A PASTORAL APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM OF AN INFERIORITY COMPLEX FOR WORKERS IN THE KOREAN CONTEXT

BY EUN-MI, HAN

THE DEGREE OF MASTER IN THEOLOGY (PRACTICAL THEOLOGY)

STUDY-LEADER: PROF. JOHAN J VAN RENSBURG

UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE FACULTY OF THEOLOGY

DECEMBER 2011

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CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... 4
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 4 2. Research Problem...................................................................................................................... 5 3. Research Hypothesis ................................................................................................................ 8 4. Research Objectives................................................................................................................11 5. Research Methodology .........................................................................................................13 5.1 The General Psychological Approach ...................................................................13 5.2 The Biblical Principle Approach...............................................................................14 5.3 The Systematic Theology Approach ......................................................................14 5.4 The Pastoral Approach ................................................................................................15 6. Research Outline ......................................................................................................................15 7. Research Contributions .........................................................................................................17

Chapter 1 Definitions of inferiority complexes ......................... 18
1.1 About Inferiority Complex ................................................................................................18 1.1.1 The Attributes of Inferiority Complexes ...........................................................18 1.1.2 What is an Inferiority Complex? ..........................................................................19 1.2 Understanding the Inferiority Complex.......................................................................23 1.2.1 Psychological Understanding ...............................................................................23 1.2.2 Understanding of Society .......................................................................................29 1.2.3 Biblical Understanding .............................................................................................30 1.3 The Cause of and Response to an Inferiority Complex .......................................32 1.3.1 The General Cause of an Inferiority Complex ...............................................32 1.3.2 The Psychological Symptoms and Response to an Inferiority Complex ......................................................................................................................................................38

Chapter 2 The Positive and Negative Opinions Surrounding an Inferiority Complex .................................................................. 41

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2.1 The Current Society and Phenomenon of Alienation ...........................................41 2.2 Positive and Negative Emotions that Make an Inferiority Complex ...............43 2.2.1 Healthy and Unhealthy Feelings .........................................................................43 2.2.2 Disjunctive and Conjunctive Feelings................................................................45 2.2.3 A Person’s Rationality and Irrationality.............................................................46 2.3 Biblical View on Inferiority and Self-Esteem .............................................................48 2.4 The Compensation of an Inferiority Complex ..........................................................52

Chapter 3 The Scholars’ Understanding and Overcoming Over an Inferiority Complex ............................................................. 56
3.1 Alfred Adler(1870-1937)’s theory ...................................................................................56 3.1.1 Adler’s View on Humans ........................................................................................56 3.1.2 Adler’s Theory of Psychology ...............................................................................59 3.1.3 The Effort for the Improvement of an Inferiority Complex. ....................67 3.2 Albert Ellis(1913-2007)’s Theory .....................................................................................69 3.2.1 Ellis’ Human Understanding ..................................................................................69 3.2.2 The Principles and Theory of REBT ....................................................................70 3.2.3 Methods of Approach Towards Rationality, Emotion and Behaviour for a Happy Life .....................................................................................................................75

Chapter 4 Biblical Human Understanding ............................... 78
4.1 Understanding of Human Wholeness ..........................................................................78 4.2 Biblical Understanding of Humans................................................................................80 4.3 The Human Understanding of Biblical Scholars ......................................................86 4.3.1 John Calvin(1509-1564) ...........................................................................................87 4.3.2 Jay E. Adams(1929- ) ................................................................................................90

Chapter5 The Inferiority Complex of South Korean Workers .. 93
5.1 The Research of the Inferiority Complex in South Koreans ...............................93 5.2 Korean Employees' Feeling of Inferiority ....................................................................94

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5.3 The Content and Circumstance of the Korean Workers' Inferiority Complex ..............................................................................................................................................................95 5.4 The Cause for Inferiority Complex of Korean Workers ..................................... 100 5.5The Korean Workers’ Plan for Overcoming.............................................................. 102 5.6 Analysis................................................................................................................................... 104

Chapter 6 Pastoral Approach and Solution to Inferiority Complex. ............................................................................... 107
6.1 True health ............................................................................................................................. 107 6.1.1 Physical Health ......................................................................................................... 108 6.1.2 Mental Health ........................................................................................................... 109 6.1.3. Social Health ............................................................................................................ 111 6.1.4 Spiritual Health ........................................................................................................ 113 6.2 A Positive Self-Image through the Apostle Paul .................................................. 117 6.3 Pastoral Approach for Overcoming an Inferiority Complex ............................ 122

Chapter 7 CONCLUSION ..................................................... 128

Bibliography .......................................................................... 133

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INTRODUCTION
1. Introduction
Many people are hurting and they suffer from different kinds of pain including physical and mental pain, pain caused by shock from the outside and that caused through self-infliction. Amongst all these different types of pain, which one would cause the most difficulty and hardship? It is most probable that each individual will feel as though their pain is the greatest in that moment and think that no-one else is able to understand it.

However, what I wish to deal with here is not physical pain, but rather mental pain. Furthermore, in this dissertation, it is self-inflicted pain that is of interest rather than the pain that is caused by others. Another important aspect of healing is that there is a possibility of a person solving their problems to a certain degree.

The questions that arise from this subject are numerous. For example, is it possible to treat and heal the various mental pains? Would it be possible to heal one's self through one’s own will alone or could the cure be facilitated through hypnosis? Would the available methods of healing in the world today result in complete mental healing? What is true healing and health and where is the revelation of Christ in such healing?

I was born in South Korea and attended my schooling years there as well as having experienced working life there. Through work I met many people and have observed

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that while some people had positive and progressive images and vision there were others who were always without strength and self-esteem and who were burdened by negative thoughts. I too have agonized over the same problems that many Korean workers worry about. My experience has taught me that even though people may be in the same situation, their thoughts and responses to the situation may significantly change the result. This is how and why I decided to use these experiences as the foundation for this dissertation.

I am not a psychologist, nor a doctor; I simply wish to state my opinion as a student of theology. This is the reason for the situation of Korean workers being discussed in this dissertation with especial focus on the chief culprit for these kinds of mental ‘hurts’ which is ‘inferiority complex’.

2. Research Problem
Due to Korea being a country of little land, the people naturally tend to gravitate towards comparing themselves or engaging in competition with each other. More especially, Korean mothers may make certain mistakes by comparing their children to their friend’s children which may serve as a source of stress. The self-esteem of these children may be affected negatively by this continuous comparison and may even lead to an inferiority complex.

Korean college admission examinations cause a high level of stress in both the parents and the applicants themselves, owing to comparisons with the other candidates. Some applicants experience their own inadequacy to the point of

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depression and eventually give up their attempt to gain entrance into a university.

On the other hand, those who overcome this sense of inadequacy and are accepted into a university are usually expected not to suffer further. However, this proves to not be the case. After completing their studies, most of the graduates will be looking for employment and this maps the definite beginning of social rivalry(Lee si hyung, 2009:7).

Research has shown that those employed by major companies experience several trials in their workplace. The online employment site www.saramin.co.kr and the online specialized research institution www.pollever.com recently asked 2,321 people whether clerical workers had any complexes based in their workplace. 69.2% of the interviewees answered affirmatively(Online News Korea 2009

http://www.wnewskorea.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=special_report&wr_id=101).

The different complexes that arose (plural answers), in descending order, were as follows: foreign language complex (39.2%), qualification complex (37.1%), personality complex (24.6%), narrative complex (23.4%), good-person complex (21.4%), appearance complex (21.1%) and others. The sources of these complexes were: an obsession with working well (33.8%), the competitive environment (18.8%), necessity to succeed (14.5%), wanting to have a skill (12%), followed by other reasons.

To the question, “What effect do these complexes have in the workplace?”, about half of the workers (48.8%) who had been negatively affected by the above-

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mentioned complexes, answered that in the workplace psychological stress had been caused through an inferiority complex. The effort to overcome this inferiority complex also contributes to competitiveness (24.2%), a negative effect on person-toperson relationships in the workplace (19.8%), greater competition in the workplace (5.3%), and this has led to more negative than positive effects of these complexes.

Finally, the important factor in overcoming a complex has been revealed to be as follows: their own willpower (77.5%), financial margin (28.6%), diverse social activities (28.1%), encouragement of others (23.9%), change in social awareness (22.4%) etc(Online News Korea 2009

http://www.wnewskorea.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=special_report&wr_id=101).

From the results of the above survey, it seems clear that most of the inferiority complexes arise from comparisons with others. It may also be deduced that the positive effect this has on the workplace is only 24.2% while the remaining effects are all negative. What is surprising, yet is also a source of hope, is that 77.5% of the respondents regarded their own willpower as the most important factor in overcoming an inferiority complex.

If this is the case, does that mean that most people are able to overcome their feelings of inferiority by their ‘will’ alone? If this is not the case then what should people who suffer from an inferiority complex do in order to overcome it? My aim is to approach this issue through this dissertation.

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3. Research Hypothesis
The problem of an inferiority complex is diversely evident in the worker. An inferiority complex may originate from a personal experience, the living environment or irrational thoughts. Workers are regularly exposed to situations of a comparative nature, for example, from the results of a promotion test, a process which is not easy on the workers.

Recent internet research has revealed that in order to be promoted to an executive position the worker has to have worked for 20 years. According to the employment portal (www.incruit.com) as on 27 March 2009, the most recent research done on the professional organ Embrain as well major and medium companies, the time taken for 1,114 workers to be promoted to a managerial position was 20 years on average.

It has been shown that in major companies it takes a worker about 4 years and 11 months to become a company representative, while the head of department position takes 10 years and 4 months, an assistant directorship is attained after 14 years and 5 months and becoming a director takes almost 6 years.

The reason why workers wait so long to be promoted to such positions is most probably because they are looking forward to the good treatment and environment that accompanies such positions. In the process of being promoted huge comparisons will be made between those who are not promoted and those who are, and there is a lot of stress on those who are not promoted, both from themselves and from the judgment of others which may lead to the development of an inferiority

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complex(Online

Yonhap

News

2009

http://www.sasilaw.co.kr/board/board_view.php?code=study_exam&mode=view&UID =24280&top_code5=board&type=&nowpage=1&endpage=1190&num=17850&k1=&k 2=).

However, according to Albert Ellis (1913-2007)(Ellis, 1998:30) and his rational emotive behaviour therapy theory (REBT) the cause of inferiority complex is not actually the event of the problem, but rather in the person’s self-perversion or in irrational thinking.

Conversely, the psychoanalyst Alfred Adler (1870-1937)(Adler, 1998:66-67) believes that people have within them the potential of self and an attribute of wanting to realize this potential. When a person does not fulfil their own potential, they can develop an inferiority complex upon discovering a shortcoming in their lives. However, Adler understands this to be a more positive rather than negative aspect in the building up of a person’s life as they try to overcome their inferiority complex.

In reality, Korean workers use a lot of their free time to develop themselves, for example, they attend foreign language schools, use gym facilities to become more physically attractive or to become healthier, are tutored in conversation and narration and generally use means in order to develop skills that can enhance themselves.

However, these means to resolve an inferiority complex are not sufficient since the workers continue to compare themselves to their colleagues, thus making themselves seem worthless. In addition, the focus on the problem they face as well

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as their thoughts turns them into very negative people.

It is important that the person with an inferiority complex should convert irrational thoughts into rational ones. More especially, people have to know their existence, and to convert the negative aspects of comparison and competition that workers experience in the workplace, which can lead to an inferiority complex, into positive aspects through good thoughts.

Many psychologists present diverse books on the definition and methods to overcome an inferiority complex. Although the opinions of several scholars will indeed be looked at in this dissertation, is it truly possible to solve the inferiority complex that people actually have using psychological methods alone? If so, how should people approach this problem and solve it? Furthermore, if this is not the case then what other methods beyond these are available? If there are other methods, how would people approach and overcome their inferiority complexes?

This dissertation attempts to apply the theories of scholars as well as the theories of biblical and theological scholars concentrating on the approach and methods of pastoral counseling in recognizing one’s worth of existence, in bringing forth positive rather than negative elements of comparison and competition within society that make workers feel inferior about themselves through a correct way of thinking. For the theme of this dissertation, the pastoral approach to solving an inferiority complex will supplement the psychological methods.

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4. Research Objectives
As humans are social creatures, they are often in an environment of comparative and reflective situations while living closely with others. An inferiority complex is born out of the constant comparisons that arise out of necessity and natural human life. There is, of course, no one who is truly free from comparative consciousness. However, those who endlessly cannot overcome the inferiority complex that arises from the constant comparison between themselves and others can eventually fall into despair and cannot escape from stress. This is because no matter how much one searches the world there will always be another person who is better than oneself. The erroneous comparison with another person may lead to self-abasement, self-incapacitation, as well as other emotions of worthlessness which are the sources for the expansion and aggravation of an inferiority complex. If a person cannot be free of their inferiority complex, then their constant pathetic feelings will eventually lead to a perverted ego.

This study intends to examine the psychological sense of stress that arises from an inferiority complex and the negative effect that it has on relationships between people as well as the competition between workers as the basis of an inferiority complex causing problems for the workers. The aim of this investigation is to help workers who struggle with an inferiority complex to understand their self-worth and to convert their irrational thoughts into rational ones, thus helping to release them from their inferiority complex.

What I wish to mention in this dissertation is that the effect of these complexes in the

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workplace is: that they give the workers a psychological sense of stress, that they ensure a negative effect on relationships between people and that through promoting competition between workers they make problems and allow the workers to experience these problems; and the research of the possibility of freedom from these effects of inferiority complex.

What this dissertation wishes to communicate is the influence that the different complexes have on the working lifestyle and not only does the inferiority complex mentally stress the workers out, but it also plays a negative role in human relationships. Furthermore, it enhances the mutual competition between the workers allowing them to endure hardships and instead of feeling true freedom and happiness it instead makes their lives feel worthless. This dissertation wishes to make an opportunity of escape for people whose happiness and hopes are being stolen and stripped away by their feelings of inferiority. For this escape the importance of a person’s will is looked at and through the preparations for this, the effect that converting irrational thoughts into rational thoughts has on a person’s live will be researched.

Therefore, this study aims to fulfil the following goals. First of all, it will aim to investigate and identify inferiority complexes using psychological and Biblical understanding. For this I will be researching human understanding through A. Adler and also the conversion of thought through Albert Ellis’s theory of REBT in order to overcome an inferiority complex. Futhermore, I will be researching how to understand and overcome an inferiority complex through the opinions of several pastoral scholars such as John Calvin(1509-1564), Jay E. Adams(1929- ), Howard J.

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Clinebell(1922- ), Daniel J. Louw(1944- ) and others, and will also investigate and find out what the true nature of humans may be using these scholars’ theories and the Biblical principles as a foundation. This results in a better understanding of people using the image of God within a person based on Biblical principles as a background; and finally to research whether pastoral care and counselling can be used to help workers overcome an inferiority complex.

5. Research Methodology
Four approaches will be examined in this study, namely those of general psychology, Biblical principles, systematic theology and pastoral approach. This is because it may not be possible for workers who have an inferiority complex to overcome it by using any single approach. Also, in order to reach a valid conclusion with regard to pastoral approach, a sound interpretation of the theories of general psychology, Biblical principles and systematic theology must be made.

5.1 The General Psychological Approach

Workers who have an inferiority complex that arises from the constant competition and comparison may utilize the positive aspects of an inferiority complex through rational thinking. In order to do this, the theories of Adler and Ellis will be observed. This will be done using methods such as Ellis’ REBT to see whether irrational

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thoughts can be converted into rational thoughts; and, if this is possible, the resulting benefits will be investigated.

5.2 The Biblical Principle Approach

Although the Bible does not give any direct methods of therapy for curing psychological problems, for example, an inferiority complex or depression, the researcher believes that there is power in the Word of God that can overcome these conditions. The research and methods of general psychology can be related to and at the same time differentiated from the Word of God. Thus, the most apparent thing is that we have to concentrate our ears towards God’s Word. The works of Biblical scholars and their annotations to the Old and New Testaments will therefore be studied.

5.3 The Systematic Theology Approach

After the interpretation of psychological theories and Biblical principles, the view of systematic theology is necessary to link the two together. This study intends examining mankind and their suffering. The first aim is to understand why people, who are made in the image of God, must be considered as precious beings; the second is what mankind’s essence and existence is and the third is to understand why people have to be treated and healed through God’s methods. In order to do

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this, a systematic theology analysis is necessary. The ideas of the reformed theologians from Calvin onwards will be considered here.

5.4 The Pastoral Approach

As time moves on, the problems that were either nonexistent or previously regarded as being very small are developing more and more, (for example such things as AIDS, homosexuality and child pornography are amongst others). Many people wish to find a proper means of coping with such problems. However, I think that practical theology is necessary in order to solve these kinds of problems.

I wish to find a method through pastoral care and counselling approach that will be helpful towards solving these problems, especially for workers who are falling into an inferiority complex because of comparison and competition in the workplace.

6. Research Outline
This dissertation is divided into seven main chapters. In chapter 1 the fundamental meaning of inferiority complex will be dealt with. Firstly, the general definition of inferiority complex will be tackled followed by the psychological understanding of it. From the psychological perspective, the opinions of several different psychologists will be discussed. Furthermore, the causes and responses of an inferiority complex will be explored, especially the inherent and acquired causes as well as the

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exaggeration of recognition.

In chapter 2 the wider view of inferiority complex will be dealt with. Simply because it is an inferiority complex does not mean that it must be received in a negative way. If taken care of properly, there can be positive aspects to it as well. In this chapter, Ellis and Adler’s theories will be used to deal with the positive and negative parts of an inferiority complex.

Chapter 3 will be delving into the more technical understanding of an inferiority complex. This will be done by using some scholars’ understanding of inferiority complex and their methods of overcoming it. The psychological understanding of both Ellis and Adler will be used in this chapter once again and the focus placed on their programs of overcoming an inferiority complex. As they are excellent psychologists, their programs are still being used professionally which is why there is merit in discussing their works.

In Chapter 4 the biblical understanding of humans will be looked into. This dissertation is written using theology as a foundation. The previous chapters dealt with the theories of general psychologists, but in this chapter the theological approach, especially the approach of systematic theology will be discussed.

