ABSTRACT
Adler’s concept of social interest is not a single concept, but rather a complex of concepts, theoretical propositions, and functional issues whose richness and complexity demand explication. The analysis in this paper proceeds by considering possible explications of social interest that can be derived more or less directly from Adler’s writings. Each potential explication is examined in terms of its own internal logic and in terms of its fit with other areas of Adler’s theory. Unacceptable explications are dismissed and modified in a process of convergence upon a final valid core concept. The fruits of this process are, hopefully, threefold: (1) a delineation of the boundaries of the core of social interest, (2) an elucidation of a number of apparent interpretations of social interest that are not valid, and (3) a clarification of the relationships between social interest and other issues in Adler’s theory.
