What is the meaning of life? When people enjoy the extremely abundant material, what often disturbs us is the emptiness of the heart. Many people are searching the meaning of life consistently. “Man’s Searching For Meaning” is a book wrote by Victor E. Frankl. It describes his experiences as a prisoner of Auschwitz Concentration Camp during World War II and describes his psychotherapy. This book separate to two main parts. In the first part, the author recalled his experience in the concentration camp. Meanwhile he observed and considered the various driving factors that could survive in such a harsh environment from the perspective of a psychologist. The second part discusses Logotheraphy— a psychological therapy developed by the author based …show more content…
Firstly, life is meaningful in all circumstances, even the most miserable. Then, the main purpose of life is to find the meaning of life. Finally, people have meaning in what they do and experience, even in painful situations that cannot be changed. In the Man’s Searching For Meaning, Frankl has a deep understanding of these. In the concentration camp “ everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms- to choose one' attitude in any given set of circumstance, to choose one's own way” (Frankl 61) However, many people cannot approve Logotheraphy. Thus they argue that Why does frankel think that people still make sense when they are in pain? No one wants to live in pain, and pain is always accompanied by despair. What's the meaning of this point? There is a story that might make people understand Logotheraphy. Once upon a time there was a king who found his citizens increasingly lazy and comfortable. In order to change the state of the nation's spirit, he placed a huge stone on the road to the city, completely blocking the road. However when his people saw the stone, they either retreated or tried to move it away, but they soon gave up. There was a farmer, from outside passing by and saw the stone. He want to have it removed, but the stone is too big. He tried various methods, and finally cut down a big tree in the forest by the road, find a fulcrum, using the lever principle to remove the stone. He …show more content…
This looks like contrary to the general perception. many people think the way to success seems to be all about setting goals and sticking to them. However at this point, I think, Frankl may thinks that success, like happiness and power, is not the meaning of life. Success happens, but it always seems to happen by accident. This is also the phenomenon people often see. The more they cling to success, the farther they are from success. Sometimes, with a calm heart, do what someone think is meaningful, and success comes unexpectedly. “What was really needed was a fundamental change in our attitude toward life. We had to learn ourselves and, furthermore, we had to teach the despairing men, that it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life—daily and hourly. Our question must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual”. (Frankl
The insight of Frankl’s ideas and meaning, have helped the other inmates physically and psychologically survive under the inhumane abuse. This is why the author and main character Viktor Frankl affected me the most during my reading of these torturous experiences. Whether he was curing ones typhus, or causally giving advice to the other prisoners, he was always thinking of others, and was seen as a courageous figure to the other individuals at the camp. For example, on page 58 Frankl talks about how he will be escaping the camp with his friend. He states how he checked on his patients one last time before his freedom and saw the sad look in one of his deathly patients eyes. He felt unsatisfied with leaving his hopeless patients and then began to tell his friend that he could not leave camp. He stated, “I did not know what the following days would bring, but I gained an inward peace that I had never experienced before. I returned t...
We have to find the positive in our hardships. He said this in the book, “We must never forget that we may also find meaning in life even when confronted with a hopeless situation, when facing a fate that cannot be changed. For what then matters is to bear witness to the uniquely human potential at its best, which is to transform a personal tragedy into a triumph, to turn one’s predicament into a human achievement.” (Frankl 112) Finding the positive in our hardships is what helps us survive what we’re going through. Like I said earlier, we’re going through a financial hardship right now but the positive we’ve found in this hardship is that after we get through this we’ll have a house, two cars, and each other. We’ve also realized that going through hardships has brought us closer
Frankl learned from his own observations and developed the theory of Logotherapy. He observed that one particular prisoner to see how he reacts to others being punished. This helps others because it shows that anyone can understand the human mind through observation. Even though Frankl was a psychiatrist, he mainly used his observations to develop his theory. Frankl’s theory counteracts other mainstream theories such as Psychoanalytic theory. It is merely based on “meaning.” It focuses on the meaning of human existence. Frankl believes that “this striving to find a meaning in one’s life is the primary motivational force in man” (Frankl P.
Most people throughout the world strive for success in each task they take on, and along with this, many reasons contribute to why they succeed or not. If a person does not succeed, they may automatically blame themselves because of their level of strength. Others may blame themselves for not having enough knowledge about what they are trying to succeed at. The real reason that people may not succeed, however, is their lack of determination and happiness throughout his/her journey that is demonstrated in the book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell.
Some of the content of this book really makes your stomach turn. The picture of shared suffering is very vivid and Frankl describes three stages that he watches every prisoner experiences one way or another. These stages are 1) the shocked stage as they arrive 2) some type of mental protection where they took on natural survival and learned how to react to camp life and 3) freedom, where they’ve gotten so used to camp life that being released seems a bit unreal. After Frankl mentions being let out of the camps, he then uses this to emphasize the second part of the book; logotherapy. Logotherapy is explained as a practice used to find meaning within ones’ life and taking responsibility for it. According to Frankl it’s hard for many to find their true meaning because too many variables come in to play. Some people don’t have the will to have meaning, as were others make up their meaning based off personal desire (usually materialistic; money, for fun, etc.). He says that there are 3 main ways to find meaning. 1 is by giving back to the community, or world by expressing yourself. 2 is pretty much experiencing something or someone (loving them) and 3 is our mindset when we experience inevitable hardships. Frankl’s overall perspective is that everyone has a meaning. It may not jump
...ences the individuals dealt through in the Nazi concentration camps. He writes to avoid any personal bias, as he was a prisoner himself and emphasizes the notion that man has the ability to determine what will become of his life, as he himself was able to apply this thought while living three years in captivity. His notion of finding meaning in life becomes a key factor in survival, which was ultimately able to help him and help others under his teachings, to make it out from the camps alive with a positive attitude. The need for hope, gave him a purpose to keep fighting, although others became struck down with the thought of suicide. Though Victor E. Frankl faced many difficulties and challenges while in captivity and days following his release, he comes to the ultimate realization that life will never cease to have meaning, even when under the cruelest conditions.