Chapter 5 will be discussing the circumstances of the South Korean workers in great detail. Through several surveys which have been taken recently, the relationship of the present Korean workers with inferiority complex will be dealt with and the way they think about the content and circumstance of an inferiority complex, as well as

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what they think is the cause of an inferiority complex and how to overcome it.

The first aim of chapter 6 is the pastoral approach to health. In order to achieve this, physical, mental, social and spiritual health must first be dealt with. In order to investigate into the pastoral approach, in the chapter concerning spiritual health, the thoughts of Daniel Louw will be used as the central point and will thereafter state the conclusion regarding the pastoral approach through the use of examples where this has been overcome.

Chapter 7 will be the general conclusion and will close off this dissertation.

7. Research Contributions
People of today are losing their self-worth and self-esteem through the daily comparison and competition that they experience. The irrational thoughts and inferiority complexes that result from the above in their environment are able to destroy them as well as their relationships with others. This research is valuable as it will attempt to help people gain a more positive attitude by converting their irrational thoughts into rational ones, using a number of psychological theories.

It will also help people to realize their worth as people created in the image of God. It is also important that people should realize that they all live by the grace of God. This study may bring a person to realize that they must live for God and help them change to a more rational way of thinking.

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Chapter 1 Definitions of inferiority complexes
1.1 About Inferiority Complex
1.1.1 The Attributes of Inferiority Complexes

The present is a time of high degree of information as well as one of specialization. In order to sort out this information and to deal with the specialization, the individual’s personal ability is aggravated excessively. In this situation, people compare themselves with one another or they have a generalized pursuit of competence and power. Following this ever-changing, fast-paced society brings about a loss in humanity and this leads to psychological and emotional discord. The emotions that stem from the loss of self-confidence in such a rival society develop into inferiority complexes. The psychoanalyst Adler has stated that the inferiority complex is a basic emotion present in all humans, and that it heavily influences their actions(Adler, 1998:139).

Since humans exist in a nature of society we are constantly in a situation of comparison with and reflection off of one another, an inferiority complex is born out of the endless comparison that is a part of one’s natural and inevitable life. There is, of course, no one who is totally free of the awareness of comparison.

However, if people do not overcome the inferiority complex that develops from a continuous and endless comparison with others, they will be full of anger, irritation and tiredness. It will also not be possible to be released from their frustrations and

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stress. This is because no matter how great a person is there will always be someone greater, remarkable or superior to them. No matter where one goes, or whom one meets there will always be a comparison made between one-self and another person which will lead to an acute inferiority complex.

The incorrect comparison made between an individual and another person leads to self-abasement, self-loss and inner emotions of worthlessness which do not allow for one to properly adjust to society. These are also the main source for the development of an inferiority complex. The social problems that arise through inferiority complexes are those that do not allow for personal relationships to develop between people at work or in an organization; along with the added effect of people expressing their bad and negative emotions to their family which hurts them.

The inferiority complex that is deeply imbedded within a person does not easily show itself externally. A person with this kind of inferiority complex may try to hide their complex by transforming their emotional deficiency and turning those emotions into blame or disregard of others; as well as putting on a bluff or façade over that which they lack. However, on the other hand others with an inferiority complex may fall into despair, desperation, renunciation and disappointment(Cha Jun Goo, 2001:43).

1.1.2 What is an Inferiority Complex?

The current terms that are being used with respect to inferiority complexes, are those that have originated from Adler. Adler is of the opinion that the psychological

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progress of humans began when inferiority complex first materialized(Adler, 1998:139). Within people who act as though they are superior to others exists an inferiority complex that needs to be specially hidden(Adler, 1942:50). An inferiority complex is the emotion that arises when an individual judges themselves abnormally. It ultimately means that one’s self-esteem is low(Kim Byung Kun, 2005:9).

The inferiority complex that Adler(Adler, 1942:52) speaks of is when an individual expresses that he is not able to adjust to something well, or when that individual expresses that he is not able to solve a problem because he is unprepared for it. Adler defined that these things only appear when the individual is faced with a problem.

An inferiority complex forms when one is not at the level that one wants to be at. This may arise when a person thinks that he is not at the same position as his peers or from the thought that he is totally unable to deal with an issue. Thus, an inferiority complex is the expression of a person’s fear of confrontation with problems and also the conviction that he is unable to solve a problem due to his lack of preparation for that problem. Adler says(Adler, 1942:52) that an inferiority complex invokes tension, causes a limit in a person’s actions, and makes one to be static during trials or to move backwards in such difficult situations.

Most people are afraid of adventure and wish to have an easy life. They try to avoid the difficulties of reality and confrontations with dangerous situations. They fear for the harm that may come to their self-esteem. The expressions of an inferiority complex may in some situations cause one to create excuses and to be anxious, and

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when one feels shame it may be expressed through anger. For example, an office worker may feel angry after being reprimanded by his boss, yet may also reproach himself for his worthlessness and may shed tears. Thus, these tears, anger and selfreproach may be expressions of an inferiority complex(Adler, 1942:52).

There is not one person who wishes to expose his weaknesses. This is why people begin to defend themselves when they cannot overcome their inferiority complex. In order to protect themselves, they needlessly compliment themselves and bring out their good points while bringing others down harshly and slandering them. People who do this have within them a deep-rooted inferiority complex. If one has to look into a person who does not have good relations with others, one may find that at the foundation for their thoughts lies an irrepressible inferiority complex which has them firmly bound(Lee Dong Won, 2001:51-52).

If an inferiority complex intensifies, it appears in a lack of one’s confidence and a constant negativity along with a critical response. The objective judgment dissipates while the subjective interpretation increases, and the individual may believe in his intuition and rely on it. In other words, a person will observe a situation not from an objective perspective, but rather a personal one. The compulsive phenomenon of a person with an inferiority complex may be a type of person who acts in very formal ways, is meticulous or full of worry. This type of person may be deficient internally, have low self-confidence and may be timid.

Generally speaking, those who have a negative personality are more likely to fall into an inferiority complex than those who have a positive one. This is because those

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who have an inferiority complex magnify their weaknesses and constantly compare themselves with others inevitably thinking that they are inadequate.

Adler reveals(Adler, 1942:52) that an inferiority complex stems from the lacking of a person’s disposition and that it is also a constant state of tension and strain. Furthermore, the exaggerated consciousness of people brings about excessive mental tension and forces perfection. This is why exaggerated ambition ultimately does not promote the ability to work, but on the contrary limits it(Seul Yeong Hwan, 2005:23).

An inferiority complex stops one from feeling the joys of work and may even cause failure in a person’s occupation causing one to do their work roughly and to become indolent.

Looking at this collectively, an inferiority complex is the psychological phenomenon which is formed from the time of birth onwards through comparison between self and the environment. It is the universal objective phenomenon which occurs to all people who are separated and exist apart from one’s ability and position in reality. However, if the wrong direction is taken within an inferiority complex there is a possibility of a person continuing in a negative way of life. Thus, an inferiority complex is essentially neither good nor bad(Sweeney, 1998:13).

This is why there is a negative feeling of insufficiency, incompetency, powerlessness, self-humbling, scorn, recoiling, tension, frustration, defeat, loss in self-confidence and so on with regards to the physical, social and intellectual areas. In the worst

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case, it may even escalate to the point of psychoneurosis.

1.2 Understanding the Inferiority Complex
1.2.1 Psychological Understanding

1.2.1.1 Adler’s View

The inferiority complex exists universally to a certain degree within all people. This is because we wish to improve ourselves all the time(Adler, 1942:51). Thus, as people feel an inferiority complex there is a process of compensation that stems from that experience ending in self-improvement, and forms harmony with society(Adler, 1956:25).

The progress that is found within human lifestyles comes from the effort to overcome one’s inferiority complex. A person’s effort to be perfect arises from the selfawareness of not being enough. People are inevitably aware of their exposure to nature and work hard for their safety which is why a person’s lifestyle progresses through being a human(Sul Young Hwan, 2005:366).

Through the above, an inferiority complex can be the motive for one’s development. However, on the other side an inferiority complex can destroy a person. The boundary that we have to place within the two sides of the inferiority complex is against an abnormal inferiority complex. The latter is when one cannot overcome an

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inferiority complex and when one rationalizes and justifies it(Jeong Jeong Sook, 2001:31).

An unhealthy person does not deal with an inferiority complex well and shows symptoms of an abnormal inferiority complex. Adler(Adler, 1998:66-67) defined this as not being able to solve the problems of people’s life.

When people cannot deal with demands, and cannot feel their achievements they lose their courage and their inferiority complex deepens and develops into an abnormal inferiority complex(Lee Kwan Jik, 1995a:304).

Adler said(Adler, 1942:14) that the inferiority complex greatly influenced a person’s life of which he tried to find the origin of this problem and to solve it. He was not trying to solve the inferiority complex that motivates one to progress, but rather the inferiority complex which drags one to failure. Through this he discovered that an inferiority complex forms within the early years of a child.

Adler(Adler, 1964:27) stated that there are three things within a child’s environment that easily bring about an abnormal inferiority complex. These are imperfect organs or physical defects, pampering and neglect.

The first tendency is that of those who had physical defects when they were children, who were ill and physically weak in their childhood. Unless these people are motivated by another to take an interest in other people, they will only focus on their own feelings. It is possible that these people may later on compare themselves with

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others and be disappointed(Adler, 1942:15).

On the other hand, we can also see people who had similar physical defects in their childhood, yet were able to overcome these defects and who developed abilities.

Nevertheless, most of the children who are born with physical defects have generally not been disciplined in the correct direction. The adversities that they take on are not readily understood by others and they are thus mainly interested solely in themselves. Due to this the children with physical defects are frustrated while they grow up.

The second tendency is that of pampered children. As these children are always being helped by others, they lose their independence and are unable to solve a problem by themselves. They are interested in themselves and do not think to help others. When they come across a problem they know only to turn to others for help. The adults that were once pampered children are probably the most dangerous groups of people within society. This is because they aim to have everything in their possession(Adler, 1942:16).

The third tendency is that of the neglected child. This child has not had the opportunity to feel love or to have knowledge of working together with others. While these children grow up, they disregard these good qualities throughout their lives. When they come across problems in their lives, they overestimate these problems while underestimating their own abilities to overcome them. They feel that society is very cold-hearted towards them. They are unable to understand that one may earn

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respect by treating others nicely. In short, the neglected child is one who can be said to have not yet met a person he can trust(Adler, 1942:17).

These three tendencies, namely physical defects, pampering and neglect are major opportunities that allow for erroneous meanings in life(Adler, 1942:18). The children who grow up in these circumstances may easily fall into an inferiority complex; they are able to underestimate their own abilities, isolate themselves, are not able to form normal relationships in society and through a life without confidence are susceptible to developing an inferiority complex.

1.2.1.2 Erik H. Erikson(1902-1994)’s View

According to Erikson’s theory of ego-identity(Erikson, 1968:125), a person forms either a positive or a negative ego-identity through his life while growing up. Children who have a negative ego-identity move forward as failures, delinquents and problematic children. However, the problem is that once a child has established such a negative ego-identity it is very hard to escape it.

Erikson’s opinion(Erikson, 1968:94-96) was that there are eight stages of societal crises in a person’s lifetime. He said that one could either form a negative or a positive ego-identity according to the manner in which one overcame these eight crises. If one overcomes the first stage of crisis easily, then the next stage would also be overcome smoothly. However, if one is not able to do so then the next stage of the crisis would become an obstacle to overcome.

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According to his theory(Erikson, 1968:125), the basis of a person’s personality is at infancy and once a person reaches childhood he learns to become a productive person. It is at the latter stage that a person learns life-skills through diverse games and also learns how to be diligent. If one is not able to accumulate these abilities through diligence, one sees oneself as incompetent and worthless and may fall into an inferiority complex.

There is nothing that degrades a person as much as an inferiority complex. Since is not an insult given by others, but rather a sense of shame and an affront that develops from one’s discussion with one’s self; one is unable to avoid it.

1.2.1.3 Carl R. Rogers(1902-1987)’s View

Rogers(Van Belle, 1980:33;41) was of the opinion that the experience of failure or success which we gain through our social lives heavily influences the formation of our self-concept.

The concept of self-image is the way in which a person views and thinks of himself(Rogers, 1959:200). In other words, these are when a person thinks he is clever or dumb, has confidence or lacks it, is social or not, and whether he is an introvert or an extrovert. The development of a person’s self-concept stems from the basis of his self-awareness of experiences which plays a role in the process of development(Rogers, 1961:241).

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The people who determine the development of a person’s self-image are the parents and the people with whom a person has a relationship(Rogers, 1959:225). When a person’s consciousness is formed he wants to be treated with gentleness, respected, worshipped, shown interest, accommodated and loved by others; and this want to be protected and loved is especially strong with regards to one’s own mother(Rogers, 1959:225).

Rogers says(Rogers, 1959:223-224) that as we succeed in our schooling, friendships, marriages, and jobs then our positive self-confidence increases and a person’s character becomes more extroverted and constructive. On the other hand, he says that if a person is unable to succeed in these areas, the character of that person ultimately turns negative, introverted and unsociable which leads to an inferiority complex. People are creatures of limitless possibility which is why it is essential to continually develop all one’s possibilities. One of the most important attributes of humans is their hope and without this hope for the future people will lead insignificant and meaningless lives. Above all, living a positive and active life ensures that a person lives a life of continual self-development and this gives an individual self-confidence and allows one to grow without an inferiority complex. All this is the compilation of Rogers’s theory.

1.2.1.4 Gary R. Collins’ View

When Collins(Collins, 1985:347) approached the problem of an inferiority complex,

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he said that the following three aspects should be dealt with: self-concept, self-image and self-esteem.

Self-concept and self-image are both our own personal views and they both include our thoughts, attitudes and emotions aimed at ourselves. Thus these two terms assess a person’s self-worth, value and aptitude. If the first two terms are an expression of self, then the final term self-esteem is one of self-evaluation. Nevertheless, these three terms always influence the way that we think, act and feel. Collins(Collins, 1985:349-351) proposes that an inferiority complex or a low selfesteem is influenced by faulty theology, sin, past experience, parent-child relationship, unrealistic expectations, faulty thinking and the community influences.

1.2.2 Understanding of Society

The inferiority complex is not only a personal problem, but a problem that appears throughout society. The current phenomenon of dieting that is spreading in today’s society is one of the main examples of this.

Humans can feel an inferiority complex from their outer appearance. According to Seligman’s research a person who has confidence in his appearance will have pride(Seligman, 1996:1072-1079).

Women generally wish to have a beautiful face and slim waist, and we are able to find the reason for the relationship between pride and external appearance while we

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are growing in the attitude of today’s society. The prettier children receive more love while the prettier female students are asked out on more dates than their counterparts. According to Dion’s research the more attractive females were perceived to be more competent than those who were not. Thus, beautiful people are able to get more profitable opportunities in society(Dion, 1974:772-778).

From the time that we are young, we are praised and compensated for having and gaining abilities. However, an incompetent child is contemptuously received and is reproached for his actions. In school, children are separated through superiority and inferiority. Those students who study well monopolize their teacher’s love, while those who do not may fall into an inferiority complex since they do not have the teacher’s interest or love. The latter is due to the students continually comparing themselves and their abilities to those of the students who do well. In the working place one is judged according to one’s record of performance. When one colleague is promoted, the other colleague is defeated and must drink his cup of bitterness. Humans usually fall into an inferiority complex due to their own limitations.

1.2.3 Biblical Understanding

The biblical view of an inferiority complex is when a person loses their self-worth in the absence of God(Oh Seong Choon, 1987:87). Humans are created in the image of God(Gen 1:27, NIV) and this means that humans are essentially created to have a relationship with God. The human being is a creature that exists within a relationship with other people, the environment and with God(Kim Seong Soo, 2001:7).

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However, through sinning the relationship between humans and God was interrupted, that is to say that it is to be separated from God. In this situation of separation, humans became self-centered and self-pleasing creatures and they also became the standard by which value could be judged and measured.

Humans are not creatures who simply pass through this world, but since they are specially created by God and must find their ultimate object within their relationship with God. The created human is not able to establish coordinates in his life apart from God and are made so that they cannot find their original self without Him(Kim Jin, 1999:129).

The Bible speaks of three important themes about people which are the Creation, the Fall and the Salvation. Thus, humans are creatures who have the image of God within them and who reflect His image to the world through the relationship they have with the world. This is why humans can have essential value through their relationship with God. However, through sin humans were brought to the place of destruction and judgment. This is why inner wounds and negativity came into being. These results of sin can ultimately be thought of as the root to all humans’ problems(Kang Yong Won, 2001:32).

Since humans are not creatures who are able to redeem themselves from sin, if left alone they would have been lead down the path of destruction. However, through the preciousness of Christ’s crucifixion, God allowed humans to follow the path of salvation. To restore His good creation, God works actively in this fallen world

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through salvation which is an act of grace from God. He frees people from the clutches of sin and heals them through relationship with Him. Through His salvation, humans who are creatures rightly supposed to die for their sins receive new life instead as well as a positive ego.

From the perspective of the Creation, Fall and Salvation, people who have inferiority complex are those who have not been able to find their true value before God. This indicates that these people have not found their identity as a child of God. Therefore, the beginning to one overcoming his inferiority complex lies in discovering his identity in God and Christ.

All humans carry an inferiority complex as part of their being. However, if a person lays his sins and his faults honestly before God and acknowledges the value that God shows him, then this person can know their positive self-worth and live joyfully in God despite the presence of an inferiority complex(Lim Yeong Soo, 1987:55).

1.3 The Cause of and Response to an Inferiority Complex
1.3.1 The General Cause of an Inferiority Complex

The cause for the structure of the order of rank within the culture of human relationships and social acitivities varies greatly since almost anything and everything can become the cause of an inferiority complex. Thus, the inferiority complex that people commonly experience can be easily related to everything within

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our lives(Park Seong Soo, 1998:107).

As the culture of Korea is of Confucian influence, its society completely sets the ranking order. Almost all structures and groups have their own hidden intentions to rank people according to their qualification background, family environment, level of economy and intellect amongst other qualities in order to class people as being either superior or inferior. This is a person’s mental background to sub-consciously place one’s self superior to another person. This stems from a person harbouring a need to get respect or benevolence from others.

Therefore, in this chapter the inherent as well as the acquired cause of an inferiority complex will be investigated along with the cognitive perversion of an inferiority complex.

