Summary Of Viktor Frankl : The Human Search For Meaning

Man’s Search For Meaning details Viktor Frankl’s horrifying experiences in Nazi concentration camps during the holocaust, and during that time he found meaning in his life. And he describes three things that were the most important factors that contributed to his and some prisoners survival: love, work, and suffering. It was because of those three things that they were able to survive. Many found hope in the thought that a love one was waiting , others were so preoccupied with work they were un able to think, and most effective was

For the prisoners, the question of the meaning of life turned to the question of if their suffering had any meaning at all, and Frankl argues that what they really needed to be asking was what life

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.

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

Many books were published about Holocaust, but Frankl’s work is “One of the outstanding contribution to psychological thought . . .” (Carl Rogers. 1959). Frankl, a psychiatrist and neurologist, spent 3 years in Nazis concentration camps where he underwent

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

Emily Harr Professor Rohlf Critical Review October 7, 2015 Critical Review for Man’s Search for Meaning 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

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.

Survivors like Elie Wiesel prove that the good side of human nature can arise even during times as malevolent as the Holocaust. Elie used certain tools of survival, such as love for family. This is seen when Elie and his father are on the train to a concentration camp, and the dead are periodically thrown off the train. At one stop, Elie’s father appeared to be a corpse. Elie screamed at the men who tried to throw his father out of the train. Elie hit him several times to try and wake his father up, and his father eventually woke up (Wiesel 98-99). This action shows the survivor quality of love for family because Elie depends on his father’s companionship and his father depends on Elie to survive. They

In Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning we are told a powerful story of a man’s survival through the Holocaust. Frankl struggles to not only keep his body alive, but his spirit as well. Frankl’s main goal is to not only come out alive from the Holocaust but to not let it change him and ultimately defeat or take over his life and change who he truly is. He knows the only way to stay alive is to find some sort of meaning in his life. As we watch him fight to survive during his stay in concentration camps we begin to realize that the only way he is surviving is because he hasn’t forgotten who he still is and the identity that the Nazi’s were trying to take from him. He keeps his personal identity, goals, and morals in mind while

Both Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl and “For an Auschwitz Survivor, His Son’s Graduation Spelled Freedom” by Harley Rotbart, draw upon real life experiences to relay how powerful an optimistic mindset can be in allowing one to overcome the most arduous of hardships. The parallel can be drawn between both stories in the inmate using introspection to seek towards and appreciate his goals of the future instead of dwelling upon the forced and oppressive life he had while in the concentration camps. In having an intense amount of suffering while in the camps, the persons cultivated a deeper meaning from that experience that later set him forward to find purpose in his life. From Frankl’s perseverance, he found more meaning in personal accomplishments, and from Rotbart’s father’s perseverance, he found more meaning in his son’s

Prior to World War II, Viktor Frankl was a somewhat successful therapist. Once the war began however, he was sent off to an Auschwitz concentration camp. Everyone in concentration camps had one wish, to stay alive (Frankl 15). Whether they tried to get on the good side of the warden, or attempt an escape, everyone had a different way to survive. Many prisoners died while at camps, but some of them who were hopeful and courageous made it out. Inspired by these prisoners, Frankl created logotherapy to help other find meaning in their own lives.

Psychologist Victor Frankl’s novel: Man's Search for Meaning delivers a powerful and humbling perspective on life that inspires introspection in the minds of all those that read it. The book achieves this by taking us on a journey with Frankl as he describes his personal experiences of the Holocaust. During his time spent in four different concentration camps Frankl gradually learns lessons in spiritual survival. Devoid of all pleasures and possessing nothing but his “naked existence” Frankl is forced to look inward and in the process discovers what he believes to be the primary motivating factor of all men (p. 15).

Dr. Frankl also explains his theory on neurosis and how it is tied to the meaning of life. Frankl differs from the ideas of Freud. Freud believed that the basis of neurosis is in unconscious motives. Frankl believes that the basis for neurosis is man's search for his own meaning. Furthermore he explains that ones own meaning is constantly changing; therefor, the means for our suffering is constantly changing. Frankl explains, "What matters, therefor, is not the meaning of life in general, but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment." Frankl describes we discover our specific meaning at a given moment. "We can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: (1) by doing a deed; (2) by

Reflection Paper: A Critical Book Review of Man’s Search for Meaning Heather Urmanski Silver Lake College History 205 Instructor Diane Weiland August 19, 2012 Introduction 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