OK, so there might be a little dance in our conversation at this point because Al’s studies do have some value, yet there was something he didn’t fully understand—that we all have three categories of desires.
I wouldn’t want Al to think I was trying to teach him at this point, but I would want to ease the door open to further conversation.
Alfred Adler, through observation, inadvertently stumbled upon one of the three desires that every counselor and therapist should understand.
He does a nice job of capturing it but he doesn’t name it because he probably doesn’t know what it is.
That’s too bad because what he identifies in Understanding Human Nature has specific origins and a clear explanation.
I’d weigh my next words carefully.
I might shift uncomfortably in my chair.
Then I’d invite him to the Three Desires Seminar because at the seminar he would gain deeper understanding.
You can usually tell the spirit of a person in their written words, and Al seems kind to me. He wanted to help and I like that. If he did any counseling, I can imagine him as a good listener.
I don’t agree with his ideas on communal life. I don’t agree that schools are the best option for raising children, but I like the very last words of his book:
“Our research takes the form of experiments in the science of human nature, a science that cannot otherwise be taught or cultivated. The understanding of human nature seems to us indispensable to every person, and the study of this science the most important activity of the human mind.”
Yes, people should know why they do what they do. Good counseling really depends on this.
Coffee with Alfred.
It can’t actually happen but it sure would have been interesting.
A life-changing seminar for marriage, parenting, & relationships 