Man's Search For Meaning By Viktor E. Frankl

In The Making of Meaning, Anne E. Berthoff presents the text Learning the Uses of Chaos that will be analyzed in the essay to understand the argument presented. The author brings about the concept of composing in writing and pays particular attention to the process of composing. While the author is concerned about the composing process and the generating and using chaos in writing, the latter has not been discussed in details. The title of the text, which is learning the Use of Chaos, has not been clearly established. Additionally, the relationship between the chaos and the process of composing is not well articulated.

Deontology and teleology have been regarded two of the dominant theories in the history of ethics. In response to the question ‘What shall we do?’ the former theory tells us that we should do the action(s) that adherence to a principle (s). Conversely, the latter theory holds the view that we should do the action(s) that promotes happiness or pleasure regardless of the principle(s). Intention plays a significant role between the two theories, though it acts differently. The intention of deontological theory is to follow principle(s) whereas for the teleological theory, the intention is to follow the better outcome(s). In her book Meaning in Life and Why it Matters, Susan Wolf rejects both of these theories because they leave out many of the

Over six million Jews, handicapped, and ‘different’ people were executed in Hitler’s murder spree. In Elie Wiesel’s novel Night, the author paints an image for the reader of what an unimaginable, first-hand experience of the Holocaust was like: starvation, abuse, inhumanity. Night is just one example that proves that inhumanity can cause anyone to become evil because the cruelty can morph them into a barbaric individual, who lacks a sense of identity. Inhumanity can alter anything and anyone into something cruel because it can cause them to lose their identity. For example, in “Zimbardo- Stanford Prison Experiment” by

Shock, apathy, and disillusionment were three psychological stages that the prisoners of the Nazi concentration camps experienced. Ironically, it took an event of such tragedy and destruction to enable us to learn more about how the human mind responds to certain situations. Frankl’s methods for remaining positive can be used by every human being to give them a meaning in their lives regardless of what predicament or mental state they are in – it is in many ways like a phoenix risen from the

In Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl tells the honest story of his own experiences as an inmate in a concentration camp during World War II. In his book, Frankl answers the question “How was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?” (Frankl, 2006, p. 3) He describes the physical, emotional, and psychological torment that he endured as well as the effect that the camp had on those around him. He breaks down the psychological experience as a prisoner into three stages: the initial shock upon admission into the camp, apathy, and the mental reactions of the prisoner after liberation. He highlights certain emotions experienced throughout the time in the camp such as delusions of reprieve, hope, curiosity, surprise, and even humor.

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.

The concentration camps from World War II are part of a painful and tragic incident that we have learned about in school for many years. And while we are taught the facts, we may not fully understand the emotional impact it had upon the humans involved. Upon reading Night by Elie Wiesel, readers are given vivid descriptions of the gruesome and tragic behaviors that the Jews were forced to endure inside he treacherous concentration camps. Among all of the cruelties that the Jews were exposed to, a very significant form of the callous behaviors was the demoralization of the prisoners. Each inmate was given a tattoo of a number, and that tattoo became their new identity within the camp. Every prisoner was presented with tattered uniforms that became

Innocent civilians were imprisoned in the Gulags, as well as high-risk criminals, petty theft offenders, and political figures; prisoners’ sentences could vary from less than five to twenty years of hard labor. Prisoners’ in the Gulags had a chance of leaving the prison once their sentence was finished; they were able to see an achievable end to their imprisonment. The Gulags operated as corrective facilities where people were worked to death; however, a large majority who entered left alive. The prisoners in the Gulags worked in horrible conditions and did not have the necessities needed for their circumstances. However, the Gulag prisoners had the ability to go to the infirmary if it was necessary and women had the opportunity to carry out their pregnancies. It was also almost impossible for the opposite sex to avoid one another within the camps, “there was nothing about the camps’ overall structure that would prevent interaction between men and women.” Men and women used their close encounters to their advantage, women were able to have a sense of sexual autonomy and use their bodies as a source of rations, better food, and or protection. Along with the inevitable sexual interactions with the opposite sex, women and men were additionally raped by their fellow male prisoners and or by male guards.

In the book Man's Search for Meaning, written by Viktor E. Frankl the psychologist, talks about his life in the concentration camps in Auschwitz and how he found the true meaning of life. Throughout the book, Frankl gives us detail about his life in the Nazi concentration camp and how the SS, which are Hitler’s loyal members who helped establish a ruthless country during World War II. The main message I received in reading the book was that it focused on the dehumanization which is the process of depriving another person or group of positive human qualities, it is also thinking that one race is better or superior to another, which is racism. All over the book, Frankl is trying to find his meaning of life through intense suffering. Frankl mentions that the only way to survive in the harsh and gruesome concentration camps is to basically be willing to die at any given moment and by doing that you can find your

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.

Life during the Nazis or the Soviets time period was depressing and made many to lose their sense of humanity and immune to the torments. As Frankl sees it as “this was an unrelenting struggle for daily bread and for life itself, for one’s own sake or for that of a good friend.” Frankl gave his readers a vivid description of his life in the camp by the selection process as he asserts “was the signal for a free fight among all the prisoners, or of group against group.” The selection process was the first step to determine whether a person goes to the gas chamber or sent to do other labor. The authorities could care less about their names and in turn used numbers to determine the captives as these numbers are tattooed on their skin or sewn into

In Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl describes his revolutionary type of psychotherapy. He calls this therapy, logotherapy, from the Greek word "logos", which denotes meaning. This is centered on man's primary motivation of his search for meaning. To Frankl, finding meaning in life is a stronger force than any subconscious drive. He draws from his own experiences in a Nazi concentration camp to create and support this philosophy of man's existence.

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

'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.

Frankl believes several things, and he shares these theories with his readers. First of all; the basic concept of Logotherapy is that if one finds a purpose or a meaning in their life they can endure anything. He supports this many times over with specific examples. He was forced to dig trenches in freezing cold weather without adequate clothing and shoes. The shoes might be too tight causing pain and blisters, he may have no socks, or the shoes might have holes in them, allowing the ice and snow to get against his skin. He states that he got through these long, painful days by thinking about the beauty of nature or thoughts of his wife. He focused on the unlikely fact that his wife might be alive, giving him the will to live. Other times, while at another camp where he worked as the only doctor caring for 52 sick and dying patients, he himself was on the brink of starvation and typhus and he did not give up. He felt that it was his duty to care for these people, keep them comfortable and give them the best that he could at the time with minimal resources. There might have