In “Man‘s Search for Meaning” Victor Frankl contends that every individual has an innate tendency to search for the meaning of his existence. The author’s experiences in several small NAZI death camps are used quite effectively to illustrate hoW focusing on the reasons behind a situation rather than the results that follow, allows a person to surVive even the most torturous of Circumstances. He writes of all the horrors, tragedies, sufferings and torments that he and his fellow prisoners experienced yet he recounted it in a way that seemed so gentle and light but in actuality its depth is profound. The central point of the book was not on the external sufferings of the prisoners and the torments that they had to go through. Rather, the focus was on the psychological reactions of each prisoner to the external sufferings and torments of living an every day life at a concentration camp.
The message that is prevalent is that no matter what type of suffering a person endures. as long as they hold onto their faith that everything happens for a reason, they can survive. By believing that everything happens for a reason, indiVIduais are able to Weather the storms of their lives With the strength and determination to overcome. He cites numerous heartbreaking stories about fellow prisoners and their ways of either coping or dealing With the Situation or givmg up and losing all hope. In this book. Dr. Frankl explains the experience which led to his discovery of logotherapy and panly through that experience came to its central premise that humans’ most fundamental motive is to find meaning in life. Through his observations and experiences, he noted that there were three phases of the inmates mental reactions to camp life. These were the period lollowmg his admission; the period when he is Well entrenched in camp routine; and the period following his release and liberation. Dr. Frankl relates With each of these phases together With his fellow inmates at camp.
The author illustrates each phase of the inmate’s mental reactions and gives various quotations lrom notable philosophers, poets, and fellow doctors about the meaning of life, According to Dr. Frankl. the meaning of life varies for each person. Several times at camp he met indiwduals who had inner struggles to find meaning in their lives. This inner struggle primarily leads to the feeling of frustration because the indiwdual tries to find meaning in his life by aligning it With the goals of soCiety. In other words, it is man‘s lack of ability to find meaning on a personal level rather than a comparative one that drives him to feel hopeless and distraught. Frankl‘s logotherapy specifically attempts to restore a sense of meaning to replace feelings of Worthlessness and alienation common in people with depression. He achieves this primarily by helping individuals to see that the power of the human spirit is more powerful than any other force on earth. Since the beginning of time, mankind has searched to find reasons and explanations for the seemingly inexplicable suffering of so many good people.
127 our experts are availableright now
Frankl perceives his theories not as a defense of suffering, but more as a way of validating its existence I personally agree With Frankl that believing that everything happens for a reason can make even the direst of circumstances seem bearable. Man has always sought to find meaning for his existence and a counselor (therapist) can play a significant role in helping indii/iduals travel down the path of understanding. According to Frankl, appropriate counseling can remove the obstacles that are preventing indIViduals from using their capability to overcome torturous circumstances and identifying their will to meaning. This will to meaning is distinctive in that only unique individuals can discover the source of their own unique significance, Counselors can assist these individuals in guiding them towards their natural tendency to find meaning and can also help them to overcome obstacles that are keeping them from exploring the possible answers.
Dr, Frankl gives us three different Ways wherein We can discover this meaning of life: by creating a work or doing a deed; by experiencing something or encountering someone: and by the attitude We take toward unavoidable suffering. Most people Who don’t have robs find that their life has no more meaning. In a way, this could be true. These people feel that they have no more use in this world. Their feeling of self-worth stems from the fact that they should have a purpose and their purpose is to work and not to be idle. When, for example, a man is laid off from work. a normal reaction would be to feel depressed, think that he is stupid and regard himself as a no-good. Being jobless was equated With being useless and being useless was equated with having a meaningless life.
I had an aunt who was a consistent honor student when she was still studying, She always received awards and numerous citations In her school. In her family, she was considered the “brainy” one. Everyone expected her to succeed. They were not rich so her parents (her mom is my grandmother’s sister) were equally proud of her and anticipated that she will be the one to make life easier for them. Everything in her life was going lust the way she wanted it to be. Her life was full of meaning. She had her whole life set out for her. She graduated Accounting with honors She was ready to take on the responsibilities of taking care of her parents and being the breadwinner to the rest of her younger siblings. Then she failed the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) board exam. For her it was too much of a failure so her life became meaningless. She probably thought that she had no more use in this lifetime.
She went in shock. She was brought to see a psychiatrist and she was found to be mentally unstable, She remained at home while her family took care of her. Just when everybody thought that she was getting better. she hanged herself while she was alone in their home. This story of my aunt is similar to a story that Dr, Frahkl narrates in p. 96 of the book. This fairly well known composer and librettist confided in him one day about a dream that he had. In his dream, a voice told him that they would be liberated. He was even given an exact date when their sufferings will soon end. This person believed in his dream so much. When the time of their supposed liberation was drawing hear he suddenly got sick. He died the day after the voice told him that he was going to be free. Asudden loss of hope and courage can have a deadly effect on man. This certain composer was severely disappointed when his expected liberation did not come.