1.3.1.1 Inherent Causes

An inherent cause comes from birth through a physical defect. People feel an inferiority complex through their own physical defect or deformity. There are even some people who experience superiority through the mere fact of being a man or alternatively an inferiority complex for merely being a woman. Not only are things like height, weight, facial profile, eyes, nose, ears and lips the causes for an inferiority complex, but also things like hands, breasts, waist, legs and even fingers and toes are found to be causes too(Lee Son Ok, 1999:146).

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Psychoanalysts such as Adler(Adler, 1942:207) point out that not only are outer appearances characteristics a cause for an inferiority complex, but also internal organic deficiencies such as respiration, circulation, digestion, excretion,

reproduction etc. may present a cause for an inferiority complex. Amongst the causes linked to physical characteristics, it is indicated that the head and brain are the greatest cause for an inferiority complex, and they are closely related to emotional obstruction.

However, it is not the case that organic or physical defects will without fail cause one to fall into an inferiority complex. A person with a psychical defect will only fall into an inferiority complex according to how the people in his environment respond to it. If people neglect such a person and do not treat him as a human it makes it very easy for him to fall into an inferiority complex or to develop inferiority. Nevertheless, if people constructively understand, protect and take care of such a person, then they give him the courage to adequately deal with an inferiority complex(Adler, 1952:248).

1.3.1.2 Acquired Causes

Acquired causes are those which are able to cause one to fall into an inferiority complex during the formative years internally and also via the environment. Such causes are the birth background, career or work, moralistic or religious actions, an ideal ego and an estrangement from reality and the frustrated desire for recognition(Lee Jin Suk, 1998:20).

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The first acquired cause to be mentioned is that of the background of a person’s birth. People get an inferiority complex related to their birth background. Those who grew up in a Confucian society may especially have an inferiority complex related to their place of origin or their surnames(Lee Si Hyung, 2004:271).

The place of origin that is referred to here is where a person’s surname originates from and it also reveals where the very first grandfather or the founder resided. Thus, if a person’s name and surname originated from a very famous person or founder then that person might naturally feel more superior to others and if not, may have an inferiority complex(Online A Place of Origin 2010

http://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%B3%B8%EA%B4%80).

Some people may have an inferiority or superiority complex through the fact of their parents’ background or hometown, and also their graduate school. Even in the case of the church congregation, there are congregants who may get an inferiority or superiority complex through their church or religious association.

The second are the different careers or work that individual people have. Humans have a variety of attitude or emotion towards their career or work. If one works at a well-known place he may have a superiority complex, whilst another person who receives very low income and position may fall into an inferiority complex. There are also cases where there are people who have a large income, but because of others’ negative perception towards their job they then have an inferiority complex regardless of the amount of money which they earn.

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Thirdly, the moral or religious actions that people acquire. Some people may feel superior or inferior according to the moralistic or religious actions that they possess. Thus, those who have outstanding public morals or discipline may feel superior through judgment of others who are not always orderly or disciplined. Those who are morally superior may have a disregard for those who are observed as being more morally inferior and may relate with them contemptuously. Religiously there are those who pray eagerly, read the Bible extensively, give a large offering and attend church regularly who feel superior and may hold others in low esteem that are not like them.

Fourth is the ideal ego that a person imagines and the estrangement from reality that follows. For humans, the most difficult inferiority complex is experienced when one thinks that he must do a certain thing or become a certain person, and the complex originates when the ideal is far removed from reality. When one is supposed to reach the ideals of position or to arrive at a certain level in society and is unable to do so, then one may feel inferior.

The final acquired cause is the frustrated desire for recognition in people. In his research Erikson states that children of school going age are at the period in their lives when diligence develops(Erikson 1968:123). If a child of this age does not develop their sense of diligence properly then a feeling of inferiority may be formed in their lives. Those children who do develop their diligence have a positive selfconcept and gain a confident, active and lively character in the world outside them.

On the other hand, there are groups of children who wish to do well, to succeed and

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to gain recognition, but fail at this mark; they then think that they do not have the ability to succeed and thus feel inferior to others. In this way when looking at people who have an inferiority complex, almost all of them carry a dominating thought about the times of their childhood when they were not acknowledged or loved(Seo Bong Yeon & Lee Soon Hyung, 1995:424-425).

As seen in the above, the general causes of an inferiority complex have been examined. However, it is difficult to say that all of the above causes are present in an inferiority complex. On the contrary, the cause may be dependent on the person’s thoughts. Generally an inferiority complex may develop chiefly through incorrect comparisons of others and irrational thoughts.

1.3.1.3 Cognitive Perversion

Just as there are several different people that experience inferiority, there are just as many causes to inferiority. The feeling of inferiority is influenced from humanity by means of the physical, mental, emotional, social, cultural and spiritual parts. As there is no standard for an inferiority complex, and since it is determined relative to the individual or group and as such is strongly subjective. For example, a child may feel inferior that he was only third in class instead of being second or first, however, another child who has gotten a far worse result or standing may feel satisfied with himself.

This difference is due to the variety of personal desires and wants. In whatever

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circumstances, people generally tend to analyze by themselves a situation devoid of objectivity. This kind of irrational interpretation and judgment which is far-removed from reality is referred to as cognitive perversion. The latter is a weapon which people use to destroy their self-esteem. Cognitive perversion is a bad habit which makes one irrationally interpret reality and is thus a problem which concerns thoughts(Mckay, 1992:57).

1.3.2 The Psychological Symptoms and Response to an Inferiority Complex

An inferiority complex directly and indirectly influences an individual’s emotions, behavior and attitude towards life either in an affirmative or a negative way. In the affirmative way there is development of self and self-realization and it is the motive for action which brings growth to self. As stated above, Adler says(Adler, 1942:55) that all human culture are established on inferiority complexes.

In addition, on the negative side those who have a deep inferiority complex show weird behavior and obstructs one’s development showing psychotic symptoms and criminal behavior or suicide and furthermore may lead to destruction eventually giving rise to an adverse effect on society. Moreover, the way in which the understanding of the response to the common inferiority complex that humans have is very important.

For example, an ambitious person without ability acts cross-temperedly, a weak person bluffs, a person who is not adapted well to society complains, a mentally

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deficient person becomes stubborn and generally all those people who do not listen to others’ words show a sign of inferiority complex. Thus, an inferiority complex creates in a person the tendency towards one’s mental self-preservation and compensation or may even bring about an offensive behavior.

All patients with mental disorders have an inferiority complex. For example, arrogant people, those who gesture excessively when they talk, those who react superior to others who are superior to them; these people have all got an inferiority complex which they wish to keep hidden(Adler, 1942:52).

People who have an inferiority complex subconsciously try to hide their feelings of inferiority and in doing so express various emotional responses. Passive ways of expression include evasion, suppression, abasement, rationalization, lies,

desperation, breakdown, sequestration; while active expressions including fighting, attacking, harsh criticism and blame. Also, when men cannot show their superiority or intelligence to their heart’s desire before women this may in turn result in a show of violence in order to show their manliness(Meeting for women, 1994:148).

Harmachek(Harmachek 1987:328-329) lists nine behavioural symptoms of inferiority which are first, sensitivity to criticism; second, an over-response to flattery; third, hypercritical attitude; fourth, tendency toward blaming; fifth, feelings of being persecuted; sixth, negative feelings about competition; seventh, tendency to be easily persuaded and influenced; eighth, a neurotic need for perfectionism and finally, the tendency toward seclusion, shyness and timidity.

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These symptoms are not mutually exclusive of each other, but are actually mutual repetitions of character. For example, a timid person will evade competition, and in the face of criticism will be sensitive. At the same time, the sensitivity towards criticism may also appear in the form of flattery towards or, in fact, criticism of others. All these symptoms appear due to an inferiority complex and they may lead to very self-destructive actions.

In the same way, people who have an inferiority complex try their best to cover up their inferiority with these types of actions and symptoms(Adler, 1942:50). On the other hand, if they are not able to disguise their inferiority then the complex may become worse and become more stressed because of it. Ultimately this will lead to desperation, self-deprecation, emotional anxiety, depression, estrangement and may fall into solitude. Thus, this may eventually lead to a second act for example, getting drunk on alcohol, consumption of drugs, inhalation of glue and through such progressively self-destructive actions may result in criminal behaviour. However, this does not mean that the symptoms of an inferiority complex are continual, but rather that they are able to appear in diverse forms according to different situations, circumstances and conditions.

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Chapter 2 The Positive and Negative Opinions Surrounding an Inferiority Complex

2.1 The Current Society and Phenomenon of Alienation
There are two conditions that are indicative of alienation from other people and these are bigotry and depression. A patient who has bigotry has a hatred of mankind and those who are depressed are angry and hateful towards others(Adler, 1942:257).

There are many people living in this world today, and thus they live in an orderly fashion with rules and in communities. They also live in society through helping one another and learning from each other(Sul Young Hwan, 2005:21). However, if there is an incident or a problem this does not mean that every person is treated in the same manner. While there are some people who solve difficult problems well there is also, on the other hand, others who struggle with even the smallest of problems. Furthermore, while living in the social community people are constantly in situations where they compare themselves with others around them. In the same way, they are frequently in contact with things that define the limitations to their personal abilities.

Society at present is referred to as a self-alienating society. The reason for it being called thus is because society today does not move in the way of man’s desires, but rather that man is being pulled into and lives within the mechanism of society.

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Today’s society cannot exist without the machinery of civilization, organizational bureaucracy and group relationships. Yet, this is actually creating an irony of human society. Our society today is very interactive with machines and technology to such a degree that we produce and use it in our daily lives. Machines were built with the purpose of making our lives easier, more efficient and to improve living standards. However, it is taking over the world, with newer and newer abilities and in this manner is improving and progressing to immense heights.

The growth of organizations within society is becoming one of the foundations of estrangement between people. Organizations were created to increase the efficiency of the human lifestyle, yet when the organization becomes greater the collective goal is the main focus of those within the organization. In order to reach this goal the individual can no longer work alone and, in the face of the collective, loses his power.

Thus, the greater and more powerful organizations create regulations in order to reach their goals and also look upon people more as parts of a machine rather than individual personalities. In such organizations, principles and regulations take precedence over creativity and personality.

Also, modern man is a part of a multitude. He lives within a family, among his neighbours, the workplace, unions, religious groups, his colleagues and so on. However, these different groups have their individual rules. Thus, we are expected to fulfill many roles within these groups. However, people today may feel dissent towards these expectations and may change the way they think according to the different situations. Due to this, people may have a personality that is inclined to

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others and may lower their independent conscious for others’ evaluation and expectations(Online Chosun Daily News 2007

http://blog.naver.com/nonsul_cs/110013935867).

Sometimes people may dissolve their individuality and increase their estrangement through life within a group. In democratic societies the people’s conscious is increases and through this their subjectivity may be lost. This is because the advertisements and the effect of publicity our desires may increase along with our levels of expectation. This may increase the distance between reality and fantasy and makes one focus on the exterior rather than the inner man. This is why we easily make comparisons between us and others resulting in inferiority and deprivation; making one able to feel estranged within modern society easily.

2.2 Positive

and Negative

Emotions that

Make

an

Inferiority Complex
Human emotions are truly diverse and according to the direction that the emotions take, one can either fall into an inferiority complex or can overcome it. How these emotions can influence a person will be looked into briefly below.

2.2.1 Healthy and Unhealthy Feelings

The negative emotions that a person experiences throughout his lifetime may either

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be healthy or unhealthy. It is a natural phenomenon to experience emotions. For example, when people either experience or remember times when they felt displeasure or hurt, it can bring about a rush of emotion. Nevertheless, this display of emotions is a proof of a healthy person. If a person cannot feel negative emotions then he is either unable to diminish negative stimuli or is unable to evade them. If this is the case then people would live a more pitiable life and have a lower longevity. Positive emotions of course, also motivate people to live a productively functional life(Ellis, 1998:20).

According to Ellis’s theory(Ellis, 1998:21) there is a clear distinction between healthy and unhealthy negative feelings. The former being feelings such as sorrow, regret, frustration and annoyance, while the latter being unhealthy feelings such as panic, depression, rage, and self-pity. Healthy negative feelings may move a person or a community to act in a beneficial way, but unhealthy negative feelings may paralyse or ruin people through their behaviour and make difficult circumstances impossible. In the case of a student who is about to take an exam the healthy negative feeling would be the worry that he would not pass the exam and in order to avoid this he studies harder and has a better chance of passing the exam. However, the unhealthy negative feeling may be that if he is anxious about failing the exam until a point of panic arises then it may be very difficult for him to prepare for the exam and this will result in his chances of failing the exam increasing greatly.

Ellis thought(Ellis, 1998:21-22) that all humans have two sides to them; on the one hand there are desires and preferences while on the other hand there are musts and demands, and that these two sides are essentially connected to each other. People

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may have a diverse range of desires whether they are light, average or strong in nature. An example of this would be if a person does not mind whether he is liked or not, then he is able to withstand others disliking him. However, if his desire to be liked by others is strong then it is difficult for him to endure it and whether consciously or not he may easily and one-sidedly demand this desire from others in a general manner.

2.2.2 Disjunctive and Conjunctive Feelings

Emotions are psychological activities that work within a limited amount of time, and they are observed when desires suddenly appear whether consciously or unconsciously. Just as with personality, emotions have a very distinct goal and direction. They are not mysterious phenomenon that cannot be explained. People use their emotions to better the circumstances and to change their environment in which they find themselves.

Inferiority complex is nothing but a side to the emotions that makes one feel as though he is lacking in something. This kind of emotion reinforces more than usual, the activity of the interior. In this way people pour their strength and make themselves seem greater than others or prove themselves above others. For instance, people do not show their anger without an opponent because showing one’s anger is in order to defeat one’s enemy. This is the fulfilment of one’s will to another person through his internal movements. However, if people realize that in this way they are not acknowledged then they will refrain from getting angry in the

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future(Adler, 1998:212).

People who do not think that superiority is achievable or who feel that they do not have the confidence for it do not give up on their goals. Instead, these people carry on towards their goals. Conversely, people who are caught in an inferiority complex try by all means to attain their goals as a person who acts on an impulse, and works hard to be recognized by others using wrong privileges.

To say that the emotions which intervene in our mental lifestyle ultimately affect our physical bodies is an obvious point. This is because our souls and bodies have an inseparable relationship to one another. Emotions bring about a physiological change in the circulatory and respiratory systems. The increase in pulse rates, a blush in the face, paleness, changes to breathing and changes in the endocrine glands are all examples of the above.

Adler grouped emotions such as ‘anger’, ‘grief’, ‘disgust’ and ‘fear’ together as ‘disjunctive feelings’, while he placed emotions such as ‘joy’, ‘sympathy’ and ‘humility’ under the grouping ‘conjunctive feelings’(Adler, A. 1998:213-222).

2.2.3 A Person’s Rationality and Irrationality

According to Ellis’s theory(Ellis, 1998:22) he hypothesized that people think in both rational and irrational ways from the moment they are born, and are further brought up according to societal education to think along the same lines. People are clearly

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rational beings and have a tendency to take care of themselves. Actually, if this were not the case then humans would not have survived for so long until present day. When people find themselves in trouble or against adversity they become a constructive problem-solver. People are born problem-solvers and it is a continual instinct from birth which they share with other living creatures. Nevertheless, there are a few points in which humans differ from other organisms with respect to this similarity.

Firstly, in order for humans to think and feel creatively and originally while living they solve problems constructively. Secondly, although they enjoy pleasurable activities that may be beneficial towards existence such as entertainment, sports, arts, music and science; yet these are not necessarily activities which are essential for their existence. Thirdly, humans are more utilitarian and in pursuit of self-realization than other animals.

However, if people only emphasize the constructive problem-solving ability then it is easier for them to ignore their destructive aspects. The defensive nature of people may be reluctant to admit that they can easily be irrational and immoral or even bring about the ruination of themselves and others. Ellis stated in his written work ‘The Biological Basis of Human Irrationality’ that although it is difficult to prove that humans are born with irrationality, there is proof that supports this hypothesis(Ellis, 1998:22).

In the same way, people are all born with and brought up to have an irrational side and do not hesitate to harm themselves. Fortunately, people also have just as much

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rationality as they do irrationality, which allows them to have the ability to think about their irrational thoughts. However, people are able to think rationally and to solve their problems and they are additionally definite problem-solvers(Ellis, 1998:23-24).

2.3 Biblical View on Inferiority and Self-Esteem
People’s true nature is that when they lose their self-worth of existence they begin to compare themselves to others and wish to become superior over others. This is why some people want to rule others while others live a life that is self-centered. Not only this, but some people may only want to satisfy their desires. However, when their desires are not satisfied, they may feel inferior.

In Romans 12:3 it is written “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you”.

These words are spoken not only to other people, but to each individual. People must think wisely according to the measure of faith that is given to them by God. This measure that is spoken of here does not refer to how great or small a person’s faith is, but rather that it differs according to the ability, talent and limits that each person has(Thompson 1998:257 NT). Arrogance is a deeply rooted sin that all people have. People should be careful not to overestimate themselves and not to have thoughts beyond what is proper. Something that people should not do is to overestimate their wisdom nor should they be conceited and they must think humbly upon the talents

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that they have received from God and not think differently about it(Program Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible Concise).

Nevertheless, most people who suffer from an inferiority complex when confronted with their limits fall into the complex rather than discovering and developing their abilities and talents. Thus, they lose their self-esteem and easily acquire an inferiority complex.

In the next section, what it is to think wisely according to the measure of faith will be looked into through the biblical concepts of inferiority complex and self-esteem.

• It is the difference between humility and humiliation. Humility is the knowledge that man has about himself, knowing and accepting both his advantages and disadvantages according to the way God created him. Thus, it is being satisfied with himself at present and acknowledging that he is a beloved and valued child of God. It is also the experience of the acknowledgment of others just as they are while simultaneously accepting one’s self and in this process loving one another. Conversely, humiliation is shame and embarrassment and is the dissatisfaction with one’s present self. It is also the feeling of not liking self. Although the Bible sees pride that elevates one person over another as sin, but it does not instruct us to be inferior, incompetent or unstable(Lee Kwan Jik, 1995b:29).

