Teleology Versus Causality

The split between Adler and Freud comes down to direction. Freud looked backward: your childhood trauma caused your current problems. Adler looked forward: you choose behaviors that serve a current purpose, even if that purpose is unconscious.

Take someone who avoids social situations. Freud would trace it to a past humiliation. Adler would ask what the avoidance accomplishes now — perhaps it protects you from rejection. That reframing is not cruel; it is empowering. If the past caused your problems, you stay stuck until you fix the past. If your present choices keep them going, you can choose differently today.