Individual Psychology between objectivity and subjectivity: reflections and proposals on the theoretical model

Abstract

The text analyzes Alfred Adler's Individual Psychology, highlighting the dialogue between subjectivity and objectivity in the context of depth psychology. The fundamental concepts of Individual Psychology, aspiration to supremacy and social interest, are essential elements for understanding the individual in his or her relationship with the Other, with the community, and with the cosmos. However, despite the relationship between cooperation or antagonism between the individual and the Other seeming to describe the dialectic between subjectivity and objectivity that has been hypothesized as the foundation of the research method in the human sciences, Adlerian theory is criticized for its lack of scientific falsifiability, raising questions about its epistemological value. A flexible theoretical model is therefore proposed, which emphasizes a complex network of intrapsychic and interpersonal relationships, highlighting the dynamic interaction between the individual and the social context. This ‘network model’ highlights the Adlerian therapeutic approach, based on decoding the patient's symbolic language, which can promote a unique and anti-dogmatic understanding of their lifestyle