• It is the difference between the throwing away of the nature of sin and disregarding one’s self. In the Bible the apostle Paul documents about the putting on of the new person and

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the removal of the old one. The ‘taking off’ of the old person is different to ‘disregarding’ one’s self. Although disregarding and neglecting one’s self may seem to be biblical, it is not. Paul writes in Colossians 2:18 about the problems of lessening one’s self too much(Lee Kwan Jik, 1995b:29-30).

Some of the congregants of the Colossian church believed that their humiliation would eventually bring them to humility. Knowing that this would only bring to the people a negative effect, Paul commanded them not to disregard themselves. The reason being that instead of a strong spiritual life, they would be led into a proud selfrighteous one.

• It is the difference between self-denial and self-degradation. Self-denial is a biblical experience while self-degradation is not. The former refers to the removal of selfish desires of a sinful manner from one’s life. It does not speak of the extinction or neglect of one’s self and does not mean the non-existence of a person. What it does mean though, is the entrance of Christ into one’s life and the desire to receive the ability and power of his salvation and grace. Once again, selfdenial is the rejection of personal sin and selfishness for the benefit of others and God and His kingdom. Self-denial is well-portrayed in Galatians 2:20:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me(Gal 2:20, NIV).

In order to live in our lives, Christ replaced our old self that was crucified with him on

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the cross with his resurrected self. We must acknowledge that although our old self has been crucified and dead with Christ, yet Christ who renews us gives us a new self, identity and personality through resurrection. There are times when people do not distinguish between self-denial and degradation(Lee Kwan Jik, 1995b:32). Thus, self-denial is the rejection of sinful selfish desires and actions from one’s life, but does not mean the neglect or extinction of one’s self mentally.

• It is the difference between being unworthy and worthless. Humans are unworthy of receiving God’s love. However, it is wrong to confuse being unworthy with being worthless. This is because the Bible teaches us that humans are very precious creatures to God and in order to save mankind He sacrificed His Son, Jesus Christ for their salvation(Lee Kwan Jik, 1995b:32).

• It is the difference between self-love and selfishness. The self-love that is spoken of here is the view and action of taking others’ needs as being important as one’s own. Also, it is the voluntary abandonment of one’s wants and desires from time to time for the benefit of another. The Bible fully explains this concept in Philippians 2:4-7(Lee Kwan Jik, 1995b:32-33).

…Each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness(Php 2:4-7, NIV).

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If a person wants to raise and shelter others, he must first look into himself and increase his ability to protect. However, selfishness is the behavior and action of sacrificing others in order to fulfill one’s own needs.

• It is the difference between self-affirmation and self-overestimation. Self-affirmation is the attitude that ‘I am able to do this’ while self-overestimation is that of ‘I am a great person’(Lee Kwan Jik, 1995b:33).

• It is the difference between self-awareness and self-enthusiasm. If a person would like to be responsible and progressive he must know who he is, what he believes in and feels, what is important and what he says and does. This is referred to as self-awareness. However, simply relying on one’s enthusiasm and being conscious of only one’s self is akin to a self-intoxicated immature obsession. Self-awareness is essential and necessary for a healthy confidence and it is impossible to treat one’s self in a noble manner without it(Lee Kwan Jik, 1995b:34).

2.4 The Compensation of an Inferiority Complex
Although an inferiority complex may at times result in a person’s ruin, but it may also in other cases provide an opportunity for self-development and growth of a person. For example, there are many cases of people who had speech impediments during their childhood, but were able to persevere through this and grew up to become skilled announcers, scholars of language and eloquent speakers. A person brought

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up in a poor household may use the inferiority that is brought forth from their circumstances of poverty as a stepping stone to study harder or to work passionately from a young age in order to become wealthy and prosperous one day. Also, there are times when a person who is not academically brilliant may be exceptionally good at sports, and she should rather endeavour to develop her skills instead of being discouraged about her inability to excel academically.

Inferiority and superiority are not contradictions to one another, but are two different form of the same root whose origin may be found through the psychological condition of the loss of self-confidence. Sometimes the effort of people to overcome their inferiority may be excessive and may lead to a person withering instead of growing stronger. Also, there are times when people try to pursue superiority and through the perfection of their efforts that they may appear to others as having an excessive superiority(Adler, 1942:61).

An inferiority complex may develop further through the healing of compensation and overprotection than it was in the beginning. To the person who has a great inferiority complex there are two types of effects that the complex may have on that person; either to bring about a big negative effect to wither her or to conversely bring about a huge growth within that person(Hjelle, 1992:142).

The person who has a negative effect from their inferiority complex thinks that she has a fatal fault and hides it away in herself and agonizes over it. If the fault is agonized over within one’s mind, the fault is actually magnified and the damage is even greater. However, the person that uses their inferiority complex as a stepping

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stone does not suffer heartbreak over it. Instead, they are able to sufficiently revive the compensation of their inferiority complex(Hjelle, 1992:143).

Looking at people whether physiologically or psychologically, it is seen that through compensation their ability is increased to the point where when the physical body has a problem it doubles its ability to exist. Thus, if there is an existing problem with blood circulation then the heart pumps with an even greater force to compensate for this problem(Adler, 1998:70-71), and if one kidney is removed then the other is already developed and working at a level beyond that of normal so that the person’s lifestyle is efficient. A person who loses her sense of sight develops an overly sensitive sense of hearing. A bone fracture upon healing is far tougher and thicker than it was originally. In the same way the mental organs of people who suffer from dwarfishness, feebleness and inferiority greatly endeavours to control and remove these painful emotions.

Thus, sometimes the areas of inferiority of people allow them to grow their strong points. When a person goes through a difficult thing in her life, she may wonder why she is the only one going through such a difficulty and may resent the world for it or may easily show her discontent. Nevertheless, difficulties may be the opportunity that gives one a deep purpose which enables one to develop oneself. Similarly, compensation not only replenishes a person’s defects, but it also lifts these defects beyond the state of normality.

In order to use one’s inferiority as a springboard, there is a need for people to endeavour daily in their favourite things and in what they are confident in. In other

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words, there is a need for a person to sublimate the energy of their anger well in a constructive manner. If this is not brought about, a person may uselessly use the energy of her anger in areas that torture her and be forever caught in a vicious circle.

Summarily, the source of an inferiority complex may act as a means or tool that enables a person to become human. Another way to look at it would not be reticent to say that our human culture is based on the foundation of inferiority(Adler, 1942:55).

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Chapter 3 The Scholars’ Understanding and Overcoming Over an Inferiority Complex

3.1 Alfred Adler(1870-1937)’s theory
3.1.1 Adler’s View on Humans

One of the efforts that humans have been working at from long ago is the intimate relationship with other humans. Tribal origins meant that people would work together with a common goal in mind. These goals made people work in continual collaboration with other people, uniting them. One of the simplest religions of origin is totemism where some tribes worshipped totems of lizards and others worshipped totems of cows or snakes. Those that worshipped the same totems cooperated with one another and lived together, and considered all the constituent members as brothers and sisters. The purpose of these people was to increase the collaboration of humans(Adler, 1942:252).

One of the impositions and most important aspects of religions is that of loving one another. From this, we can see in another way that we have the same leaning of taking an interest in other people. In life, those people who have distressed circumstances and who make things difficult for others do not take an interest in their fellow man. However, we as individuals judge others in our own ways according to our personal lifestyle(Adler, 1942:253-254).

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Adler’s view on humans is(Adler, 1942:56-57) that the greatest impact of the formation of people is during the first of their lives. It is not the simply the personal events of the past, but his interest lies rather in the continued effect of how the person is aware of and interprets these events. Thus, a person is not a creature decided by heredity or environment alone, but is also a creature that understands events around him and also has the ability to create things.

What Adler wanted(Adler, 1942:55) to emphasize is that it is not so much important what we have been born with, but rather what we do with our abilities. He viewed inferiority as a source of originality. Due to people pursuing competence, superiority and perfectionism they continue to feel inferior and at the same time they try to become better at doing things.

Adler leans towards and aligns with the focus on the reeducation of people and the reformation of society as a growth model. His view on humans is explained below.

Firstly, humans are holistic beings. The ‘self’ of humans are unified and are an organism in agreement. If Freud divided humans into consciousness and unconsciousness, the origin, ego and super-ego; then Adler did not divide humans any further and viewed them as a complete and indivisible whole(Adler, 1998:75).

Secondly, humans are social beings. Adler’s pet theory(Adler, 1998:46) was that all creation lies at the opinion of the individual. The individual cannot be thought of as extracted from the societal state. His individual psychology was to understand that individual within society. In other words, he did not see humans in isolation from

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society or as a separate being.

According to his theory, a measure of mental health is the amount of thoughts that one shares with others as well as how much a person takes interest in other person’s welfare. People who take an interest in society develop their lives appropriately through a communal lifestyle and mutual respect. On the other hand, those who are not interested in society will live a life of disappointment and without a sense of purpose. As we are a part of society, we cannot be thought of outside or in isolation of the veins of society. We are trying to find our places and positions within society and our families. We long for a feeling of security, acceptance and worth(Adler, 1998:16).

Hence, a lot of problems arise when people who focus on a certain group in society is not accepted by them, feels apprehensive and if the feeling of belonging is not satisfied then the apprehension may develop further. Adler believes that as humans we have a great desire to belong in society, and only when we belong do we try to confront and manage our problems. His thought is that when a person fails within personal relationships or communal living it is a serious result of the lack of human understanding(Adler, 1998:17).

Thirdly, humans are creative beings. This means that people show this when they react positively to things within life. Humans are not bodies that merely passively receive external things. We chose our experiences in life and develop them(Adler, 1998:51). Adler said(Adler, 1998:136-137) that for the formation of a person’s personality, heredity does not really play an important role. He also depicts humans

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as beings having creative power and who are in control of their lives. Therefore, free and conscious actions are some of the distinguishing features that define humans.

Fourthly, Adler stated that humans decide their actions according to the way that they view the environment which they must adapt to and this is because humans live within the world that they designed(Adler, 1998:40).

Although Adler(Adler, 1998:45-46) was experienced in psychoanalysis, he thought of societal relationships as being more important than instinct. He also emphasized that the motives of the present or future have more meaning to human actions than those of the past.

To sum up, from Adler’s approach of self-psychology the emphasis is that humans are originally geared in the direction of goodness. He stated that the actions of humans are manifested within the connection of society and this stems from humans have a basic need for belonging to a group. Humans are a unique entity that has individuality and consistency. He understood humans to pursue self-completion through endless change, development and self-creation(Adler, 1942: 239-240).

3.1.2 Adler’s Theory of Psychology

Adler(Adler, 1942:51) developed a practical theory in order to understand him as well as other people and to offer help. In his theory he writes that because the individual experiences a consciousness for inferiority complex during their childhood they live

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their lives pursuing superiority. In truth, humans work hard with the main goals of reaching perfection and superiority(Adler, 1942:52). He also believed that people’s lifestyles are most easily brought out in their attitude and behaviour during life’s themes of work, friendship, love and marriage(Adler, 1964:42).

Thus, through the dimensions of societal interest and by making such themes as foundations Adler showed that the general types of human lifestyles are material control, possession, avoidance and usefulness to society. In addition, he said that the most important thing when it came to individual development of lifestyle was the creative ego. Essentially, Adler hypothesized that a person’s lifestyle is improved through the individual’s creative power(Adler, 1952:32).

Besides this the other thing that influences a person’s development of personality is the order of birth within a home(Adler, 1956:376; 1999:362). The important concept in his theory of self-psychology is that people are innately interested in society and the effort to help society with the goal that society pursues in mind(Adler, 1952:264). Thus, according to his theory the manner in which a person experiences and responds to one’s whole life determines whether one at times is captured by inferiority or by superiority. We will look further into his theory below.

3.1.2.1 The compensation of an inferiority complex

Looking into the compensation of an inferiority complex is the feeling that one is inferior to others. Adler thought that people were born with a feeling of helplessness

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and when faced with an unhappy environment, receiving inappropriate treatment from others or having a physical defect this sense of helplessness develops into an inferiority complex. This is why people try to overcome this physical inferiority through training and practice as a compensative effort. Sometimes these efforts bring about success to the individual, but when they do not succeed they remain in a state of diseased inferiority(Adler, 1956:24).

This compensation can be adapted to psychologically just as the individual does not only try to compensate for his physical inferiority, but also the subjective inferiority that is from his psychological and social helplessness.

3.1.2.2 The effort of compensation for an inferiority complex

The effort of the compensation of inferiority is eventually linked up to the concept of the pursuit of superiority. Adler believed that the final goal of human pursuit is the pursuit of superiority. He said that overcoming inferiority was not simply the passive one-step betterment, but the progressive movement towards improvement and completion(Adler, 1942:69-70). On one hand, people like to control others rather than being controlled themselves. This appears because of the complex of superiority that comes from the process of overcoming inferiority which is in the tendency of being ‘better to be the head of the chicken, than to be the tail of the ox’. According to Adler, the root of everything that people try to pursue is ultimately an inferiority complex nevertheless people still have the motive to create things and try to overcome things other than an inferiority complex. This is one of the many basic

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pursuits that humans have which is a motive for the pursuit of superiority

The motive of pursuit for superiority is similar to the desire that everyone has and acts as the motive to improve from bottom to top and from incompletion to completion. However, the person who sets up an excessive goal outside of reality or behaves strangely in order to hide his inferiority may gesture or speak exaggeratedly within the illusion of superiority yet this is the manifestation of one who has a superiority complex(Adler, 1942:50).

3.1.2.3 Lifestyle

The lifestyles of people are unique choices that are made in order to pursue their personal goals in life. People cannot have the very same lifestyles as others. Although they may have the same goal to become superior, one person may grow intellectually, another may develop their artistic ability while even another will expand their ability for sports(Adler, 1942:69). The methods of achieving one’s goals in life includes an individual’s uniqueness, the goal of their life, self-understanding, worth and their attitude. The experience of the way that people interact within their families and the relationship between siblings influences their lifestyle(Adler, 1942:136-137). However, it is not the childhood experience itself, but rather the present interpretation that is important. Furthermore, the psychological meaning can only be understood by searching into an individual’s lifestyle.

Adler stated that there are at least three essential tasks of a person’s life that must

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be solved and these are work, love and friendship(Adler: 1964:134). Sweeney then proceeded to make five points using Adler’s theories which are then spirituality, selfdirection, work and leisure and love(Sweeney 1998:50-81). This is not moving away from Adler’s theories, but actually taking a more detailed and closer look at them. According to Adler the true nature of a person’s lifestyle comes to the fore in the manner in which a person approaches and solves the tasks set out in his life and this he classified into four types of lifestyle.

The controlling type is not really interested in society, but is a very active, aggressive and assertive type. The possessive types of people make a connection with the outside world and lean on others in order to fulfil their own needs only. Evasive types have very little interest or activity in society and their goals in life are to avoid all of life’s problems and to not take even the smallest of risks. The social type is a sample of those who are healthy and have a high level of activity and interest in society and have the will to work towards the welfare of others and not only for their own needs(Adler 1956:167-169).

3.1.2.4 Social interest

The interest in society refers to the empathy of mankind’s constituent community. Thus, the interest in society is the behaviour of the individual while living in society and also includes the pursuit of a better life in the future.

A social interest is essential for people to successfully solve their problems. If social

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interest does not exist, then it should be possible for people to commit a fault or make a mistake. Looking at problematic children or criminals, neurotics or sexually perverse people it is seen that they have no interest in other people(Sul Young Hwan, 2005:26).

According to Adler man’s interest in society is innate, but it also needs to be developed consciously. There is also a need for guidance and training of a person’s interest in society in order to bear results and success. To grow an individual’s interest in society there must be participants in one’s life beginning with one’s mother, followed by other family members and finally other people outside of the family. Adler believed that as interest in society grows one’s inferiority and alienation is reduced and that social interest poses a rather foundational importance in the development of firstly the individual and then largely mankind as a whole(Adler, 1973:39).

3.1.2.5 Creative ego

The creative ego begins where the individual makes himself. People create their own lifestyles and purpose and contribute to the interest in society. It is because creative power influences memory, imagination, fantasy and dreams and this is how creative power gives mankind freedom. Adler said that it is the creative ego that gives meaning to life because he believed that a person’s lifestyle is developed by creative power(Adler, 1942:23-24).

Lifestyle is the creative action of the individual and is also the interpretation of

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environment. Creative ego is the power that plans the aim of a person’s life, and it speaks of the ability to choose and decide appropriately towards that aim(Lee Hyoung Duk, 1992:54).

3.1.2.6 Factors of society

Adler opined that the order in which a person is born into a family has a very important effect on the lifestyle of a person(Adler, 1956:376-383). Children who are born into the same family and who have the same set of parents do not necessarily have the same social environment. The family environment greatly impacts the lifestyle of a child during his childhood. This environment refers to whether one is born earlier or later than his brothers or sisters, or whether one has many younger siblings or not and also depending on if his parents have a high level of education or not and having parents who are in special positions and sense of values, furthermore all the above affect the child’s behaviour.

For example, children born in a certain order have common distinguishing characteristics. The first- born has his parents’ love for a short time only, but once his younger sibling is born he is slowly robbed of that love. The result of this is that he tries to get another person’s love and affection through his own means. This is why he is able to generally have good relationships with other people(Adler, 1956:377379). The second-born has a competitor from the time he is born who is his older brother or sister, and he receives a challenge and a motive to surpass their strong points. Due to this children who are born second in line may show a faster

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development than their older siblings. This may result in a character that is very ambitious and has a competitive spirit. His lifestyle is one where he endeavours to prove that he is better than his older siblings(Adler, 1956:379-380).

The youngest child in a family does not experience his place being taken by a younger sibling and may grow up as the darling child, or in other instances the youngest may grow up without much interest taken in him. Also, it may be easy for him to lose his independence and feel inferior since he is surrounded by older siblings who are bigger and stronger than and have more privileges than him. A single child may grow up to be spoilt since he does not have siblings to compete with and as a result may have a low independence and internal core(Adler, 1956:380381).

3.1.2.7 The final goal of people

Adler said that the ultimate goal of humans cannot be verified nor confirmed in the present, but is rather the goal of our imagination. This imagined goal will not necessarily be fulfilled in the future, but it subjectively and mentally influences the actions of the present and in this way is able to allow the individual to move forward in his life towards the goal. This goal of life is affected by the individual’s experiences, self-worth, behaviour and personality(Adler, 1998:135).

