Man's Search For Meaning By Frankl

Viktor Frankl’s thesis found in Man’s Search for Meaning is repeated multiple times, in different ways throughout his book. On page 111 he states, “According to logotherapy, we can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: (1) by creating a work or doing a deed; (2) by experiencing something or encountering someone; and (3) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering” (Frankl). This is not saying that all of those qualities have to be present to find one’s meaning though especially suffering. The only way to find the meaning of life is by answering your own call for life, not what others value as meaning. Each meaning

'He who has a why to live for can bear any how.' The words of Nietzsche begin to explain Frankl's tone throughout his book. Dr. Frankl uses his experiences in different Nazi concentration camps to explain his discovery of logotherapy. This discovery takes us back to World War II and the extreme suffering that took place in the Nazi concentration camps and outlines a detailed analysis of the prisoners psyche. An experience we gain from the first-hand memoirs of Dr. Frankl.

We are meant to become our truest selves by finding meaning in our lives, which, according to Frankl, can come from three places: work, love, and our attitude in the face of horrific suffering or difficulty. And at the center of this meaning is our responsibility and human right to choose. In Frankl’s theory, we all strive to fulfill a self-chosen goal, from which meaning has the potential to be found. And if no meaning is found, there is meaning yet to be found, or meaning to be drawn from the apparent lack of meaning. Whatever the case, Frankl viewed man’s lack of meaning as the greatest existential crisis, the stress of this meaninglessness giving life and shape to all of our neuroses.

Through Frankl's view of suicide you can discover his view of human person. Suicide is wrong in all cases, and should not be even considered an option. He believes that all people can find some meaning in life which would prevent them from giving up all hope and ending their lives. Every human life has meaning, and therefore every human life has value. While in a concentration camp serving as a doctor to those who were ill with typhus or other diseases, he encountered two individuals who had given up hope on life. He asked them both to think of something worth living for. One answered that he had a son waiting for him at home, and the other said he was writing a book and wanted to finish it. Frankl helped them find meaning in their lives to hold on to some hope. Just as they did, anyone can find a meaning to live for, whether it be another person or a goal or achievement.

As defined by Merriam-Webster, Existentialism is, “a chiefly 20th century philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but centering on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad” (Merriam Webster). Logotherapy/existential analysis is based on the premise that within one’s self there lies the 1) “Freedom to will, 2)“will to meaning”, and 3), “ meaning to life”. (Batthyany, Alexander) Meaning to life as it pertains to classic existential theory and logotherapy, is defined by the individual on a situational basis. It can vary based on what is essential to the individual and their well being (Existentialism-By Branch/Doctrine, The Basics of Philosophy). Frankl concentrates on what it was that drives people to live, and determined that those who survived the unspeakable circumstances of the Nazi camps had been those who focused on the meaning of their lives. Frankl’s psychological-anthropological model addresses the ability for others overcome

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl is filled to the brim with rhetorical devices from all three sections of the text. Particularly in his section about logotherapy, Frankl’s practice to find an individual’s meaning of life, he explores the three main meanings of life: accomplishment, love, and suffering. This area uses a plethora of comparison, such as parallelism and metaphor. Recurring themes are used to draw back to Frankl’s three life meanings, like word repetition and alliteration. Frankl’s use of rhetorical devices allows his audience to focus on their individual possibilities and incorporate his ideology into society.

As odd as it sounds, disasters can lead someone to become the best that they can be. In Piers Paul Read’s book Alive, the story is about the real life events of the survivors of Uruguayan Flight 571’s crash in the Andes and the events that led to their survival. Gregory Boyle’s Tattoos of the Heart, tells stories of Boyle's encounters with different “Homeboys” who grew up in dangerous parts of Los Angeles and how God helped him in his mission to help the kids. Through these two books, both stories have shown traits and conditions that lead to self actualization, the importance of the mind during harsh times, and similarities between both.

Self-actualization refers to the desire to achieve one’s greatest potential or as Maslow writes “what a man can be, he must be” (Maslow). Abraham Maslow, a researcher and a pioneer in the field of psychology, strongly believed that people can control their own behavior and have the abilities to reach their full potential. Maslow is perhaps best known for his “Hierarchy of Needs” that culminates in self-actualization. This hierarchy begins with so-called “basic needs” - psychological, safety, social, and esteem - and concludes with the “growth need”. Among other characteristics, Maslow describes self-actualized people as highly creative, independent, genuine individuals who are resistant to enculturation and accept themselves for who

Every day people are put through unfortunate circumstances. Every day people suffer. It is something that nobody has control over. Some people embrace suffering and learn from it while others simply get lost in it. Others let it take over their lives. But what is suffering? It is important to recognize what suffering is to be able to cope with it and to learn something beneficial from it. A general definition of suffering would be a feeling of pain due to the loss of something physical. It can also go deeper. There are many people that suffer due to insults that can be emotionally draining to deal with or that are undermining to a person. It is important to not let suffering overtake your life but rather use it to learn something new and benefit from.

