Hello, I’m Wang Fang. Time moves on. Freud died in 1939, but his theories of mind, style of theory-building, and psychodynamic view survived. Even during his life, followers joined psychoanalysis: some extended it faithfully, some corrected and expanded it, and others followed their own path through disagreement.

One heir and rebel has become popular in the Chinese-speaking world, with many books, commentaries, and quotations. The most widely circulated line is: “The fortunate are healed by childhood throughout life; the unfortunate spend life healing childhood.”It resonates deeply with many people.

But I must say: he probably never said it. It contradicts his theory, and his own life transcended childhood determinism. His best-known book has Chinese titles meaning Beyond Inferiority or Inferiority and Transcendence. Few know its original English title, which asks the world: What Life Should Mean to You. I think that was the question he spent his life answering. He was Alfred Adler.。

Like Freud, Adler was Austrian. That culturally rich country gave the world at least three great psychologists; another was Viktor Frankl (1905–1997), the concentration-camp survivor and existential-humanistic founder of logotherapy. All three were Jewish, medically trained, and held doctorates in medicine from the University of Vienna.

Before the theory, let us consider Adler’s life. After these episodes you may feel his personality theory simply turned autobiography into theory. Every theory grows from its creator’s background, experience, and wisdom. A theorist’s development often reveals the origins of key ideas: a lifetime constructs the theory and simultaneously lives it, leaving a distinctive personal imprint.

Adler grew up in a loving, comfortably situated family yet endured a disastrous childhood. Rickets impaired breathing and movement, and he did not walk until four. His younger brother died in the adjacent bed when Adler was three; a year later, pneumonia nearly killed him. He was also struck by vehicles twice. These encounters with death made him highly sensitive to mortality, inspired medicine, and drove extraordinary diligence—as though compensating for physical weakness and mastering early fear.