The goal of life that brings about human action and gives an incentive is formed through the compensation that is of an inferiority complex, uneasiness and a feeling

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of helplessness. All of human psychology phenomena can be explained once the above-mentioned theories are understood, and in addition they are also indicators of human lifestyles(Lee Hyung Duk, 1992:62).

3.1.3 The Effort for the Improvement of an Inferiority Complex.

Humans need to reject their outlook on life that pursues solely one’s interest and personal profit. This is the greatest obstacle in the progress of the individual as well as mankind at large. The reason for the development of human ability in whatever form is due to the interest of fellow-humans. Reading and writing both exist on the premise of communication between people. Language is the creation of human community and is result of societal interest. There are those, of course, who are interested mainly in themselves and pursue ambition and personal things alone. They think that life exists only for them, yet this is an incorrect thought and is an egocentricity of an individual(Adler, 1942:254-255).

The common point between people who suffer with an inferiority complex is that they are lost in a vicious cycle of inferiority and abhorrence that makes it even more difficult for them to be free of inferiority. Even though a person has an inferiority complex, he must not feel despondent or give up; rather it is necessary to have a way of thought and to try and reach their competitor’s levels. Furthermore, people must not have excessive aims to their abilities and should not think about doing well in a short space of time, but rather must continually keep endeavouring at their own pace. If one is able to have this kind of attitude then the energy that is produced from

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an inferiority complex may be more easily geared in a more effective way and even competitors that were thought to be impossible to defeat may at some point be surpassed.

People are disciplined both at school and at home to take an interest in their companions. This is why the aim of home and school is to make sure that children have companions, and to discipline the children into becoming a part of an impartial mankind. It is only in this environment and circumstances that children can be brave and without anxiety face the problems of life as well as contribute to the works that increase the compound interest of other people.

If such people become friends of other people, do helpful deeds and have happy marriages then they will not feel that they are less than others nor will they think of themselves as being defeated in life. They will feel comfortable in this world and will meet with those people who they like and gain confidence to oppose the difficulties that they face. They will feel that the world is theirs, that they must not simply lean on others, but rather do work themselves. People must adequately fulfil the role, work and portion that they are individually given in an honest way in order for mankind’s development to progress onwards(Adler, 1942:261-262).

For people to solve the three problems of life they must be responsible for solving these problems in a cooperative manner. Thus, people must be good companions to one another, become good friends to others and furthermore to be a good partner for someone in love and marriage. To sum it up, it is that people must prove the fact that they are companions to one another(Adler, 1942:262).

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3.2 Albert Ellis(1913-2007)’s Theory
People’s lives are surrounded by many incidents and problems. These things also offer a direct cause for changes people’s lives either positively or negatively. If the mind changes then the act changes and that person’s life is changed. Furthermore, this world can change accordingly. In the same way, the means to change the future is nothing other than the human mind. The result differs according to the way one’s mind is made up. This is why there is a need for humans to not live a life that is caught up in irrational thoughts such as anxiety, irritation and mistakes, but rather to live one and only life as the main subject of it.

The rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) that was founded by Albert Ellis is established in the thought that people’s emotions and problems mostly begin in irrational thoughts. This REBT helps to discover how people develop their anxieties and to discover the irrational thoughts behind these anxieties in order to help them fix it(Ellis, 1998:6-7).

3.2.1 Ellis’ Human Understanding

Ellis bases his theory on people being born with the ability of having rational ‘proper’ thoughts and irrational ‘improper’ thoughts. Thus, his REBT theory helps people receive themselves as learning creatures who can live peacefully even while making

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mistakes(Ellis, 1998:22).

Looking at his view of humans, firstly humans make themselves more confused and anxious than they are from any exterior factor. Secondly, humans have the biological and cultural inclination to think perversely and unnecessarily confuse themselves. Thirdly, humans not only have the ability to confuse themselves, but to know that they are confused and anxious and then to become even more confused and anxious because of this. Fourthly, humans have the ability to change their intelligence, emotions and their behaviour.

Thus, humans may mistakenly confuse the things that they like with their extreme desires(Ellis, 1998:28). It is also possible to endure emotional and behavioural obstacles due to inherent improper thoughts and thoughts of self-defeat. On the other hand, properly formed thoughts of rationality may allow growth of an individual’s life and may allow for the living of an honest life.

3.2.2 The Principles and Theory of REBT

The main principles of Ellis’s rational emotive behaviour and his ABC theory are as follows.

3.2.2.1 The Principle of REBT

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The most important principles in Ellis’s REBT may be illustrated as the following six below.

Firstly, You feel the way you think. Thus, the most important core element in human emotions is what people recognise. It is not other people or circumstances that make one feel good or bad, but rather one’s recognition and perception that makes one feel that way(Ellis, 1975:8). People who are emotionally disturbed may be able to improve their behaviour and emotion through a process of changing their selfdestructive irrational beliefs(Ellis, 1975:12).

Secondly, Feeling well by thinking straight. It is possible for a person to live an accomplished, creative and emotionally satisfied life by thinking rationally and realistically. A rational person does not create destructive emotions(Ellis, 1975:13-14). Furthermore, people function as a whole. They are perceiving, moving, thinking and emoting simultaneously. It then follows that not only developing both sides of the brain, but also remembering, learning and problem-solving is to an extent is influenced by sensory, motor and emotional behaviour(Ellis, 1975:16).

Thirdly, Thinking yourself out of emotional disturbances.If unhealthy and negative emotions are brought about by thoughts, then it is possible to choose one’s thoughts and emotions. This is one of the important advantages that people are able to enjoy. They are able to choose whether they will think a certain thing or not. Thus, if they choose to live happily, people are also able to think thoughts that are either helpful or obstructive towards their goal and it is obviously good to choose thoughts that are beneficial(Ellis, 1975:33).

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Fourthly, Recognizing and attacking neurotic behaviour. Rational thoughts bear healthy emotions. Stupidity, ignorance and disturbance obstruct straight thinking and bear over or underexeggerated emotions(Ellis, 1975:38). Through inappropriate and self-destructive emotions feelings such as severe anger, depression, guilty or anxiety are borne and may result in prejudiced, childish and self-sabotaging behaviour, which are referred to as neuroses(Ellis, 1975:43).

Fifthly, Overcoming the influences of the past.The current thoughts of people are extremely important regardless of the cause of the complex which they have. The experiences of the past are not that important when it comes to understanding and overcoming the obstacles of the present(Ellis, 1975:54-55). However, if one is to adhere to the unrealistic and irrational thoughts of the past then it is impossible to overcome emotional obstacles. Therefore, it is rather important to place the present focus on a foundation of accurate thoughts and good information(Ellis, 1975:59).

Sixthly, Does reason always prove reasonable? The rational reasoning that Ellis speaks of in REBT is wise and discreet, resulting in efficiency. Furthermore, it achieves desirable effects that are minimal in waste of effort or unpleasant sideeffects. It can also be defined as being beneficial in achieving own’s personal and social goals. Furthermore, included in human reasoning are expressions of healthy emotions, good habits and an active existence. A rational life is not, in itself, the goal, but rather when a person uses reasoning for more abundant days and years to come, one’s life becomes rational. In order to become rational, people must act and feel more happily(Ellis, 1975:72). People must have rationality and the ability to

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distinguish in order to escape from emotional disorder(Ellis, 1975:74).

3.2.2.2 The ABC Theory

This theory explains the processes through which emotion and personality obstacles form in an A-B-C pattern(Ellis, 1998:39-43). This pattern is the general result in human emotion from human thought and through the dispute of belief (D) it is possible to bring about an effect (E) of change or control in a person’s emotions.

The activating event (A)(Ellis, 2007:8) refers to the previous events that the individual has experienced. These are the events or actions that induce human emotion as well as one’s attitude towards other people. Thus, it points out the definite environmental circumstances that bring about an emotional response in humans.

Belief (B)(Ellis, 2007:9)

refers to one’s statements and thus may be explained as

being the behaviour that each individual may have in any event, act or environment which is their beliefs or way of thinking.

Consequence (C)(Ellis, 2007:13)

with regards to irrational beliefs, they may induce

depression, anger, feelings of inferiority or similar feelings of obstruction such as inappropriate emotion and behaviour. If one thinks rationally then this may have appropriate emotional and behavioural results.

Dispute (D)(Ellis, 1998:41)

refers to the identification and dispute of the negative

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results brought about by irrational beliefs.

Effect (E)(Ellis, 1998:41)

is the effect of appropriately disputing irrational beliefs and

replacing them with the appropriate emotions and behaviour. These are manifest through the behavioural effect of desirable emotions and behaviour which result in the ability to think rationally

Take for example a certain situation to explain this further. A: A woman breaks up with her boyfriend saying that she is going out with someone else instead; B: He feels that he is worthless and that no other woman will love him since his own girlfriend has left him. C: He then becomes depressed or hostile D: He begins to dispute his irrational thoughts by thinking whether or not it is true that he will never find another woman who will love him in the future. E: He eventually feels the effect of consequence of the new emotion whether it be sadness over the love that he has lost, but decides that he will venture out into the world and find a new partner or annoyance at the fact that his girlfriend is now seeing someone else, but realizes he is able to endure this. If this example is to be illustrated it would be as follows(Ellis, 1998:41):

A. Activation Experience

↓
B. Irrational Beliefs About the Experience

↓
C. Upsetting Emotional Consequences

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↓
D. Disputing of Irrational Ideas

↓
E. New Emotional Consequence or Effect

REBT points out that the fear, feeling of inferiority and anxiety that people experience are not due to events in their past, but rather due to the irrational attitude or thoughts that they may have towards those past events. It also analyses these types of emotion forming processes and helps people to think rationally instead of irrationally.

3.2.3 Methods of Approach Towards Rationality, Emotion and Behaviour for a Happy Life

Ellis said that irrational thoughts that make a person uselessly anxious must all be eliminated. His REBT examined(Ellis, 2003:4) a section of the basic sense of values that confuses people and was designed in order to change this.

The sense of value that confuses people is that they take their past experiences and lay them as a foundation so to speak and inject and maintain their own irrational thoughts by themselves. However, REBT allows people to master the different problems of realistic life well and sees the goal as lessening irrational thoughts and replacing them with rational thoughts. Thereby, people can overcome their defeatist actions that originate from several problems well and may be able to change their emotional reactions towards the circumstances that they are faced with in a good

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way. Furthermore, through acquiring skills for finding the tools to closely examine and refute their irrational thoughts people are not only able to apply them to the current definite problems that they are experiencing, but also are able to apply these principals to changing the problems that they may come across in the future(Ellis, 1975:203-204).

The conditions of a mentally healthy person that REBT holds as the goal is that: 1. Self-Interest: The person is not entirely absorbed with himself, but is rather able to enjoy his relative freedom and take an interest in himself. 2. Social Interest: Instead of living an estranged existence, he takes an interest in living cooperatively and in association with other people in society. 3. Self-Direction: He is able to feel responsibility in his life and is able to sort out his problems on his own. 4. High Frustration Tolerance: He is able to accommodate other people’s mistakes. 5. Flexibility: His thoughts are flexible; he is open to change and permits other people’s thoughts. 6. Acceptance of Uncertainty: He acknowledges that he lives in an uncertain world and is not complain about it. 7. Commitment to Creative Pursuits: He is absorbed in creative works. 8. Scientific Thinking: Through thinking deeply in a scientific manner and acting clearly, he reflects on these and is able to control his actions. 9. Self-Acceptance: He is able to feel joy at the mere fact of his being alive and he is able to accept his faults instead of denying them. 10. Risk-taking: He thinks deeply about what he truly wants from his life and attempts to develop his life by taking some risks, though not foolishly, even though

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he may or may not succeed at these attempts. 11. Long-Range Bedonism: He seeks the pleasures of both the present as well as for the future and acknowledges that it is not always possible to obtain what he wants and that it is not possible to avoid all hardships, and therefore is not obsessed with constant gratification. 12. Nonutopianism: He pursues the pleasures of long-term and future intentions while realising that it is not possible to get everything that they want and therefore do not unrealistically try for complete happiness and life without problems. 13. Self-Responsibility for own Emotional Disturbance: He tends to be responsible for his own actions rather than blaming others, his social conditions or his environment for things that go wrong(Ellis, 1975:196-220).

According to the rational, emotion, behaviour, therapy of Ellis(Ellis, 1998:6) the point is placed not with the irrational way of thinking, but rather with the process of change into a rational way of thinking. Therefore, in whichever circumstance it is most proper to have an attitude of acceptance for everything. When one tries to see through another person’s perspective rather than their own, it is then possible for the transfer from an irrational to a rational way of thinking(Ellis, 1975:184).

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Chapter 4 Biblical Human Understanding

4.1 Understanding of Human Wholeness
The character of society is a psychological side of the understanding of human wholeness. When people understand each other more and more, the more intimate their relationship can be maintained. If this were the case, then swindling and deception would disappear and this is important as the potential to deceive is a menacing factor to our society.

We have to look squarely at the reality of these menacing factors and we must have the ability to recognise hypocrisy, inherent subconscious things, perversion, tricks and malice. In order to achieve this, we must be knowledgeable about humans. However, until today the professional learning of the understanding of humans has not been properly formed and current available knowledge on this subject is insufficient to understand humans today. As it is, most children have solved the problem of self-improvement on their own by reading and researching through books and other media(Adler, 1998:22-23).

In this chaotic reality of education the person who is most suitable in acquiring the knowledge of human understanding is he who is in societal relationship. Thus, it is the person who maintains an intimate relationship by whatever means with other people or with life. It is also a person who is not pessimistic unto the point of breakdown. The person who best understands human nature will most probably

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have mastered or experienced every desire. The person who overcomes adversities and who escapes the swamps of life is a person who has the strength to make a comeback; it is because he has experience of both the light and darkness of life(Adler, 1998:23). Socially health is viewed as being one’s competence in social roles and the completing of one’s duties(Louw, 2008:45).

If a person is able to understand the human mind he will have a new sense of duty and task. This new sense of duty is to break the inappropriate patterns of life in a person. It is to remove the wrongs and to present it with community and new, appropriate aspects of a happy life. A new perspective through which to view life may become a great deal of help to a person who has lost their way from the right path(Adler, 1998:24).

Although humans are sinners, they are also God’s image’ and God’s creatures who have received His calling, thus they need to know that they are the worthy existence of a purposeful and good creation. Due to the self-centred thoughts of humans they are always trying to stand superior to comparisons, and because of this they are unable to forgive others and try to rule over them. However if people are to live with God as the central point, then it will be a life that is lived not only for themselves alone, but will become a life that is lived for God’s love as well as the love of others. Also, people will be able to forgive and understand not only themselves but others as well, and to receive people just the way they are.

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4.2 Biblical Understanding of Humans
The human mind is comparable to an absolutely unbelievable reservoir of emotion and thoughts. From a Biblical point of view we can summarize human understanding into five parts in order to understand it.

Firstly, humans are dependent Beings(Crabb, Larry 1987:97). Humans wish to deny that they acknowledge and wrestle with the difficult parts of their inner selves. Therefore, when humans feel powerless before a problem that they cannot bear on their own, their self-trust is broken and they begin to want to dependently trust on someone else(Crabb, Larry 1987:101).

Those who hold the form(image-bearers) are dependent(Crabb, Larry 1987:104) There is no person exists through his own determination and ability. Birth is, of course, time and place of birth, family or ethnicity and all these things are not nominal. Even as humans cannot decide life themselves, it is not possible for them to decide their end.

Humans are not an independent existence, but are present through God and are a dependent being(Crabb, Larry 1987:114). However, those who retain the form(image-bearers) of the Fallen deny their dependence(Crabb, Larry 1987:104). They think that they are able to manage a meaningful life independent of God. This means that humans who are ungrateful that they are called by God and without trying to know God are unable to solve their own most essential problem.

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Secondly, humans are a rational existence(Crabb, Larry 1987:122). When God created mankind he instilled rationality within them. Before sin entered the world, humans clearly knew that they were a dependent existence. Adam knew for a fact that the necessary resources for his life were not within him. However, he accepted the devil’s temptation that there was a better life outside of what God had promised him and went forth to declare his independence towards God(Crabb, Larry 1987:131). Nevertheless, there is a limit to human autonomy and this limit is that of suffering.

Since we are fallen from the core/conviction false thought that life can be received without God then the other beliefs about moral issues have no other option but to be wrong(Crabb, Larry 1987:132). Unless the change of the incorrectly filled interior becomes the central point then the improvement of the exterior is nothing more than just hypocrisy. As humans are a rational existence we can observe the world and ourselves and we are able to draw a picture of ourselves and the world through these observations.

Therefore, when humans acknowledge their sinfulness and that a life without Christ is confusion and helplessness and welcome Christ as the Saviour, God promises that there is life there(Crabb, Larry 1987:138). To renew one’s mind speaks of throwing away wrong thoughts and to change the existing thought about the path to receiving true life. Change is the renewing of one’s mind and is not the change in past or future environments(Crabb, Larry 1987:139).

Thirdly, Humans are a volitive existence(Crabb, Larry 1987:153).

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The will of man is the decision of how he will go about achieving things that he has already decided upon. Yet within many areas of their lives most people experience the truth of themselves as an existence that is tied coersively instead of being a free one(Crabb, Larry 1987:155).

Why is it that we feel that inferiority is a part of our existence from our very beginning instead of it being our choice of negative emotions from a personality which includes inferiority? What is the reason for image-bearers, as an existence that is able to choose, to lose the features of volition and will that are granted by the Creator, to lose this form? The key to dealing with the problem of the loss of choice is in recognising that within every behaviour lies a goal yet we are usually unable to recognise this. However, the more a person is able to recognise the goal of their behaviour the more it seems as though it is a choice.

Choice is image-beaers’s privilege. It is when humans recognise this privilege that they are at last able to feel what it is to live(Crabb, Larry 1987:165). When they feel what it is to live, humans are able to choose to live the life that God has guided. When they make this choice the deep relationships of life and furthermore a meaningful goal will be found and they will be able to taste the happiness of a heart full of emotions.

