What Does Man's Search For Meaning Mean

| The search for meaning and purpose in life is an important aspect of life. According to this psychologist, people are always striving to meet their needs.

In her book Meaning in Life and Why it Matters, Susan Wolf does not focus on this perennial question people have been asking over the vast confusion of human history rather she gazes her view at the question of how people seek and maintain meaningful lives. Seeking of meaningful life poses the question of motives that has driven us to engage in. Wolf judges the answer from philosophical point of view. Utilitarianism, a paradigm of teleological theory, accepts pleasure as the ultimate meaning of life. J. S. Mill argues, ‘pleasure and freedom from pain are the only things that are desirable as ends, and that everything that is desirable at all is so either for the pleasure inherent in it or as means to the promotion of pleasure and the prevention of pain’ [1863:10] Man demands and pursues the supreme good which comprises both virtue and happiness. Mill’s uses of the term pleasure confined it only in this physical world. Kant, on the other hand, uses it even after death. Virtue and pleasure, duty and inclination, are, according to Kant, heterogeneous notions. Their unity cannot be achieved within the narrow span of our life in this world. We, therefore, conceive immortal life for us. Hence, we seek pleasure not only in this material world, but also in the super sensible world as it is

Imagine not having any purpose, or at least so far as you can see. This would be quite depressing, since everyone wants a purpose and a reason to go through trials. This theory is illustrated in the book, “The Alloy of Law”, by Brandon Sanderson. Sanderson uses third person point of view and diction to reveal how self-discovery brings happiness.

Without this, one lacks purpose their life becomes

While the motivation of the American Dream may be materialistic or moralistic, it is based on the sole property of opportunity. As shared by Martin C. Jischke in “The American Dream,” “the American dream is the ‘dream of a land…with opportunity for each according to the ability or achievement’” (75). Because the qualities of an individual are unique, the measurement of success varies. Improvement in any sense must be sparked by a window of hope at a richer life. The American Dream is easily attainable when paired with opportunity and a strong work ethic. Without the necessary investment of time and labor, the skill sets and knowledge of those working towards the American Dream are laid to waste.

Developing a meaningful purpose in life, is a very strong driving force that can often be underestimated. Without a purpose, living can easily become mere existence.

How many times have you contemplated your purpose? Whether it be in life, in school, or in the universe as a whole. Human beings roam this planet in search of their meaning in life. They go on wild soul-searching adventures, take time off to rediscover themselves, or try to make a change in the world in hopes of finding their lives purpose. In chapter six of Daniel H. Pinks non-fiction book; “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us,” Pink discusses how people who do something in the service of some greater objective can achieve more in life than those who don't.

First off, we must understand the definition of this so called, “American Dream”. A basic definition would describe it as, “the mindset that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative”. Now in a way this can either be true or false. You could either strive for success and work your entire life to make it to the “White picket fence”, or you could be born with a silver spoon and literally have everything you needed in life just given to you. This is also a lifestyle we all sought out to be an easy task to live every day in this “American Dream.” Let’s look into some readings that actually tell about these thoughts.

Before any point can be made, we must ask ourselves, what is the American Dream? According to William Zinsser in his essay, “The Right to Fail”, “The American dream is a dream of getting ahead” (Zinsser 93). To get ahead we have to learn, persevere, and achieve. For most Americans, we live our lives day to day and go through routine after routine.

Every person is entitled to their own opinions. Some people say they are happy and living the American Dream and others say the complete opposite. According to Everett Rosenfeld, “The poll conducted by DDB as part of its 2014 Life Style Study, found that only 40% of American adults over the age of eighteen believed they were living the American Dream” (The American Dream is Alive but Unrecognized). 129,240,000 people consider themselves living the American Dream. As long as one person says they are living the American Dream, it is still alive. Yet, with all those statistics one must ask themselves what does it mean to be living the American Dream? To determine if a person is living the American Dream, they must come up with their own definition. The Center for a New American Dream conducted a poll to establish what American’s consider a significant factor of the American Dream. In the poll, it was determined that 78% feel freedom is a crucial factor. 75% say basic needs are a major key. 71% say achieving one’s potential. 67% says it depends on how much free time a person has. 54% say harmony within nature. 23% say achieving affluence. (The American Dream is Alive and Well). Those listed are just some important factors, but anything that a person considers significant can define the definition. A person will never be able to accomplish the American Dream unless they get their priorities straight and determine what the American Dream means to them. After doing all that, a person will go through ups and downs, but a person must not quit.

The book “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl is a story following Viktor, a psychiatrist, during his time spent in Jewish concentration camps back during WWII. He explains his experiences in a psychological way, explaining feelings and thoughts prisoners had while being held captive. It’s a good insight into the human mind and why life has meaning. The story starts with Viktor explaining the transport and entrance to the camp.

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

In Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning”, Frankl undergoes the ultimate terror of his Auschwitz experience in the Nazi Concentration Camps. Nonetheless, his dreadful occurences resulted in the dissection of life's ultimate lessons pertaining suffering. Frankl states that “Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it” (Frankl 74.1). As soon as humans begin to realize they are suffering an emotion becomes more under their control, and the mind is less passive in respect to it, in proportion as it is more known. The first time one suffers, they are not used to the dreadful feeling.

Man’s Search for Meaning is a relatively short but powerful novel about an experience through the concentration camp from the eyes of psychologist and author, Victor E. Frankl. The main goal of this book is to give perspective and techniques for a person to use to find meaning in his or her life. Psychologist Victor Frankl’s memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. The view of “Man’s Search for Meaning” is that individuals have the psychological freedom to determine their thoughts and feelings. "There is nothing in the world, I venture to say, that would so effectively help one to survive even the worst conditions as the knowledge that there is meaning

Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning is not your average psychological research text. In fact, much of the book’s information is based on his own experiences at Auschwitz: the infamous Holocaust death camp. Having experienced the worst of human nature, one might think that Frankl would argue that man is a product of his environment. However, this couldn't be farther from the truth; according to him, character is determined by a person’s decisions, not their habitat. He came to this conclusion while in Auschwitz, saying that he saw “some of our comrades behave like saints while others behaved like swine”. This comparison is applicable to any tale of imprisonment, including the captivity narratives of Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca and Puritan settler Anne Rowlandson. On one hand, Rowlandson decides to, for the most part, play the part of the pig, denying any facet of her Native captors’ humanity; de Vaca, on the other hand, is slightly more understanding.