In the memoir Night, Elie Wiesel shows readers how threatening and dangerous life can be as a Jew in concentration camps when Hitler was reigning over parts of Europe, such as Germany. Born into a semi-normal life, Wiesel, was just a typical Jewish boy who was focusing on his religious studies and education. Years later, Hitler demanded that all Jews must be deported to concentration camps. There, Wiesel becomes separated from other members of his family, leaving him with no one else but his father. Wiesel experiences many near-death situations and learns the importance of survival within the concentration camps. Though some may believe that it was best to be altruistic in the concentration camps, I believe that it is best to be selfish in
Viktor Frankl's concept regarding survival and fully living was developed through his observations and experiences in the concentration camps. He used his psychiatric training to discern the meanings of observations and to help himself become a better person. He uses analysis to develop his own concepts and describes them in steps throughout the book. When the prisoners first arrived at the camp most of them thought they would be spared at the last moment. The prisoners believed they had a chance of surviving, but this belief was eventually eliminated and it was at this time when the prisoners began to learn how to survive by using their internal strength. A sense of humor had emerged among the prisoners. This humor helped to get through some difficult situations they faced. Viktor also observed how much a person could really endure and still live. Even though the prisoners could not clean their teeth and were deprived of warmth and vitamins, they still were able to survive. The sores and abrasions on their hands did not suppurate despite the dirt that gathered on them from the hard labor. The challenge of staying alive under these wretched conditions was to have and maintain strong internal strength. During the time he spent in the camps, Viktor learned what was needed to survive and how to keep his internal strength despite his weakening external strength. During the second stage of Viktor's psychological reaction, prisoners lost their sense of feeling and emotion toward events that would be emotional to people outside the camps. This was a result of the violent environment, which consisted of beatings of prisoners and the death of many others. The prisoners could no longer feel any disgust or horr...
Throughout Viktor Frankl’s life and struggles he discovered and developed his theory of logotherapy. Frankl has helped many patients find meaning in their lives by having them create a work, finding the meaning in love, or by finding the meaning behind hopeless suffering. He has helped people discover these by using different techniques like paradoxical intention, dereflexion, or Socratic dialogue. Thus, to choose one’s attitude in any circumstance allows one to choose one’s way. This saying if a man cannot find meaning in his suffering, then it is easy for him to lose hope or faith. According to Viktor Frankl, man’s deepest desire is to search for meaning and purpose in one’s life.
If This Is a Man or Survival in Auschwitz), stops to exist; the meanings and applications of words such as “good,” “evil,” “just,” and “unjust” begin to merge and the differences between these opposites turn vague. Continued existence in Auschwitz demanded abolition of one’s self-respect and human dignity. Vulnerability to unending dehumanization certainly directs one to be dehumanized, thrusting one to resort to mental, physical, and social adaptation to be able to preserve one’s life and personality. It is in this adaptation that the line distinguishing right and wrong starts to deform. Primo Levi, a survivor, gives account of his incarceration in the Monowitz- Buna concentration camp.
My philosophy of success, is me growing into the person I want to become and being comfortable with the choices I decide to make in life. Success is not something I can achieve overnight, it’s something I must plan for then proceed to working hard for it as well. Without hard work, there isn’t anything successful about the job I want to get done or the job I wish to get done. Doing anything without hard work and dedication, and expecting the best outcome is not success; it’s mediocrity. Being mediocre/ will only allow me or anyone else to have a ‘Victim’s Mindset.’
In Victor Frankl's novel Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl discusses finding this magic in life in what he calls will-to-meaning. Frankl, a twentieth century psychiatrist, states that "life ultimately means taking responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual" (122). This concept is what he called will-to-meaning. Some forms of will-to-meaning are hunger, humiliation, fear, and deep anger at injustice (8). Some importance of will-to-meaning is that he had to find a sense of responsibility in his existence (9).
Even through suffering, Frankl believes that has not made it impossible for an individual to find their significance in life. The changing of an outlook is the most vital piece in improving a situation, and people must remember that anything has a possibility if you put your mind to it. When in the concentration camp, Frankl could have given up and accepted defeat, although he capitalized on his circumstance focused on helping others through open lectures about the mind, body and
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.
In contemplating the meaning of life, (or rather, whether life has a meaning or not, and what is that meaning?) a person must answer the timeless metaphysical question about the nature of their own existence which, simply put, is this: Why do I exist and for what purpose? Upon first inspection of this all-critical question appears to lie the built-in assumption that an individual’s life and thus life-itself has a reason for being and that the individual’s purpose can be discovered. As indeed, one can see from relational observations among human beings that people are always searching for satisfaction in their life, a desire to take pleasure in their physical or ideological accomplishments over the course of their lives and in the present.