The maturity of a Christian life means that the moments of fundamental choices that fully are more deeply recognised(Crabb, Larry 1987:169). Trying to quit bad behaviour through willpower alone is deemed to fail. Meaningful and sustained change can never come about if there is no acknowledgment and repentance with

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regards to wrong goals. Sometimes there may be times when one is tired of being discouraged and at other times one may suffer from intense pain, yet humans have the freedom to choose the path to true life regardless of whatever environments may be blocking them.

Fourthly, Humans are an emotional existence(Crabb, Larry 1987:171). When tracing the origin of emotions, it is helpful to distinguish between two levels of emotions. These are pleasant emotions and unpleasant emotions as well as constructive and destructive emotions(Crabb, Larry 1987:175). Most people value whether or not the emotions that they are feeling are what they like or don’t like above how valuable those emotions are. If this is the case, what exactly are the factors that make an emotion either constructive or destructive? There are some emotions within people that interfere with their duty of loving God and other people. Satan bring about the destructive emotions.

Fear and suspicion as well as anger, core evil, worry, anxiety, guilt as well as selfcondemnation, feelings of inferiority, and other emotions that disregard the value of people come through low self-esteem and bind people in a deep worthlessness. Therefore, those emotions that give us more strength to send us on our way to loving God and others are constructive emotions(Crabb, Larry 1987:176).

Whether our emotions are pleasant or unpleasant are determined by the events. However, we determine whether our emotions are constructive or destructive(Crabb, Larry 1987:176-177).

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No matter how unpleasant an incident occurs our deepest desires are not affected by them because of the belief in the truth that only through God we will be filled. Also, no matter what happens in life, the person who is self-loved and who considers his self to be noble will recognise the painful things as a deep disappointment rather than a deadly threat. Even though it may be an unpleasant incident that induces an equally unpleasant emotion according to the internal response of our wisdom or folly it may become either a constructive emotion or a destructive one(Crabb, Larry 1987:185).

If, after experiencing the emotion of spiritual maturity as it is, through this emotion the wrong directions of life are revealed and repented of and are already dealt with well while relying more and more on God alone then it will be possible to learn the methods of how to persevere in times of adversity(Crabb, Larry 1987:187).

Fifth, Maturity through Biblical thought(Crabb, Larry 1987:193). Adams says(Adams, 1979:37) that the goal of biblical counseling by the blessing of the Holy Spirit is for people to faithfully believe in God through His Word. Clinebell(Clinebell, 1984:15) sees pastoral counselling as a part of ministry that provides healing to people who are suffering and that the goal of counseling bases itself on healing and holistic growth. Lawrence Crabb places the goal of pastoral counselling, that can sense the depth of internal selfishness and that also allows everyone to maintain a deep relationship with God, on a person becoming a truly liberated being through spiritual maturity and serving God better and better through worship and service.

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If so, what is the evidence of maturity? The clearest evidence of this is when people live as a result of God's original intent. In other words, they will live as their internal selves enter into harmonious relationships with others(Crabb, Larry 1987:195). In order to achieve this type of mature relationship, self-defense should be abandoned completely. Tangible evidence of maturity is love. What it means to love another person is to move towards him defenselessly. It is precisely respecting others above one's self. Letting go of one's defences is the repentence of arrogant thoughts that an individual can live in one's own strength(Crabb, Larry 1987:197).

The nature of fallen man is to use all of his might to lessen any wound or harm that may come across his soul. Avoiding anything which may potentially cause injury and conversely there is nothing which cannot be done in order to bring about immediate pleasure. The attitude of avoiding further hurts is the factor that hampers the efforts of love. For most people, the most important thing is not love, but self-defense(Crabb, Larry 1987:197-198).

Mature people are those who are dedicated to two things. These two things which these people are dedicated to are the abandonment of one's work and helping others come to God. They have relationships without self-defense. The motivation, which moves their actions, is not self-defence, but rather love. They are patient, kind, without envy, humble, sensitive, focused on others, not easily angered, quick to forgive, hateful of injustice, loving of righteousness, protective of and believing in others and are truly persevering. The basic attitude that these people have when forming relationships with others is that their belief lies in the hope that all their essential needs are met by God(Crabb, Larry 1987:198-199).

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In order to develop the nature of a person of love, one must learn to live in the ways that God commanded. However, this nature does not arise through the commitment of obedience alone. For the nature of love to grow, there must be broken spirits. In other words, when we fully recognize that there are no resources to make our lives meaningful, then the strength to obey arises. Life is never played out in the way that we want, and no matter what we try, we cannot change our lifes. Based on this fact, the awareness of dependence, thus the recognition of hardship and the broken spirit are all qualities of maturity.

4.3 The Human Understanding of Biblical Scholars
In order to know the biblical understanding of humans it is necessary to know what the ‘image of God’ refers to. This is because God created man in His image. In the Bible, God’s image is written as being perfection. Thus, before the Fall of man, humans were in their completed form. However, after the Fall humans lost their completion emotionally, physically and intellectually. This means that all the faults in humans have come into existence after the Fall.

This is the same as with the inferiority complex which is mentioned in this thesis. At the time of creation, humans were complete and inferiority could not exist. However, after the Fall of man the circumstances were different and besides this many negative expressions of emotions came into being.

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Therefore, finding out about humans at the time of creation when humans were covered with the image of God and also about the form of humans after the Fall will become an important key for human understanding.

4.3.1 John Calvin(1509-1564)

According to Calvin, human understanding is an important requisite for the weeding of Christian lives. This is because it is a part of all humans no matter how Christ-like one may be. In other words, having knowledge of human understanding will bring about the knowledge of all human attributes and simultaneously the knowledge of sin that Christians agonize over; according to Calvin’s words, “For it would little avail us to know how we were created if we remained ignorant of the corruption and degradation of our nature in consequence of the fall”(Inst. 1.15.1).

In his book ‘Institutes of the Christian Religion’ volume 1 chapter 15 and volume 2 chapter 1, Calvin speaks mainly about humans. Between these two parts, the first volume refers mainly to the original human form, thus the human form as at creation while the second volume discusses the human form after the Fall of man. From this Calvin’s understanding of humans can be divided into and understood three parts.

First, the completeness of humans. The most important element of the original form of man as according to Calvin is that man has God’s image. He interprets the ‘image’ from Genesis 1:27(So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he

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created them. NIV) as being that, “…he would make man, in whom he would, as it were, image himself by means of the marks of resemblance impressed upon him”(Inst. 1.15.3). From this we are able to know the purpose for which God gave mankind His image. His intention was that man would be able to see His image within them.

The image of God that was given to man, who He intimately created, was an image of integrity. Man who, before the Fall, was clothed in God’s image and he was the very nature of integrity. Man was emotionally and sensually complete as well as complete in all the other aspects(Inst. 1.15.3).

Accordingly, by this term is denoted the integrity with which Adam was endued when his intellect was clear, his affections subordinated to reason, all his senses duly regulated, and when he truly ascribed all his excellence to the admirable gifts of his Maker(Inst. 1.15.3).

God gave mankind’s soul a mind to discern between good and evil and He also gave reason in order to be able to make a distinction between things that ought to be done and those that should not be done. In the beginning man had not only received reason, intelligence, prudence and judgement from God as to live on the earth lacking nothing, but was also able to enjoy an eternal happiness with Him. The integrity of the first man, Adam was to such an extent that he was able to reach immortality(Inst. 1.15.8).

Second, the Fall of man.

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Man lost the integrity of many different parts along with the Fall. Through the Fall, mankind lost its good and pure nature. The reason for the Fall was the devil’s tempting and man’s disobedience. Disobedience made us live in complete lust. This is the reason why Calvin said that, “The result was that man who had abandoned his fear of God, moved according to the way that lust lead”(Inst. 2.1.4). Wallace also said that, “From the intellect to the will, from the soul even to the flash, is defiled and pervaded with this concupiscence”(Wallace, 1982:55)(Inst. 2.1.8). If mankind, as God’s creation, kept to his limits and was obedient, then it would be possible to have remained in their original form(Inst. 2.1.4), however man was unable to do this.

Although man fell into sin innately and was corrupted, the Fall was not from his true nature. Thus, it was not by the essential properties of nature from the beginning, but was supplemented from the outside(Inst. 2.1.11). This means that all the evil thoughts that man has are not from the time of our integrity when God created us, but are supplemented from the time that man first sinned. In other words, this confirms that there were no errors in God’s integrity.

Wallace says(Wallace 1982:106) that through the Fall of Adam, man was enslaved by concupiscence and there were no traces that he reflected the image of God. However, Calvin says that in spite of this there is still one natural gift that has remained which is reason(Inst. 2.2.12). This is why as rational beings we can discern between good and evil and are able to understand things. Nevertheless, people are unable to neither go towards God nor find the integrity of God’s image with this alone. This is because we are unable to wash ourselves clean of the original sin, which we are born with, through our will and strength.

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Third, the restoration of man. The first man that God created was complete. To this complete man, the problems that humans are facing today did not even exist. The same is true for inferiority complex as well. Calvin did not talk directly of man’s inferiority complex. This is because the term ‘inferiority complex’ was actually only established after Calvin’s time. However, Calvin understood the negative meaning which was the inferiority complex as being similar to the problems of man which was to have begun after the original sin.

If this is true, then is there no way for man to restore the image of God? God Himself presented and fulfilled the way to restore us through Jesus Christ. Since humans are already fallen we have no supernatural gifts that connect us to God(Inst. 2.2.12). Humans only have their intellect and will that remain. Calvin speaks of Jesus Christ being the solution to this problem.

To the question of how Christ restores God’s image, Calvin stated that through Jesus Christ being obedient to God’s word he accomplished this labour on behalf of us(Inst. 2.16.5). The Fall that began with Adam’s disobedience was restored through Jesus Christ’s obedience.

4.3.2 Jay E. Adams(1929- )

The lesson of human theory that is found in the first page of the Bible is that ‘humans

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are made in the image and likeness of God’(Gen 1:26). When the first man, Adam, is considered as to his existence then it is possible to know what the true nature of man is. Adams says the following about the image of Adam’s creation before his fall.

Firstly, humans are created as a material existence(Adams, 1979:105). The Bible teaches us that Adam was made from ‘dust’(Gen 2:7). This speaks of the material character of humans. In the instant of human creation, mankind was reconciled to this world. God said that the materially made human was ‘good’ after He had created him. However, the material creation was condemned because of the sin of man. Nevertheless, the material side of man is neither an ‘inferior’ part nor is his spiritual side a ‘superior’ part of him.

Secondly, humans were created as a spiritual existence(Adams, 1979:108). God made man from dust and breathed into his nostrils and man became a living being(Gen 2:7) and this explains the uniqueness of human creation. Thus, humans are a material as well as a spiritual existence.

Thirdly, humans were created as a moral existence(Adams, 1979:118). The fact that humans were created in the image of God can be explained from several different angles. However, humans were made differently from other animals and the fact that they are intellectual and are obligated to be a morally responsible creation is a unanimous opinion. As man has been made to be a moral existence, he must be responsible for his behaviour. Although non-Christians wish to decline the responsibility of humankind, God gave man free will and in addition to this He also gave responsibility.

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Fourthly, humans were created as an existence in a nature of society(Adams, 1979:126). The first man, Adam, was not created as an isolated existence, but he existed to communicate with God and after Eve was created he was to live his life by making a family. This was the beginning of man’s social attribute, and it was also the link to life in society. Through ‘family’ God managed social life and He extended this territory to evolve into social relations.

Fifthly, humans were created as an existence that works(Adams, 1979:133). God gave Adam the cultural command(Gen 1:28) which was when God commanded Adam to ‘work’. This ‘work’ has diverse qualities as well as creative and productive abilities. Work is not the consequence to the sin of mankind, but rather the cultural command that God gave to humans. God’s people are continuously working. There is a teaching as found in the Bible of working for six days and resting on the seventh. The ethics of work as written in Col 3:22-4:1 shows the basic attitude of Christians. Work is the blessing and privilege of God’s people.

Thus, God empowers people through hope and they are able to live a life of love, service, gratitude, joy and worship through peace and reconciliation with God(Louw, 2008:96).

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Chapter5 The Inferiority Complex of South Korean Workers
5.1 The Research of the Inferiority Complex in South Koreans
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the inferiority complex of workers in the last five years that they are considered active. In the past, although there was an awareness about the inferiority complex, it was refered to more as being a simple and comparative consciousness rather than an inferiority complex.

However, the situation has been changed now. With the term inferiority complex instead of comparative conciousness, a rather complex psychological diagnosis of the situation began. The psychological approach to treatment brought about psychological counselling, treatment and medical treatment yet this psychological approach cannot resolve everything. Therefore, the opinion of this thesis is that this approach needs to be supplemented with the pastoral approach.

This also means that the pastoral approach is not enough to help a person overcome a very serious situation of inferiority complex. Sometimes people need to get professional help and may require consultation with medical and professional psychologists. Religious counselling is also necessary. This is because true healing of the mind can only be done through faith. In the same way, whether medical, psychological or pastoral counselling each one should be a mutual security for each

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other. It must be acknowledged that any one of these on their own cannot result in a complete resolution.

From this point on, the situation of self-esteem in South Korea will be looked at. Through a poll, the thoughts that Korean workers have about inferiority complex as well as their solutions of both thought and deed will be identified. The survey that will be discussed here is based on the content of a survey from a professional survey organization.

In this paper, the contents of three different market research companies and one individual research will be primarily addressed. For convenience, they shall be divided into the groups A, B, C and D.

Group A: Jobkorea - http://www.jobkorea.co.kr Group B: Saramin - http://www.saramin.co.kr Group C: Bu-Cheon Oriental Medicine - http://herbsos.com Group D: Specialist of Self-Develop - http://www.careernote.co.kr

5.2 Korean Employees' Feeling of Inferiority
Do Korean workers really have an inferiority complex? This is too obvious a question. Rather, it would be interesting to find and study those people who do not have an inferiority complex. This just refers to the lack of people who have not had an inferiority complex before. In group B of 2,321 people 69.2% answered 'yes' to a

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survey during 2009 about whether or not there were any complexes that they had experienced while living in the workplace(Online News Korea 2009

http://www.wnewskorea.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=special_report&wr_id=101).

It is irrelevant as to whether the complex referred to here is inferiority complex or not. There has been a time when group B has used this same topic for a survey in 2005. At that time, the result was that 41.4% of 1,953 patients who were investigated had felt inferior to others in their workplace. It cannot be disregarded that in the course of four years, the figures have increased(Online PocketPark 2005

http://www.pocketpark.co.kr/culture_news/Content.asp?board_idx=43881&Gotopage =134&table=b_board_2005).

Althouth it is not possible to assume when these figures may decline, looking at the situation of South Korea these figures will not be able to easily decline.

The situation in Korea will be discussed in more detail below.

5.3 The Content and Circumstance of the Korean Workers' Inferiority Complex
Amongst the content of inferiority complex, the most prominent features are the appearance, foreign language skills and education can be highlighted. Young men and women in their twenties and thirties from group C (160 people – man 80, lady 80) were asked in which circumstances they have feelings of inferiority. The results of

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this poll were that in most men, 33.8% (27 people) answered that it was 'foreign languages' while almost half of the women, 41.3% (33 people) said that it was 'appearance, like height and figure' which brought special emphasis on inferiority complex. Following this, in the case of men it was revealed that the different causes in descending order were: appearance 18.8% (15 people), education 15% (12 people), the business skills of co-workers 12.5% (10 people), people owning luxury foreign cars or brands 10% (8 people), when a colleague buys a house 7.5 % (6 people) and when siblings were successful 2.5% (2 people).

In the case of women it was found that the different causes of inferiority complex in descending order were: business skills of colleagues 23.8% (19 people), education 10% (8 people), foreign language skills 10% (8 people) and the last three causes of inferiority complex were 5% (4 people) respectively which are: the only other sibling's success, when a colleague buys a house and people owning luxury foreign cars or brands(Online ChosunMedia 2010

http://health.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/03/10/2010031001698.html).

However, the survey results from group B were a little different. The reason for this was that the responses in the survey of group C were of the age group of 20-30 while that of group B was of the age group 20-50 years old. According to the findings of the survey taken of group B, 39.2% foreign language skills had the most votes and following this it was 37.1% academic background, 24.6% personality, 23.4% public speaking, 21.4% a 'good worker complex and 21.1 % appearance 2005

respectively(Online

PocketPark

http://www.pocketpark.co.kr/culture_news/Content.asp?board_idx=43881&Gotopage

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=134&table=b_board_2005).

The problem of appearance is more serious on the part of those seeking jobs rather than those who are already working. Currently in South Korea it is difficult to find a job. Due to this is it is becoming more of a trend for those seeking employment to believe that they have to concentrate more on their appearance in order to get a job. Plastic surgery is now becoming a major part of young job seekers. The investigation of group A in the last survey on 17th September 2010 revealed that out of 694 job seekers 32.3% (224 people) replied that they would even undergo plastic surgery for an interview(Online MKNews 2010

http://news.mk.co.kr/v3/view.php?year=2010&no=506721). This is not simply for their self-satisfaction, but rather for employment as well as to overcome the differences between the competition of others and themselves.

However, for the workers who already are employed there are other areas from which inferiorioty can be formed. These areas are those of language ability and education. The language skill in this case is primarily English. Those people who fail to be employed say that the main reason for their unemployment is their lack of proficiency in English. On 16th February 2009 in a survey done by group A on a target group of 922 job seekers who have experienced failure while preparing for employment askine the cause of their failure for employment revealed that 29.8% (296 cases) said that it was due to their poor English and following this closely with 20.3% was the reason of a low quality of academic background(Online AsiaEconomic http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2009022608035246419&nvr=y). 2009

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This ought not to be thought of as only being the excuse of failed job seekers. This is because according to another survey, there is a certain statistic that employers will deal preferentially with people who speak English well. In group B during April 2010 there was a survey on the Human Resource (HR) managers of all the companies which was a group of 370 and their 'difference in salaries according to their ability of English'. The result of this survey was that 34.6% of HR managers who were surveyed replied that there were workers in the company who got better pay due to better English skills.This is also in connection with forthcoming promotions. It was shown that 46% of HR managers use English as a great impact factor when promoting people(Online Saramin 2010

http://www.saramin.co.kr/zf_user/help/live/view?idx=3146&offset=111&page=6&cate gory=10).

This is the reason why in Korea people are so sensitive to the studying of foreign languages and especially English. According to the survey of 2,477 people in group B during October 2009 of workers who learn a foreign language it was shown that 1,323 workers (54%) still studied a foreign language. However, the reasons for studying foreign languages were in different areas. Amongst these, 36% indicated that they studied for a successful turnover rather than a promotion(Online Saramin 2009 http://www.saramin.co.kr/zf_user/help/live/view?idx=1922&offset=225&page=12&cat egory=10). Although the methods of expression are different, whether for a promotion at work or for moving onto another job, it shows that foreign language skills are a prerequisite for moving into a better environment.

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There is another statistic that makes this point more definite. In the poll taken in group A during October 2010, 2,078 entrepreneurs’ academic careers were investigated and the result was that they were mostly graduates of universities in foreign countries. Though there are several famous universities in South Korea, removing them would leaves the majority percentage of graduates in this survey at 17% which is 354 people(Online HeraldEconomic 2010

http://biz.heraldm.com/common/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20101004000211). What does this indicate? There is a premise that graduates of universities from other countries are already skilled in a foreign language. This also speaks of favouring foreign academic backgrounds above those from national universities.

If this is so, what are the thoughts of workers on their own academic backgrounds? In September 2009, 1,557 workers from group A were questioned about their academic backgrounds. Of these, 67% replied that they were unsatisfied with their academic backgrounds and it was further shown that 50.1% of the total workers queried were busy with their next degree. From this questionnaire, the academic degrees of the workers who were preparing for the next degree of their course ranged from high school certificates to a graduate degree and above. Taking a look at the contents of an investigation held on November 2005, 1,953 workers from group B, according to the levels of scholarly attainments were in the order of 42.6% ‘high school certificate-holders’, 43.1% ‘college graduates’, 40.6% ‘university graduates’ and 35.2% ‘postgraduates and postdoctorates’ and it was shown that as the academic achievements went lower and lower the workers had more feelings of inferiority(Online DigitalTimes 2009

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http://www.dt.co.kr/contents.html?article_no=2009090702011331699002). However, postgraduates, who were thought not to suffer from this, also had comparative scholastic inferiority.

5.4 The Cause for Inferiority Complex of Korean Workers
The three main features of inferiority complex as mentioned above is seen to be appearance, academic background and foreign language skills. Then what are the factors that cause such a diversity of inferiority complex? If they are to be identified then they are shown to be the most practical problems that are come across in life. They are connected to the visual success of life. They are the main factors that maintain the most important conditions for happiness in life. Therefore, since the main goal is to succeed in life, and in order to succeed one must compete and if there is a lack while competing with others then this is shown through an inferiority complex.

There are two main factors that cause an inferiority complex. The first is external influences while the second is self-induced circumstance. The external influences which wil be covered here are not those of society as a whole, but rather of the smaller group which is family and the second influence is due to the goal that a person makes for themselves.

From group C, 160 workers were surveyed, half of them male and the other half female, had previous experience of inferiority complex before they were in the

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workplace. Among these 75% (120 people) had experienced inferiority while they were still teenagers below high-school age and from these 47.5% (57 people) said that their parents were the cause of their inferiority which, at the time, was a great shock to the Korean people(Online Bu-Cheon Oriental Medicine 2010

http://herbsos.com/nodoctor/bbs/board.php?bo_table=news&wr_id=79&page=2).

There is no way to know whether society had molded parents to be overly competitive in nature or whether parents are responsible for the way in which society demands competition. However, this is all preventable. If parents were to have encouraged their children’s self-esteem instead of competition and if they had taught them the proper goals of life then the inferiority brought about through parents would possibly have been prevented.

Another cause of inferiority complex is one’s personal goal. In August 2010, a survery was held for a combination of 758 employers and job seekers on what their personal visions were. Of these, 77.4% replied that they did indeed have a vision. This means that most people have visions and they are working to fulfil them. If so, how are they working towards fulfilling their visions and which things are essential?

Another question posed to the workers was what they would have to do in order to attain their visions. There were multiple answers to this question. The most popular answer was the amassing of money with 61.9%, followed by 44.4% hard work, 31.1% study and 27.7% maintaining good health. Furthermore, the order of the most important thing that was necessary in fulfilling one’s vision was firstly ‘money’ with 61.7% followed by 55.0% good health, 21.6% honour, 18.7% practice, 11.8% love,

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5.8%

service

and

2.0%

other

things(Online

Education

Chosun

2010

http://edu.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/08/26/2010082600389.html).

From the above survey, there is no way to find inferiority complex. Also, there does not seem to be very many problems. However, the more important thing is that these above-mentioned things make us constantly think about feelings of inferiority. This means that there is a fundamental problem with the vision itself.

5.5The Korean Workers’ Plan for Overcoming
What are the possible methods of overcoming inferiority complex that Korean workers have? What are the methods of overcoming that only they have? In September 2009 there was a survey done in group D about the consciousness of self-development where 98% said that they felt it was essential. This survey was done on a group of 110 workers, of which only about 2 people did not feel the need for it(Online CareerNote 2008 http://www.careernote.co.kr/467). Workers chose selfdevelopment in order to overcome their inferiority complexes. In a similar survey done during July 2010 of a target group of 1,570 people from group B, 92.2% replied that they were busy developing themselves(Online Saramin 2010

http://www.saramin.co.kr/zf_user/help/live/view?idx=3700&offset=63&page=4&categ ory=10).

If this is so, in what concrete ways are they developing themselves? The first place for types of self-development was ‘English communication’ with 33.1% in a choice of

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multiple answers. This was followed by 31.2% ‘exercise and maintance of fitness’, 28.1% ‘attaining specialized certificates’, 24.1% ‘study of a function’, 22.8% ‘reading online materials and reading books’, 22% ‘improvement of hobbies and skills’, 17.4% ‘the acquisition of linguistics’ and 16.9% ‘working from home’(Online Saramin 2010 http://www.saramin.co.kr/zf_user/help/live/view?idx=3700&offset=63&page=4&categ ory=10).

In January 2010 a similar survey was taken in group A with a total target group of 853 workers. In this case as well, a majority of 52% replied that they were busy with studying English communication in order to improve themselves(Online Korea Economic Wow Net 2010

http://www.wownet.co.kr/news/wownews/view_nhn.asp?bcode=N07010000&artid=A 201001210086). This phenomenon of Koreans focusing on the learning of English as a language, as shown above, is a very sensitive area for Korean workers.

Although there is nothing wrong with investing in one’s self, the problem lies in people not being honest with themselves. In a survey taken, one of the questions that were asked was whether or not a person was true to themselves where 75% of the people replied that they were not(Online CareerNote 2008

http://www.careernote.co.kr/467). This indicates that they feel a need for selfdevelopment, but are not practically doing so.

There is another problem with this method of research. This dishonesty with one’s self leads to a great deal of stress. In July of 2010, 1,579 workers from group B were surveyed about the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) of self-development.

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More than half 68.3% replied that they did indeed have this OCD. Dividing this group into their sexes brought forth that 71.7% of women had more OCD than their counterpart 65.1% of men.

The impact of their OCD resulted in a majority of 49.3% ‘although they develop themselves they feel their insufficiency’ (multiple choice question). Followed by 35.6% ‘even when they rest they do not feel rested’, 19.1% ‘they become stressed when they even think about their self-development’, 15.4% ‘if they do not develop themselves daily they become anxious’, 13.6% ‘they set up impossible goals for their self-development’, 11.6% ‘they do things without prior planning’ and 9.5% ‘they have developed depression and insomnia’ (Online Saramin 2010

http://www.saramin.co.kr/zf_user/help/live/view?idx=3700&offset=63&page=4&categ ory=10).

5.6 Analysis
To say that Korean workers are living within inferiority is not an over-exaggeration. Furthermore, although they try to overcome this it is not at all easy and does not happen smoothly. Do they have any happiness? In October 2010, a survey taken of 683 workers from group A about the ‘the degree of satisfaction of happiness of Korean workers’ revealed that only 18.0% (123 people) thought themselves as being happy, 54.0% (369 people) were just normal and 28.0% (191 people) were unhappy.

Of those that thought of themselves as being happy there were 15.5% more married

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people than unmarried ones. Amongst the age groups, those above their fifties felt that they were satisfied with their happiness with a majority of 35.0%. Followed by those in their thirties with 19.9%, in their twenties 15.5% with the lowest being in their fourties with 14.3%. The most essential aspect to making a happy life, when queried in a multiple choice questionnaire, was thought to be ‘economic freedom’ with a majority of 44.4%(Online KeoungHang News 2010

http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201010111437001&code= 920100).

Although the workers work hard in order to obtain happiness, but it is not easily gotten close to. It is rather more the case that striving for happiness brings about feelings of inferiority that in turn bring about new stresses. This newfound stress is not only psychological, but is also physical threat. In this case, there is no emphasis put on whether the psychological health is of more importance than the physical health or vice versa. However, it does deal with the fact that they need to mutually help one another. This aspect of psychological and physical health will be discussed later.

Nevertheless, the happiness that these workers are aiming for is not of an everlasting nature. It is only a brief happiness that is experienced in the short span of their lives. They are restlessly moving about just to try and obtain and maintain this short-lived happiness. This is similar to sprinting towards a cliff in that they are moving towards something that is wrong and thinking that it is everything.

There is a very great need for a paradigm shift. There is a necessity of changing

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irrational thoughts into rational ones. There is also a need for the move from the visual vision to the eternal vision. If this is not so, then it would be impossible to escape from the deep imprisonment of an inferiority complex. Furthermore, if there are no such changes as mentioned then an enormous amount of energy will be used in order to gain the wrong happiness.

In the next chapter, true health and pastoral paradigm shift will be looked into.

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Chapter 6 Pastoral Approach and Solution to Inferiority Complex.
Adler’s and Ellis’s theories are more important than anything from a psychological approach. However, a pastoral approach helps us discover much more which cannot be found in their theories. We have previously investigated a few basic causes of inferiority complex and saw how people could become hurt and weak through it. Several scholars and researchers have been trying to find the solution to inferiority complex through books. The main example can be understood better by looking at the theories of Adler and Ellis whom we have mentioned previously. Nevertheless, it is the aim of this dissertation to discern the approach of how realistically accosted workers interpret, receive and resolve an inferiority complex from a pastoral direction

6.1 True health
Health refers to the perfect and good physical, mental and social state of a person. Dealing with the psychological problem of the inferiority complex has lead to only mental health being emphasised. However, no matter what good psychological methods are used to heal mental problems such as inferiority complexes, if physical health does not support this, then it will either not be easily healed or it will be easier to relapse back into those problems. Conversely, if a person’s physical health is very good, but their mental health is not it will also be easy for their physical selves to be ruined.

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This theory is obviously not common to everyone. There are instances where mentally strong people are able to overcome their physical problems and also instances where physically healthy people are able to improve their mental state. Nevertheless, these cases are not permanently maintained, but are usually temporary.

In order for people to live healthily the endeavour for physical, mental, social and spiritual health is necessary. That is to say that what is more meaningful, once a person is unconditionally healthy, is that he possesses the desire and effort to live healthily as a person rather than what he is able to do next. Thus, “We should desire health not in order to be healthy but in order to live as fully as possible”(Meilaender, 2007:8).

6.1.1 Physical Health

Mental health and physical health are correlated to each other through willfull dependence. This is because neither one of the two can be said to be more important than the other. If physical health is emphathised, then for physically healthy individuals it must be hypothesized that they must not, at all costs, have a mental illness. Furthermore, for mentally sound people, it must be speculated that they can not have a physical ailment(Nash, 2010:1-2).

People’s bodies are able to influence emotions, but alternatively strong and

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persistant emotions are able to influence the body. Strong affirmative emotions and strong negative emotions are possible when mentality and stamina become the background. Therefore if physical health, eating habits, sleeping habits, excessive stress, sanitary measures are maintained then the chance of having mental disease may be small(Jung Young Joo, 2009:252). Said another way, there is greater chance for a person who has a physically healthy body to overcome mental illness than for those who are not physically healthy.

People are physical, dependent, limited beings and at the same time they are also beings who have personality. Limited creators that humans are for example need things such as food. Without eating they are unable to keep their lives and thus in order to continue living food is absolutely necessary. In the context of logical connection, freedom is the ability to adapt to the current situation as well can be. In other words, absolute freedom does not exist. For example, people have the freedom to jump from tall buildings, yet once they have jumped they are unable to escape from the strength of gravity. Thus, if you do not want to end in the disastrous results of the influence of gravity then the selective freedom is to not jump out of a building(Crabb, Lawrence 1979:52). People have the responsibility to maintain their physical health well.

6.1.2 Mental Health

Mental-physical health can be seen as a contrasting term to physical health, yet it sides with mental health. The aim of mental health is to; above all, prevent mental

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disease or the state of being mentally unhealthy and moreover, it may promote mental health(Sul Ki Moon, 2006:187).

The World Health Organization (WHO) has mentioned that mental health is extremely important in a person’s life. A person’s happiness and misery may be affected and influenced by their environment. Thus, quality of life may be decided according to whether an environment is good or bad. However, the problems of disadvantageous environments can be overcome or even be utilized as a positive resource depending on the degree of mental health. Looking at the careers of people who are socially successful there are definitely those who have succeeded due to good growth and living environments, yet there are plenty of people who are unable to do so who have similar backgrounds. Rather, there are many successful people in our midst who have overcome their unfavourable environmental conditions and who have managed to change their crisis into an opportunity in order to achieve something greater. Through these instances we are able to see how important an individual’s mental health is(Sul Ki Moon, 2006:189).

Mental health as viewed from another side, according to Ellis’s theory concerning fear it was discovered that meditation and yoga were good in helping people to escape their fear and to find their peace of mind for a short while. This is because fear and worry every once in a while compulsively strip the stability of both mind and body. I think that he was clearly seeing the truth that it is very difficult for people to focus on two things. For instance, if a person is uneasy about singing, acting or reciting poems in front of a multitude of people then that person will tend to be focused on how well they are performing and the chance that they will have irrational

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thoughts of ‘I have to do well, if not then I am a useless person!’ is great. Since they are compulsively holding onto performing well, they are unable to perform well even though they want to. However, what would happen if one drives one’s focus onto the content of the song, play or the poem? Albeit temporarily, a person becomes far less uneasy when taking a step back from worrying over how well they are doing and rather focusing on the lyrics or melody of the song, or on the main character of the play or perhaps on the words of the poem during a recital. It is actually possible that a person who is immersed in the content may completely forget their thoughts on how well they are doing. At the very least, they are momentarily able to enjoy the freedom from uneasiness. The human spirit is unable to worry once the mind is completely taken with one thing.

Thus, if a person with an inferiority complex focuses on the parts that they lack then instead of being restored from their inferiority complex they may fall into an even deeper one. It is not easy for the human spirit to simultaneously dwell on both pleasant and worrisome things(Jung Young Joo, 2009:105). If the human spirit can focus on the healthy side then it is possible to think about other methods that may help an individual escape from irrational thoughts or inferiority complex.

6.1.3. Social Health

Social Health deals with how social relationships are formed between people. In other words, the health of individuals within society is affected by the formation of fellowship relationships with other people and whether they are able to maintain

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these friendships(Online Wiesen 2011. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-socialhealth.htm).

Therefore, social health has a close relationship with mental health. A person with an unhealthy social health receives great stress from this and it even affects their mental health. This is because people’s mental health is influenced through relationships with other people(Sul Ki Moon, 2006:39). One characteristic of mental health is that a cooperative and interdependent relationship with other people, as well as productive and helpful human relationships can be established.

Nevertheless, the reason why social and mental health are dealt with separately is because there is a distinct difference between the two. People who are unable to have harmonious relationships with other in any situation are able to easily experience uneasiness, menlancholy, frustration, estrangement, discord, strain etc. Also, they lean towards having fear for other people and feel shame, powerlessness and loneliness(Sul Ki Moon, 2006:39). Then these people will be unable to benefit from a healthy life within society, and their mental health will also be affecte. In other words, social health can be described as a contributing factor to mental health, and mental health is the result of social health.

If mental health can be divided into the symptomatic categories of melancholy, inferiority etc. then social health can be divided into circumstantial categories of age, job, gender etc.(Miringoff, 2008:92). It can be said that this means that the skills to have good relationships are included in social health. We can see this in an office example. Skills such as the ability to listen well to fellow workers, accurately explain

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to the boss one’s thoughts and feelings in an unhurtful manner and respecting the thoughts and feelings of followers; not just as a part of survival in the workplace, but to fulfill human affection and for the zest to work to be present at the workplace are necessary(Sul Ki Moon, 2006:37). These skills are learned in social health. In addition, these skills are the trick to maintaining social health.

6.1.4 Spiritual Health

It is possible to know from several cases that mental and physical health take up important positions in relation to one another. What is true health then? We will deal with Daniel Louw’s theory and through it we will discuss his analysis of health.

Louw’s view on human health was that it was neither simply medical nor only spiritual, but rather the functioning of humans as whole beings. This wholeness of health includes applicable medical practices in conjunction with the use of spiritual, cultural, psychological and social sources(Louw, 2008:47).

Today’s health is no longer thought of in the same way as in the past where it was simply physical. It is rather more than what we think the term ‘health’ to be, and is even more inclusive than the topic of this dissertation. When looking at this sentence alone, it would seem that all the categories of man are related to health. Health does indeed cover a complicated and wide area.

If this is so, what is the good health that Louw speaks about? Health is seen as a

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person’s normal state whereas illness is understood to be the abnormal state of a person. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health as being “a state of perfect physical, psychological and social wellbeing”(Louw, 2008:43). However, one’s health is not illness or one’s normal state alone, but also extends to maturity and a sense of purpose. In order to determine a person’s health the main elements to look at are: maturity, the human quest for meaning, the quality of relationships, one’s philosophy of life, the different interpretations of determining attitude and disposition as well as the state of the spiritual and its connectedness to appropriate God images. Therefore, sickness and health are not fixed concepts, but rather are relative aspects that lean towards the fundamental and existential(Louw, 2008:44).

