Viktor Frankl and his Theory of Logotherapy

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Recommended: Logotherapy and psychoanalysis

In September of 1942, Viktor Frankl was arrested in Vienna and taken to one of the many Nazi death camps. Frankl was working on a manuscript which was confiscated from him in a move to Auschwitz. In this manuscript entitled, The Doctor and the Soul, Frankl had began his work on a theory he would later call logotherapy. The term logotherapy is derived from the Greek word logos, which means meaning. According to logotherapy, the striving to find a meaning in one’s life is the primary motivational force in man (Frankl 121). Frankl’s theory and therapy generated and grew through his experiences in the concentration camps. 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). Once Viktor Frankl was liberated in April of 1945, he set to work on piecing together the manuscript that he had lost. He began to further develop his idea of logotherapy. This idea is based on three philosophical and psychological components: the freedom of will, will to meaning, and the meaning in life. The freedom of will, according to logotherapy, is that humans posses the freedom of choice and are not fully subjected to their conditions. The will of meaning is not only saying that humans have freedom of choice but also the ability to fulfill goals a... ... middle of paper ... ...ng what to do with their new found leisure time. Boredom ultimately results in the existential vacuum and has been found as an underlying factor in depression, aggression, and addiction. 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.

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