Comparable with my aunt’s story, after failing the board exam, she just couldn‘t accept II. For her it was already the end of the world. What else could the world offer her7 Nothing and that is why she took her own lile, There was nothing else to live for. She lelt hopeless. She lost faith in herself and everything around her. She couldn’t believe that she would fail at something that she was excelling in her whole life. She thought that she let her family down by failing. She didn’t realize that life was still expecting something from her and that failing at one thing would mean that she has failed her whole life. I did not think of my aunt‘s suicide that much until now. l was still a kid then and maybe I did not understand what really happened. Actually, I was even ashamed to talk about it and to even mention it to my friends because lwas afraid that they would tease me. After reading about suicides and deaths in concentration camps because they had no more hope, my aunt‘s death regained a new meaning, I realized that there are a lot of people whose actions are directed to achieve specific goals.
Their life only had meaning whenever there was a goal to be achieved, In the case of my aunt. when she failed, all her hopes and dreams were shattered and it was best for her to die. In the case of a” Dr. Frankl’s fellow inmates. to have nothing to look forward to in the future meant that there would be no reason for them to live. My aunt thought that the meaning of her life meant that she would have to conform to the goals of society which is wrong. She forgot that her worth as person doesn’t come form her being the breadwinner of the family but her being precisely my grandparents‘ daughter. As Dr Frankl said “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.“ (p.131). The meaning of life varies for every person and should not be generalized. A persons life is important not because of what he or she has accomplished. What is important is precisely that given moment wherein a human being touches the life of another human being. E.g. daughter to mother and vise versa.
The author quoted several philosophers but was generally fond of citing Nietzsche’s words, “He who has a why to live can bear With almost any how.” In his experience in the concentration camps, indivrduals who saw that they have a future goal or aim in life regained their inner strength. These indwrduals needed to know that they were suffering for a reason. They had to find a purpose for everything that they were experiencing If they couldn‘t find one then what‘s the use of carrying on. For this people, they always look at what to expect from life. When they realize that there is nothing more to expect from life, they give up. Victor Frankl said, “It did not really matter whatwe expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.” It is necessary, however. for us to know ourselves, care about ourselves, choose the right values, and will them into action if we are to actualize ourselves by transcending ourselves.
For most of my life I had always played around the notion that life owes me something. I mean here I am living and doing exactly what everyone expects me to do. I figured I should be getting something in return, What do I expect In return? A comfortable life. a nice car. a brand new house. a successful business. a wonderful husband and kids. etcThe list and possibilities could be endless. I expect so much from life and all it has to offer yet I have nothing to offer it. After reading the book. | sat for awhile and contemplated about my life. I tried to think of every good deed I had done in my 19 years. Every December. my family would contribute money to buy groceries. These groceries (composed of canned goods. milk. cookies. etc) will then be given to poor families who live in the streets. I thought that each good deed I committed made me a better and more fulfilled person. But then I realized that those good deeds should not be considered extraordinary events. They should be considered ordinary things to do in our everyday lives. I suddenly remembered what my Values Education teacher In High School used to tell us.
“Do ordinary things in extraordinary ways.” Simple things like giVing to the poor is supposed to be an ordinary thing to do for a Catholic. It is in doing that good deed regularly which makes it appear extraordinary. Being a good deed should not iust be done on schedule; it should be part of persons’ everyday life. This I believe could give a person meaning in his life. lstopped asking myself what I could expect from life. On the other hand. I started asking myself What life could expect from me. I‘m only 19 years old and l have a lull life ahead of me. There are so many things that I could still do and its never too late for me to start. “The truth that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire…The salvation of man is through love and in love.” (p.57). I believe that these are the best lines that Victor Frankl wrote in the book. Foolish and clich as it may sound. but I do believe that love is the supreme value, Love gives us the freedom and courage to be ourselves. to realize ourselves. and enable us to transcend ourselves. Through love. we are able to see an imperfect person perfectly.
We are able to see past the faults of our loved ones and realize his or her true inner beauty. For awhile I was angry with myself because I‘m the type of person who loves and trusts too easily. I’ve been hurt many times and yet I still didn‘t learn. One instance were I felt betrayed because a friend broke my trust happened recently. There was this friend who didn’t have a very good reputation. He is a nice guy but there is something about him that people don’t like. his boastfulness. He is very self»centered and loves to talk about himself. At first I didn’t like talking or even hanging out with this guy, Due to situations beyond my control. we started to be close. He even called me his best friend. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and opened up to him and trusted him with my secrets. He is a sweet guy and he promised to protect me from other guys With malicious minds Little did I know he was the one With a malicious mind because he started saying stuff about me behind my back. This really hurt me and made me angry with him. Then. I started to get angry With myself for trusting him too easily.