Louw claims that in order to understand health, we must first know the meaning of another health according to the seven diverse points of view. Those seven perspectives on other health are as follows:

First, health from the psychological perspective is the balance between one’s identity and one’s Ego. Second, from an existential point of view health is understood as the capacity to change and adapt to the circumstances within life and to view one’s existence as a process of self-realization. Thus, health is for those to use their existence for self-fulfilment and who do this by making choices. Third, the functional view of health is when one can perform one’s duties satisfactorily and when one is functioning optimally both physically and psychically to produce as much as he can. Fourth, socially health is viewed as being one’s competence in social roles and the completing of one’s duties. Fifth, from the scientific viewpoint health is the optimal

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function of and organic processes within the body. Sixth, health as a medical understanding is that it goes further than just the physical state and into the psychological and social aspect of a person’s existence. In a medical model, health is viewed as a sufficient, stable, concordant psychophysical state and system of social relationships. Finally, seventh the spiritual view of health is the spiritual state of faith and the connection to understanding God and transcendence(Louw, 2008:4446).

Furthermore, Louw did not place health from a pastoral point in the above seven categories, but rather dealt with it in a separate chapter. This is probably because he thinks of health from the pastoral side and his intent is to deal with it in an important manner. He said that speaking in pastoral terms a healthy person is one who has an essence of faith that empowers that person to live a life of meaning. Therefore, in pastoral care ‘human wholeness’ refers to the complementing aspects of the body and the soul(Louw, 2008:46-47).

In this section it is almost as though psychological health is invisible. However, the physical health that is mentioned here encapsulates both mental as well as physical health. Furthermore, it also speaks of the soul from the spiritual aspect.

This being the case, how do biblical times speak of health? Louw deals with both the health of the Old Testament as well as of the New Testament. Healthy people of the Bible expressed their wellbeing as shalom or peace. This meant complete fulfilment and was related to morality, spiritual achievement, righteousness, sincere practice of the covenant and the torah, obedience to God and the law, blessing, fertility and

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longevity(Wilkinson, 1998:11-16) this sense also includes right relationships(Louw, 2008:47).

Biblically health refers to a person’s peace. Theologically, being healthy is a state that is described as being peace. Long stated(Long, 2000:14) that health or Shalom is when our relationship with God, with each other as well as with our environment is peaceful. He says that it is experienced in a correct relationship with God, through our community and family system and that it should furthermore be shared with the whole of creation. This peace is thus referring to the fullness of life(Louw, 2008:48).

The health that the Bible speaks of is the Shalom of our minds within our relationship with God and that it is this that conclusively brings about mental as well as physical health. And it is this which we must pursue in terms of human wholeness.

The different meanings of health as according to Louw are divided into seven categories. These are the psychological, existential, functional, sociological, naturalscientific, medical and the religious-ethical perspective. However, it is not to say that when these are all sufficient that one is healthy. These are only mutually preserving conditions. There is no single person who meets all of these conditions nor is anybody able to meet them all. There is also no way in which to assign a score to these items individually and there is no appropriate measure either. They are only explanations to the different elements of health.

Regardless, from a pastoral point of view health is an important factor. This factor is the essence of faith which arrives at human wholeness and this in turn refers to the

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physical and spiritual completeness of man(Louw, 2008:47).

Correct essence of faith does not make inequality of mind such as an inferiority complex, but rather leads these inequalities in the right way. In other words, it is the motivating power which is able to turn irrational thoughts into rational ones.

In the next section 6.2, Bible characters that had a positive self-image through the essence of faith will be looked at.

6.2 A Positive Self-Image through the Apostle Paul
While analysing the personalities and characteristics of people from the Bible we can see that there were quite a lot of people who had feelings of inferiority. However, these people were able to overcome their given circumstances and lived affirmative and positive lives.

We can look to Paul as a representative figure. He had a physically weak body(Gal 4:14), although he was an intellectually bright person he was ungifted in speech and he had a bodily thorn(2 Co 12:7). These conditions were surely more than enough for Paul to have an inferiority complex. There is a need to delve into how Paul saw his circumstances through his perspective.

Reading in the Bible, we see that Paul is acutely aware of his sins, that even though he is sensitively conscious of his incompleteness he clearly had a positive self-

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image(Hoekema, 1975:25).

Therefore, in order to know what a positive self-form is and what a healthy selfimage we propose to find out what this is through Paul’s method of looking at himself. Paul often looked at himself as a huge sinner. Yet he does not ever describe himself as being a sinner who declines the grace of God Who had saved him from sin and permitted him into His kingdom. In other words, Paul never tries to defend his sin. He always thinks about his sin and God’s grace simultaneously(Hoekema, 1975:25).

In 1Corinthians15: 9-10 Paul is deeply regretful and repentant of the time when he had cruelly persecuted the Church. Even so, he insists on a positive self-image because he believed in the grace of God. This is why he confessed by saying,

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. NO, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me(1Co 15:9-10, NIV).

Although Paul looks at his past life and feels ashamed of it, he does not continually think upon them. This is because he learnt how to ‘forgetting what is behind’(Php 3:13, NIV)(Hoekema, 1975:26).

Paul while facing his past without the slightest of affectation understood that where sin increased, grace became even more abundant, he went on further to confess it

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as such, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus”(1Ti 1:12-14, NIV)(Hoekema, 1975:26).

We cannot say that even though Paul had a deep consciousness of sin that he did not maintain an excellent and positive self-image. His conviction was not from himself, but rather from God and through the capacity that God gave him, he was able to think that he was capable of everything.

Since Paul spoke positivity over himself he also sometimes boasted. However, observing his communications closely we are able to see that whenever he is boasting he is always praising God and being thankful to His grace(Hoekema, 1975:27).

…By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me(1Co 15:10, NIV).

As a matter of fact, in 2 Corinthians 11:30 Paul says that “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness”. As he spoke these words he makes a statement of his past saying, “In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me But I was lowered in a basket

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from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands”(2Co 11:32-33, NIV).

There may be people who may think of all the events that Paul speaks of as very strange. This is because most people would not speak boastfully of acts which are as dishonourable as escaping from Damascus.

We can see that Paul’s enemies tried to discredit Paul’s apostleship. For some said that, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing”(2Co 10:10, NIV).

However, the secret of his apostleship and the dynamic of his lifestyle were not his own strong disposition, but it was rather him existing through Christ and having received a continual authority from Christ(Hoekema, 1975:27).

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul keeps on speaking about the ‘thorn’ in his flesh. Although people may have these kinds of thorns, we will not investigate this. Even though Paul prayed three times for God to remove the thorn, every time he said that he was unable to hear the answer to his prayer. Yet at that time Paul said that the Lord had said to him that, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”(2Co 12:9, NIV). The Lord did not take away the thorn that was in Paul. The reason for this is so that Paul would rely heavily on God, and because only God would be able to strengthen him(Hoekema, 1975:28).

Therefore, Paul concludes as follows, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for

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Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardship, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong”(2Co 12:9-10, NIV)(Hoekema, 1975:28).

Paul realised that he was incomplete as he says that, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me… I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”(Php 3:12, 14, NIV)(Hoekema, 1975:29).

Despite this, we are able to discover the most appealing part of Paul’s character here. Paul writes in his letters to the believers that, “Therefore I urge you to imitate me”(1Co 4:16, 11:1, Php 3:17, 2Th 3:7). People usually believe that it is better that telling children or colleagues to ‘do as I say and not as I do’. There are many people who are not models and examples for others to imitate(Hoekema, 1975:29).

Yet Paul realised that all the ‘good’ that was within him was through the grace of God. Also, being assured that the Spirit would continue to strengthen him to do God’s will, he had the courage to tell others to ‘imitate’ him(Hoekema, 1975:29).

Even though we are able to discover many depictions of the deep sin of mankind from his letters, he did not record man’s fall into sin in order to lower the worth of humans. His aim was to praise the power of the gospel. This is why at the same time he realised that he was sinner, he simultaneously rejoiced about the complete grace of pardon that he had received. Even as he acknowledged that there were temporary

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impulses and tendencies that he had to continually fight, he realised that he was able to be victorious in Christ(Hoekema, 1975:30).

Paul does not describe himself as ‘sinners – of whom I was the worst’ speaking of the past, but rather ‘sinners—of whom I am the worst’ speaking of himself in the present tense and sees himself as a new creature in Christ. In conclusion, we can say that even as Paul is conscious of his sin, he has a positive self-image. Paul knew that God made him to be a person who would live a full life for Christ and that through the fullness of the Holy Spirit from God his life would exist as a good example to others(Hoekema, 1975:30).

6.3 Pastoral Approach for Overcoming an Inferiority Complex
When a person is able to come before God acknowledging and accepting his or her weak-mindedness then that person may be able to escape an inferiority complex. At the same time, when the person who stands before God clearly realises his or her God-given possibility and worth then it is possible for that person to overcome an inferiority complex. In other words, the shortest path to overcoming an inferiority complex seems to be changing a person’s subjective and unfair self-judgment into spiritual way of thinking.

In front of the eternal Absolute, there is nothing that man can be proud or ashamed of. He simply shows his form as it is. For a man standing in front of the eternal

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Absolute there is nothing of man that is great - not his conduct, ownership, characteristics, knowledge, morality nor his faith(Park Seong Soo, 1998:108).

An inferiority complex needs to be changed into a bowl of blessing. In order to overcome an inferiority complex, humans must have a Biblical way of thinking, accept their feelings of inferiority before God and think in the grace that God himself has given. In this way, feelings of inferiority can become a bowl of blessing.

The methods of pastoral approach to overcoming an inferiority complex can be described as the facilitation of peace for a person’s emotion, behaviour and spirit. Thus, it assists the change of thought from irrational to rational through a spiritual way of thinking. Furthermore, a spiritually correct way of thinking becomes an important factor in overcoming an inferiority complex and we will take a look at what this way of thinking is below.

Calvin says in his Church principles that faith is the definite and trustworthy realisation of God’s mercy. Thus, it is not simply knowing God, but it is knowing His Word and clearly acknowledging God’s basic kindness(Inst. 3.2.2). Thus, through the experience of faith is shown through confession. A spiritual way of thinking is founded on correct faith. Through faith we meet God in His Word and He also reveals Himself in very diverse forms.

God is not a spectator who simply watches the destruction of his children. He changes the distorted way of thinking for those people who realise that even now He remains with them through an unbelievable love and participates in their suffering.

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Firstly, God listens to man’s cries. Among foundational themes of the Old and New Testaments is one that says ‘God finds those who are suffering and picks them out of their suffering’. During the fourty years while Moses was hiding out and living in the Midian wilderness, God called him through the bush and tells him what His deep interest is. God sees the suffering of the people(Exo 3:6-8).

Then he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. The LORD said, I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites(Exo 3:6-8, NIV).

Thus, God is the one who listens attentively to those who call out to him during their suffering and comes among them to take them out of their suffering(Oh Seong Choon, 1993:34-35).

Secondly, God is He who takes care of those who suffer hardship. He takes an interest not only into the disease of man, suppressing the devil and the evils of the world, but He also takes an interest in the hardships that people face and wants to heal the lives of all those who have obstacles because of their suffering. Although

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there are several different types of suffering that people go through, these problems are experienced through the suffering that they endure. Suffering accompanies life. Suffering is a battle that people cannot stop struggling with and is a real problem that people have to wrestle with in their daily lives.

It can also be God’s intimidation of our faith. When a person understands that God knows their suffering and pain and that He will take care of him, it is then that he is able to accept the meaning of hardship. This then, is faith.

Consequently, the pastoral approach for overcoming an inferiority complex is to introduce a person who is troubled and suffering to Jesus Christ and helps them to recover through meeting God. Meeting God allows for a transfer in thought from wrong to right through a spiritual way of thinking for those who are heavily burdened and who feel as though they are thrown away(Kim Yeh Shik, 1998:169).

Inferiority complex can be described as being suffering of both the mental and physical. Nevertheless, God takes care of those people who are suffering. The problem lies in how one thinks of God. If one has true ‘faith’ that God will not cast him away no matter how bad the suffering and hopeless the circumstances then this will become a great strength which will help overcome the suffering in reality. This strength comes from the correct spiritual way of thinking that is that God will take care of his children right until the end.

Thirdly, God participates in the lives of His children. He is not the God of abstract theory. He is the God who seeks out the basic lives of humans and participates in it.

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He enters a person’s life in one area and exchanges the exhausted and hopeless life of a person for a life filled and overflowing with emotion through wisdom, grace and glory(Oh Seong Choon, 1993:35-37).

Fourthly, God is the God who creates new life. The events that are recorded in the Bible are events about God who acts among people. The people are not the subjects of these events, but rather these events are of faith about the almighty God who according to His plans acts out His power in the midst of people.

Whether through Abraham’s life journey(Gen 12-21) in the Old Testament or the healing of the woman whose blood would not stop flowing in the New Testament, faith is when God trusts and relies on Himself to directly come and take part in and amongst the concrete lives of people. God heals and renews people through His power and grace; trusting and committing to Himself(Oh Seong Choon, 1993:37-39).

The pastoral approach to overcoming an inferiority complex goes one step further and is the conversion of the direction of basic spiritual thought. This is why it is the discipline of training a person to adjust their way of thinking away from negative thoughts about God through faith. Thus, people’s perverted ways of thinking can be gradually changed. Through the correct understanding of God the distorted thoughts, irrational viewpoint of the world and outlook of people can be adjusted.

Spiritual thinking points out a person’s sin and enables that person to realise that they are able to be forgiven. The pastoral way of overcoming an inferiority complex is by thinking through faith for people who are suffering from it and who wish to escape

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it. Therefore, thinking through faith plays a very important role in establishing the right to a good self-image and outlook of God for those experiencing feelings of inferiority within society and who have spiritual sounds and physical problems due to an inferiority complex.

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Chapter 7 CONCLUSION

Until now, we have taken many approaches trying to understand inferiority complex. In Chapter 1 the definition and content of the inferiority complex, the many different opinions of several scholars and social, biblical understand as well as the causes of an inferiority complex were looked at in a wide context in order to know more about the inferiority complex. In chapter 2 the positive and negative viewpoints of an inferiority complex were investigated through the words of some scholars.

Chapter 3 dealt with the understanding of and programs for overcoming an inferiority complex by psychologists, especially the theories of Adler and Ellis. This is because their theories were of great necessity concerning this thesis. In chapter 4, the psychological, biblical and the systematic theological human understanding was discussed. This was due to human understanding being important for a clearer and more defined approach. The theories of Calvin and Adams were used extensively here.

If all this, until this point, can be referred to as the part of general understanding then chapter 5 can be thought of as being the part of application. In chapter 5, the inferiority complex of Korean workers was identified via several surveys. Where their inferiority complexes stemmed from, which methods they use in order to solve their inferiority complexes and whether they receive the happiness they were looking for through these methods.

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In chapter 6, the pastoral approach was attempted. The meaning of health, the making of a positive self-image through Apostle Paul as well as the pastoral approach that follows this was tried out.

In respect to an inferiority complex there is something that we must be aware of. This is the fact that a person's attitude towards their defects is more important than the defects themselves. A healthy attitude towards feelings of inferiority is not to complain about their inferior areas, but rather to acknowledge the truth about themselves. There are no perfect people in this world and there it is useless to worry over something that cannot change.

Since no one has been created perfectly and completely, no one is able to live in that manner. God did not create man in flawlessly. Instead, He allowed us to have 'talents' that are abilities. Therefore, if people see a lacking side then everyone lives within scarcity.

Some people have a lot of money, yet no health. Others are healthy, but lack knowledge. Even still some people are high ranking, but have no virtue. There are some who are well learned, but who do not have the looks that people wish to see. Some people write well, but are unable to sing well. In the same way, if one continues to see only a magnified version of the areas in which they lack, it will be easy to fall into an inferiority complex that is very difficult to escape from.

People who are unable to escape from the deep swamp of inferiority ultimately become failures. If one has fallen into an inferiority complex, then it is very difficult for

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God to use that person. Therefore, the faster a person escapes the swamp of inferiority the healthier that person will be and the Lord will also be able to use that person.

In order to escape from an inferiority complex, one must not derogarate nor try to cover up one's weaknesses, but should rather approve of and accept them. It is possible to get rid of an inferiority complex when a person seizes the courage to live just as they are. True courage is when people live as themselves and it is these kinds of person who are then healthy individuals.

Man, who was made in the image of God, is precious to the Creator and God wishes to receive glory through His creation. Thus, a person's way to overcoming an inferiority complex is through knowing one's own preciousness as the image of God.

Next, a person needs to learn how to love himself and learn also how to throw away the comparative viewpoint of others. Thus, people must admit that they are an original existence created by God.

From time to time those who have fallen into an inferiority complex focus more on their weaknesses than their strengths. God gave man various different gifts. Therefore, it is very important for people to properly know what their given gifts are.

This is because these gifts are not given for the individual's sake alone, but it is a valuable asset to be used for God and other people and because of this there is a need to expand these gifts. Thus, people as images of God need to acknowledge

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their worth and instead of seeing things in an irrational light, must rather see them rationally.

If people rely on God and seek His help whenever they have feelings of inferiority this will truly become a biblical way in which to protect themselves from an inferiority complex.

All people eventually have to surrender to someone else along life's path. If this is not God then it will be to someone else's expectations, to money, fear, pride, lust and even to one's own self-image.

When people believe that God made humans and that life is God-centred, then the best and only way for their lives will be to give them to God; and nothing else will do.

All other ways leads to frustration, disappointment and self-destruction. In the King James Version it describes surrender as ‘your reasonable service'(Rom 12:1, KJV). Another Bible describes it as being 'the most sensible way to serve God'(Rom 12:1, CEV).

For people to give their lives to God and to live a God-centred life is not a foolish emotional impulse, but it is rather a rational and intelligen act. Thus, it is the most responsible and sensible thing to do with our lives. Which is why Paul writes in the Bible that “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it”(2 Co 5:9, NIV).

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The most sensible thing we as humans can do is to give our regrets of the past, problems of the present, future ambitions, fears, dreams, weaknesses, habits, hurts and the feelings of inferiority that we have to God. In other words, we place Christ in the driver's seat of our lives and let go of the steering wheel.

This is due to nothing being uncontrollable in His hand. We can use this as a weapon of life just as Paul confesses in the Bible, "I can do all this through him who gives me strength”(Php 4:13, NIV)(Warren, 2002:83).

Therefore, by whatever inferiority complex people fall if they are able to convert their irrational thoughts into rational ones and go further on to serve as a ray of light to those who have fallen due to feelings of inferiority through the change of thinking through faith.

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