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Introduction a paper for concentration camps
Essay of concentration camps
The advantages of existential theory
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Recommended: Introduction a paper for concentration camps
In Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl utilizes his nightmarish experiences as a prisoner in a concentration camp to develop his philosophical and psychological theory, logotherapy. A significantly existential theory, logotherapy deals primarily with the importance meaning in life. Frankl notes meaning’s ability to “differ from man to man, and from moment to moment” (77). In other words, he posits the individuality of meaning and presents it as unique to each person. Additionally, Frankl establishes the significant importance of meaning to a person’s survival. …show more content…
He notes two instances of men who were planning on committing suicide who, once they were able to find meaning in their lives and their futures, were able to find the will to live. For one of the men, this was his child waiting for him in a foreign country, for the other it was finishing his life’s work (79). Clearly, discovering meaning in their lives aided them in surviving the suffering that they faced. Frankl believes that there exists “potential meaning inherent and dormant in all the single situations one has to face throughout his or her life” (143). Frankl finds meaning even in terrible suffering. While he in no way purports suffering as a necessary means to finding meaning, he acknowledges that the way a man responds to suffering allows him “to add a deeper meaning to his life” (67). Does this man maintain his morality? Does he become compromised by the atrocities surrounding him? Perhaps even a desire to maintain one’s morals and prove his inner strength and humanity can be seen as a meaning to
Man's Search for Meaning is a book written in 1946 by Viktor Frankl. Frankl is a holocaust survivor who elaborates on his experiences of being an Auschwitz concentration camp inmate during World War II. Being that Frankl is also a trained psychologist, he goes into detail about his psychotherapeutic method, which involved analyzing a purpose in life to feel positively about, and then imagining it being reality. According to Frankl, longevity was explained by the way a prisoner imagined how the future affected his durability of life. The book proposes to answer the question "How was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?" Part One establishes Frankl's dissection of his experiences in the concentration camps, while part two touches on his theory of logotherapy.
The book I decided to read is called Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl. He wrote this book because of what he went through while in the concentration camps. He told about how it psychologically messed with his mind and how he used his education in psychology to make it through what he was going through. The main idea of the book is to show people that you have to have a meaning to life. A person has to find the meaning in life, love, and suffering. This book taught me how to search for the meaning of my life, love, and sufferings.
An individual’s meaning or purpose in life cannot truly be realized unless they are faced with a situation in which their course of action directly affects their future. In most cases, humankind is forced to face an extreme circumstance when something comes to an end, whether it be positive or negative, for that ending means that change is inevitable and approaching. Thus, life becomes more meaningful as something ends, for people are forced to realize what is truly important to them as well as the idea that nothing lasts forever. Individuals must choose which of the aspects and goals of their lives are the most significant and should be focused on as they approach a resolution, as can be seen in the Gawain Poet’s Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Therefore, due to the finality of an ending and the uncertainty of the following events, humankind can reveal what they believe are the
Warren, Richard. The Purpose-driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002. Print.
“Someone feels sick of life because of a series of troubles that has grown to the point of despair, but is still so far in possession of his reason that he can ask himself whether it would be contrary to his duty to himself to take his own life.”
“The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”
It really moved me when Frankl writes, “only slowly could these men be guided back to the commonplace truth that no one has the right to do wrong, not even if wrong has been done to them.” We hurt others and become the oppressors by projecting our pain to others instead of sitting down with the pain. Letting the pain transform us into something greater than we were before is life changing. We all suffer and should not make others suffer because of our suffering. It is for this reason that I found extremely insightful when Frankl talks about finding the meaning of life in suffering.
While being held prisoner in the death camps, Frankl began to observe his fellow inmates. He payed close attention to the prisoners who survived and those who did not. Frankl concluded that those who felt they had meaning in life such as hope in seeing loved ones at home, unfinished business or great faith had better chances of survival than those who had no hope. This quickly became the basis of his theory. Frankl extrapolated that philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was correct in saying, “He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.” (Frankl 126).