After reading the book. I realized that I shouldn‘t be angry With myself for trusting and loving a friend. I should just think of it as an experience and to learn from it, I should never regret giving my friendship to another person even if in the end lwas betrayed. I still believe in the saying “it is better to have loved than to have not loved at all.” The third way to find out the meaning of one’s life according to Dr. Frankl is by the attitude we take towards suffering. Dr. Frankl calls this good attitude “tragic optimism.” Tragic optimism means that a person continues to be optimistic in spite of distressing situations that befall human existence, It‘s like turning the negative aspect of a predicament and finding a positive light, This is easy for optimistic people. But for most people I know this is a difficult thing to do. Ask yourself. How can Ifind a good thing that happened to me out of a bad thing that occurred?
My mom has always taught me to be optimistic. She believes in the power of the mind that if you think of something you want to happen so badly. then the mind has the power to make it happen. At the same time. l was thought that for every disaster. there is a lesson to be learned. I’ve always tried to follow this optimistic View on life but admittedly there are times when it takes all the discipline not to scream and shout and complain about all the iniustices the world has done to you, The question that I stated earlier. well. I’ve asked myself that a dozen times. Victor Frankl‘s philosophy states that as long as a person has hope, he can survive any type of suffering, If an Individual believes that everything happens for a reason, then that indiVidual can get through With the Innate strength and convrction to defeat the sufferings. We must always think that there is a lesson to be learned in all the hardships that we encounter in our lives. Victor Frankl asked many questions throughout the book. What could make a person go on living in spite of all his sufferings? The answer is hope.
Man has the ability, because of his longing and desire, to free himself from suflering. The real reason for the deaths of most concentration camp inmates was the loss hope. A person has the capability to get through any type of suffering. and this is evident amongst the survivors of the concentration camps and other prisoners of war, just as long as they have something to hope for and to look forward to. Frankl places a great deal of confidence in the power of the human mind. What kind of hope? This would vary from person to person because the meaning of life can never be generalized, If you think about it, many of those suffering from depression try to find the meaning of life in simple material things, They ask themselves “what is the meaning of my life?“ Why do I have to endure such sufferings? For me, to find the meaning of life is to find it in the very root of one‘s existence. “The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails. the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity—-even under the most difficult circumstances-40 add a deeper meaning to his life.” (p.35).
“Everything can be taken from man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-40 choose one‘s attitude in any given set of circumstances. to choose one‘s way.” (p.86). This is one of the more beautiful lines that Victor Frankl wrote in his book, This line helped me understand how man‘s freedom is very much related to the way he views the meaning of his life. in suffering. for example. one may choose to either Just give up and take his own life or to carry on With the hope that one day he Will overcome. We have the choice on how we should live our lives, God gave us free will in order for us to determine ourselves. When faced wrth dire circumstances, we can either face it or turn our backs like cowards We should always remember that life has plenty to offer us but we should never forget that we too have a lot to offer life. Our generation is realistic, for we have to know man as he really is,” Frankl writes, “After all, man is that being who invented the gas chambers of AuschWitz; however. he is also that being who entered those gas chambers upright. With the Lord‘s prayer or the Shema Visrael on his lips.”
The underlying teaching of Frankl is that no matter what tragedies befall the faithful. as long as they don’t let go of their faith, they are reaping life‘s greatest rewards. Sometimes I feel that nothing significant ever occurs or that I haven’t done enough to merit a life that is a fulfilling one. There are times when I do not comprehend the events that are happening in my life. Whenever I have a problem. | feel that God must be punishing me. I know that things happen for a reason and in a way suffering makes you become a better person because it makes you stronger. Still, life can be unfair. Turn on your television set and you see perfect people With perfect lives. You watch a pop star singing and dancing to the tune of her hit song and you wonder what does she have that you dont. Yet after reading Dr. Frankl’s book, lwould never exchange my life for anyone else’s. I’ve experienced so many things and nothing can ever compare to what I have learned and whatl have been through. My life has not been a perfect one, yet I can truly say With conviction thatl have a life and that I am living a happy life.
References
- Man’s Search for Meaning on Amazon
- Man’s Search for Meaning on Goodreads
- NPR article discussing the impact of Viktor Frankl’s work
- Article on Brain Pickings about Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning”
- YouTube video featuring a lecture by Viktor Frankl on finding meaning in life
- Simply Psychology article on Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy
