It is always tempting, but usually misleading, for researchers as
well as the media, to simplify the influences on human development.
Short, tall, average, fat, or thin people can chose to become
aggressive. Also, an underdeveloped social interest may be expressed
in dependency, passivity, as well as aggression. Genetic, social,
cultural, religious, gender, and family influences may be used as
provocations for aggression. Adler was very clear about the absence
of cause and effect, as well as the primacy of creative power in the
development of the unique individual. If we know enough about a
specific person's early life, we may be able to guess at the
probability of one or more influences, as well as the private logic
of his/her chosen direction. Attempting to make broad, simplistic
generalizations may make for breezy reading, but does not contribute
to a meaningful understanding of human behavior.

--- In classicaladlerianpsychology@yahoogroups.com, "Steven"
<steversmatrix@...> wrote:
>
> Despite recent evidence to the contrary:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6501633.stm
> many laypeople still say that short men compensate for their
> inferiority of being short with being aggressive.
>
> People appear to borrow the thought of inferiority complex and
apply
> it to short men from the works of Adler. I've read some, though not
> all, of Adler's books yet I have not found anything specifically
> saying the reason Napoleon, or any short man for that matter, was
> aggressive is that they feel too inferior for being short.
>
> I have read that some individuals will interpret their inferior
> organs, illness, or ugliness as significant enough to create an
> abnormal inferiority complex should they not develop social
interest.
> I have also read a reason Adler brings up Napoleon is to
demonstrate
> how an individual may stray from social interest and go on to commit
> crimes against humanity.
>
> I wanted to hear from the experts here, once and for all, if Adler
> did indeed say Napoleon's lack of social interest was due to his
being
> short. If not, is it plausible to say that certain individual short
> men see their height as a physical deficit and will, indeed,
> compensate for the resultant feeling of inferiority with
aggression?
> Does there have to be other environmental factors or even biological
> ones present for this to take place?
>