Contemplating suicide, not knowing what illusory fulfillment Nan is seeking, can be mentally hectic; purpose and determination will soothe her. This procedure could help Nan in recognizing the sense of being alone and isolated in the world, facilitating her to find a new-found grasp or appreciation of her life. That her life has a purpose and apparent meaning, gaining awareness of her freedom and the consequences of accepting or rejecting that
Through the understanding that we are more than just our DNA, many find significance in our individual experiences. By making these experiences permanent, tattoos act as a reminder of who we are and how we have grown to become the individual we are today. “You do not have to suffer to learn. But, if you do not learn from suffering, over which you have no control, then your life becomes truly meaningless…” (Pattakos, 2004). Not too dissimilar from the way Frankl has the ability to recognise the meaning in suffering, Buddhist artist Ah Xian and convert orthodox Jewish follower Ari Heber are able to endure negative experiences through creative and religious outlets. As a Jewish Holocaust survivor, the incomprehensible suffering Frankl experiences enabled him to develop his framework. Frankl observed that an individual’s attitude and spiritual wellbeing was either a source of unconquerable strength or the epicentre of their detriment. Through practicing “Freedom of Will” “Will to meaning” and “Meaning of Life” Frankl was able to endure the horrors of the holocaust and essentially come out of the experience stronger then before (Indinger, 2010). “Freedom of Will” is the basic understanding that all of humanity has the freedom of choice; however, in terms of Frankl’s framework this concept focuses on our freedom to choose how we react to certain situations. In regard to Frankl’s framework, this is the most important concept.
puts it: “…though death alone can put a full period to his misery, he dare not…a vain fear left he offend his Maker” (On Suicide, p.55). On his famous paper “On Suicide”, he defends the act of suicide and concludes that suicide is at least sometimes permissible. This paper will examine the essay itself in depth and counter argues about his view since the commitment of suicide deprives us from the future possibilities.
Philosophy, a construct of rich, educated, and, frankly, intoxicated navel-gazers has been a persistent companion of humanity throughout the ages. The most eccentric school of thought, popularized by figures such as Nietzsche, Sartre, and Camus, became known as Existentialism. Holding that all of reality itself was absurd, existentialists sought meaning in their own chaotic lives as part of the shared “human condition”, which Franz Kafka demonstrates in “The Metamorphosis”, which eventually became the staple diet for grumpy literature majors and angsty college freshmen alike. “The Metamorphosis”, together with Nikolai Gogol’s “The Overcoat”, reveals the ephemeral and absurd nature of mankind, and also demonstrates the power in discovering meaning in one’s life.
Existentialism is a phiosophy which revolves around the central belief that we create ourselves. External factors are not important. It is the way that we let external factors affect us that determines who we are. As individuals we all have the freedom to choose our own path and that is what life is all about. Along with the freedom of choice comes the responsibilty of one's actions which can make some people anxious but give others meaning to their lives. To overcome this anxiousness and accept responsibilty is to meet the challenges of life and to truly live it. I can adopt the existentialist approach which states that to live life is to experience happiness and absurdness and to appreciate both as a part of life.
The meaning of life, defined by Victor E. Frankl, is the will to find your meaning in life. It is not the meaning of life in general, but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment. He believes that if you are approached with the question of “what is the meaning of my life” or in this case, “life is meaningless,” then you should reverse the question to that person asking the question. For example: What are you bringing to me? What are you as an individual contributing to this life? This forces the person in question to take a look at themselves and to ultimately be responsible. Frankl says that if you are a responsible member of society than the meaning of life transcends from yourself rather from your own psyche. He also says that if we for some reason cannot find meaning within ourselves it has to be from some outside source. This is referred to as service. And an example of this is love. Victor Frankl describes three ways in which we can discover the meaning of life; Creating work-doing a deed, experiencing something-someone, and by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering.
Saul Bellow’s novel Seize the Day has personal relevance to me, because, in some ways, the story of Tommy Wilhelm is the story of my father. They both face a world that they neither belong in nor understand. They both have violent tantrums that reveal the emotional maturity of a child. They both victimize themselves by complaining about the supposed injustices that the world has committed against them. Wilhelm and I both experience an existential crisis partly due to our fathers, although we are in two very different stages in life. Having an existential crisis led many philosophers in the twentieth century to develop a philosophy known as existentialism. The novel embodies existentialism in its exploration of themes such as anxiety, absurdity,