must first know who Adler is. Because a person's life experiences can greatly affect his worldview.

This psychiatrist was born in Vienna and, along with Freud and Jung, is known as the triumvirate of modern psychology. Like Freud, he was the core figure of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society and the creator of the individual psychology school. It seems that there is nothing wrong with each other, why would they turn against each other later?

That's because Adler, in 1911, became the first person to publicly criticize Freud. Because he emphasized the important role of social factors in psychopathology, he did not agree with Freud's argument that sexual desire, physiology, etc. were the decisive factors, and even largely rejected Freud's belief that psychopathology The most important elements of: Oedipus complex and penis envy and other theories. (Looks like I'm not the only one who can't stand Freud)

Inspired by a philosopher named Hans Feinger, Adler wrote more than 300 books in his lifetime. And I'm talking about Adler on Human Nature, which is one of Adler's early works. His works have been interpreted into numerous popular books in Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan, including "The Courage to Be Hated" and "The Courage to Accept Imperfect". Although the interpretation of the deity makes it easier for everyone to understand, and it is difficult to say that the early works are Adler's original ideas, it is beneficial to read the works of the deity. There are also different versions of the Chinese translation of this book, and the book I chose now is based on the rhythm of the writing that I like very much.

Introduction

This book is an attempt to acquaint the general public with the fundamentals of Individual Psychology. At the same time it is a demonstration of the practical application of these principles to the conduct of one's everyday relationships, not only to the world, and to one's fellow men, but also to the organization of ones personal life.

(Translation: This book is published to help the general public understand the basic concepts of individual psychology. At the same time, this book also demonstrates how these theories and knowledge can be practically applied in our daily lives, whether related to the world, Interaction with the crowd, or all aspects of one’s own moral life.)

This sentence is the first sentence of Adler's preface, and this book does exactly that. So why do we need to understand people's hearts and human nature? Adler also talked about "in business or in learning, if you make mistakes, the price is heavy, but if you make mistakes in daily behavior, it is often life-threatening. This book is to tell everyone What to do to get a good understanding of human nature.” ( Mistakes in business or in science are costly and deplorable, but mistakes in the conduct of life are usually dangerous to life itself. To the tack of illuminating man's progress toward a better understanding of human nature, this book is dedicated. )

childhood

Childhood gender stereotypes, family structure, parenting, family socioeconomic status, and various physical and socioeconomic factors of the individual's body contribute to the impact and basic stereotypes that childhood can have on a person. The foundation of a person's life is how the family treats the child and how to educate him, so as to influence the child's performance in the society when he becomes a young person.

In addition to the family, the focus of this period is on the establishment of children's life goals. This goal is a bit like "my will". And five basic factors will affect the setting of this goal and the attitude of the child towards this goal. Parents' attitudes towards their children's goals will enhance children's ability to face challenges under pressure and adherence to goals. And parents' attitude and example to the achievement of the goal will affect the children's choice of means to pursue the goal in the future.

adolescence

In adolescence, children begin to leave the family and enter the society, and also begin to explore their own position. The self-confidence and pressure of young people at this time are greatly affected by their families. And this self-positioning will also affect his attitude towards dealing with others and getting along with the opposite sex.

What is experienced in adolescence further builds and strengthens the elements of the personality. If you meet a good mentor at this time, you can also slightly improve a little defect in the foundation. If the defect can be accepted and repaired, the problem will be improved to some extent, but any bad example and trauma in childhood will still affect a person's life. (The curator testified with his own life, it is true)

adulthood

Finally, in adulthood, you will formally face the challenges of life, being evaluated by others, work challenges, and attitudes toward gender. That is, the face we show to others when we are adults, but if the root is unstable, various emotional and mental problems will gradually appear because of this.

impression

I found this book at the library and bought it immediately after reading a few pages. There are too many notes and quotes to take, and it is very uncomfortable every time I stop, so I can directly write it down after I buy it.

For me, this book, like the early writings of many people, can easily inspire a lot of thoughts and feelings. Been reading a lot of good social points, especially in the second part. It may be that the impact of my previous reading of "Brave New World" has not dissipated, so I have a sense of sight while reading, and I always think of the characters in it. For example, when talking about non-radical personality, after seeing the quote below, I remembered Bernard's personality at the beginning.

Seclusiveness and isolation appear in a variety of forms. People who detach themselves from society speak little, or not at all, do not look their fellows in the eye, do not listen, or are inattentive when one speaks to them. In all social relations , even the simplest ones, they exhibit a certain frigidity which serves to separate them from their fellows.

Of course, given the importance Adler attached to the social society, this kind of strange and withdrawn person is not well-received as in the novel, but I personally appreciate it a little, probably because the curator himself is also a little withdrawn.

There's also a lot of stuff in the book that pulls things into the pursuit of illusory power and vanity. In the analysis of the subconscious and some case studies, there are some expressions of other symbols, and finally it is attributed to the pursuit of vanity. When I first brushed it, I was still in the depths of the world. I only realized how distorted the illusory power and vanity can be when I reread it recently.

Adler's dedication to social society was largely based on the human-intensive industrial society at the time, and everything was developing at a high speed. If there are people who are particularly out of order, it will have certain harm to social development. As he said, the progress of the times also has a great impact. Today, the demand for human resources has declined, and the impact of people who are slightly out of order on social development has declined. Although, the Adler-style or Brave New World-style emphasis on sociality may only be given special attention by certain political party politicians. In fact, society still has a basic system of punishment for people who are out of order, especially in Asia.

Finally, I conclude with two quotes about human nature and how we view society.

Our whole attitude toward our fellow man is dependent upon our understanding of him; an implicit necessity for understanding him therefore is a fundamental of the social relationship. Human beings would live together more easily if their knowledge of human nature were more satisfactory. Disturbing social relationships could then be obviated, for we know that unfortunate adjustments are possible only when we do not understand one another and are therefore exposed to the danger of being deceived by superficial dissimulations._

Causality becomes a different causality, and the results of experience acquire entirely new values, when the power of self-knowledge and self-criticism is still alive, and remains a living motif. The ability to know one's self becomes greater when one can determine the wellsprings of his activity and the dynamics of his soul. Once he has understood this, he has become a different man and can no longer escape the inevitable consequences of his knowledge.