In “The Meaning of Lives,” Wolf asserts that the question “What is the Meaning of Life?” is inherently unintelligible because it is uncertain what the question is asking. In other words it is too general because it has no specified context. Wolf then acknowledges, however, that there is value in examining the meaningfulness of a life. This is because she observes people wanting meaning as an unchangeable fact. While there is no grand reason for meaning, she suggests that we can create value through what we do in our life. In her work, Wolf constructs a framework on how to obtain meaning in one’s life. I will examine her view, then critically discuss the positive attributes and the shortcomings. Wolf does a sufficient job to outline a possible way to achieve meaning. However, I will argue that a definition for the meaningful life that does not include morality and happiness is not sufficient. Lastly, I will express the subjective and objective tension that weakens her stance.

Life was consumed by constant orders, labor, malnutrition, disease, and murder in the concentration camps. Yet somehow the human psyche in many individuals was able to endure throughout these imprisonments. Men and women were almost completely dehumanized during this genocide, but their psyche survived it. People had to find little things to keep themselves content and to nurture their psyche. “Humor was another of the soul’s weapons in the fight for self-preservation” (63). Humor allows a person to escape a situation and rise above it, even if only for a short time. Humor can never be taken away from anyone because it is naturally within us. Humor within the concentration camps allowed people, for even a split second, to feel like they

The text, Mans Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl is similar to the previous reading assignment, All Quiet on the Western Front in many aspects. Both are centralized around the gruesome horrors that come with human conflict, in addition, the texts also do a wonderful job at taking a look deep into the human psyche. In light of this, it is important to note that All quiet on the Western Front is considered a historical fiction novel, this is where the sources differ. Man’s Search for Meaning is a historical nonfiction text, therefore the information in the text can be relied on to be slightly more accurate. With this sentiment In mind, the text Man’s Search For Meaning was written in 1946, the book was in the form of a journal, and it

Man’s Search for Meaning, is a biography and the personal memoir of Victor Frankl’s experience in a Nazi Concentration Camp. The book was initially published in 1946 in German and was then published in 1959 in English, under the title From Death-Camp to Existentialism. Prior to World War II, Victor Frankl was a psychiatrist working in Vienna and then later was responsible for running the neurology department at a Jewish Hospital in Rothschild. In 1942 he and his family were arrested and deported. They were separated and sent to concentration

In “There’s More to Life Than Being Happy,” Emily Esfahani Smith writes about the conflict between Viktor Frankl’s book, “Man’s Search for Happiness” and the culture today, which focuses on happiness in life rather than meaning. She introduces Viktor Frankl as a star medical and psychology student who survived the Holocaust in 1942. While Frankl was kept hostage in his camp, he was forced to find the good in life in order to survive. After being liberated, Frankl recorded his experience and what he learned in nine days, creating a best-seller in the United States. Smith explains that even though it has been concluded that Americans’ happiness is at an all-time high, the Center for Disease Control says that almost fifty percent of Americans have not found a purpose in life. Smith tells that bad mental health, self-esteem, and depression are less likely to be found in those who have found a pleasurable meaning in life. Happiness is associated with being a “taker”, while having a meaning life is associated with being a “giver” according to Smith. The downside to having a purpose for one’s life is the fact that he or she is usually more unhappy due to stress and worry than those who only strive for happiness, Smith explains. A study in 2011 proved that if someone has a negative circumstance occur in his or her lifetime, that event will give him or her more of a drive to find meaning in life rather than happiness. Smith concluded by linking these other sources with Frankl’s

The premise of Frankl’s book is that mankind’s desire for meaning is much stronger than its desire for power or pleasure and that if man can find meaning in life he can survive anything. Frankl introduces this idea [which he calls the theory of logotherapy] throughout his concentration camp experiences in the book’s first section and delves deeper into it in the second section. Referencing Nietzsche, Frankl tells us “Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how'” (p. 80). The most important thing to be learned from this statement is that no matter what your circumstances are, you can be happy, or at least survive, if you find a meaning or purpose in life. While in the concentration camp Frankl tells us that in order to maintain his desire to have a meaningful life he focused on three main things: suffering, work, and love. Of sacrifice