The Means Of John Frankl And The Meaning Of Life

One of the most prominent perspectives on meaning in life is that of Frankl (1959, 1984). He describes meaning in life as having found a reason for living and a feeling or experience that one’s life is of significance. In Frankl’s view, meaning in life refers to a sense of being committed to, and fulfilling, a higher purpose in life. This purposefulness provides one with a reason for living (the term purpose is often used as a synonym for meaning). It makes life more than just a survival quest, but rather an experience of one’s life as having made or being able to make a difference in the world.
According to Yalom (1980), two questions one can ask pertaining the meaning are “what is the meaning of life?” and “what is the meaning of my life?” (p.423). The former concerns cosmic meaning, that is, whether or not life is part of a coherent pattern or design existing supervisor to oneself. The later deals with the terrestrial meaning: what is the purpose one is to fulfill, and what goals are needed to achieve his purpose.
A similar distinction is made by Frankl (1946/1963), who suggested that the two levels of life meaning are provisional and ultimate. Daily tasks and events generate provisional meaning, whereas deeper beliefs and experiences (e.g., spiritual practices) results in a sense of ultimate meaning. Frankl believed that meaning in life is not created or given to someone. Rather, it already exits and must be discovered.
Frankl (1946/1986) suggested that there are three types of values that give one’s existence meaning: creative value, experiential value, and attitudinal values.
The dominance of each of these values can vary depending on the situation. Creative values, or what one gives to the world, are generally realized t...

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...positional motivations. A healthy search is usually depicted as grounded in people’s aspirations and insights they derive from engaging life’s challenges (e.g., Maddi, 1970). In contrast, a dysfunctional search is usually said to be marked by people’s inability to engage with and resolve negative or challenging experiences (e.g., Klinger, 1998). As such, basic tendencies either to seek out positive experiences or to seek to avoid negative experiences may influence the outcome of searching for meaning.
Meaningful living has been directly equated with authentic living (Kenyon, 2002), and in eudaimonic theories of well- being, which focus on personal growth and psychological strengths beyond pleasant affect, meaning is important, whether as a critical component (Ryff & Singer, 1998) or as a result of maximizing one’s potentials (e.g., Deci & Ryan, 2000; Maslow, 1971).