A Non-Religious Search for Meaning

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Viktor Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning, is a powerful and insightful book, however, does the center message intertwine with his religious beliefs? Frankl’s book shares the same concerns as religion such as: First, his beliefs of having nothing will give one a Higher Purpose; second, his belief that we must change to become worthy; and third, that we need fill an “empty soul” with God to find meaning.

First of Frankl’s beliefs include one must have nothing to have a Higher Purpose, and his view of determinism. I for one share similar views in Buddhism, and I agree and disagree with some of his views. I strongly disagree with this statement simply because it states that I cannot find meaning nor advance to a high state of mentality because I have not endured suffering and “being naked” as great as Frankl suffered. A Christian and Catholic writer, Peter Kreeft, share the same ideas with Frankl. Kreeft wrote in Three Philosophies of Life; “Not all of us lose our children, our health, our possessions, and our confidence in one day. But all of us must learn to lose everything but God…” This is an example of why I disagree with Frankl and Kreeft because I do not believe in a Higher Power such as God. There is one example that I do believe in which is his rejection of determinism. Jeff McMahon, an English professor, writes the definition on his article Is Man’s Search for Meaning a Religion? “…we are the product of environmental and biological faces we cannot control...” However, people who do believe in determinism argue that every single thing that they do is predetermined. An example of this is if a person robs a store and is arrested that person claims that it was “God’s will.

Second of Frankl’s beliefs include that one ...

... middle of paper ...

...ng my opinion using Frankl can argue “For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment.” He warns us to not turn meaning into an illusion.

All in all, Frankl clearly shows the amount of religious dependency in his center message. With his beliefs of having nothing, changing, and filling our empty souls to find meaning with a Higher Power. We must use our own experiences and morals to determine what we believe.

Works Cited

http://www.dailygrail.com/category/News/Religion-and-Spirituality

http://flowingmotion.jojordan.org/2010/05/19/one-of-the-all-time-classics-viktor-frankl-via-ted/

http://herculodge.typepad.com/breakthrough_writer/2011/05/mcmahons-guide-to-mans-search-for-meaning-.html

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