Text in German. Volume 3 of the Alfred Adler Study Edition contains 57 essays in which the development of Adler's psychotherapeutic theory can be followed over the years 1913 to 1937: through the consolidation and expansion of his basic concept, the rooting of the concept of community feeling in a life-philosophical basis through to stronger social psychological orientation. According to Adler, the psyche is structured by an unconscious striving. This fundamental principle of all human life aims at superiority to overcome the deficiency of human existence. Through an effort of will to power, a sense of authorship over one's life is achieved. The different characteristics of the individual concept of self and life are concrete realizations of the lifestyle. Adler's view of man is fundamentally optimistic, since he believes it is possible for every human being to overcome or compensate for deficiencies. The individual human being is always considered in his relationship to fellow human beings, to nature and to the cosmos. The individual personality cannot be captured by taking stock of the symptoms or character traits, but one must intuitively guess the nature of the person. Adler sought to understand the uniqueness of the self through its mode of movement, through its law of motion.

Series edited by: Karl Heinz Witte