Essay on Mans Search For Meaning - 946 Words

In Mans Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl describes his revolutionary type of psychotherapy. He calls this therapy, logotherapy, from the Greek word logos, which denotes meaning. This is centered on mans primary motivation of his search for meaning. To Frankl, finding meaning in life is a stronger force than any subconscious drive. He draws from his own experiences in a Nazi concentration camp to create and support this philosophy of mans existence. Frankl endured much suffering during his time in the concentration camp. All of his possessions were taken away, including his manuscript in which he recorded all of his lifes work. He went through rough manual labor, marching through freezing temperatures, and little or no†¦show more content†¦You cant be aware of the essence of another person unless you love them. Love becomes one of the strongest drives for human meaning. Frankl believes love is more than just a sexual drive as some psychologists make it out to be. It is something that all, or at least most, humans search for. It is a fact that all humans need contact with other people. It was the love for his wife, among other things, that helped Frankl survive his years in the concentration camp. Through Frankls view of suicide you can discover his view of human person. Suicide is wrong in all cases, and should not be even considered an option. He believes that all people can find some meaning in life which would prevent them from giving up all hope and ending their lives. Every human life has meaning, and therefore every human life has value. While in a concentration camp serving as a doctor to those who were ill with typhus or other diseases, he encountered two individuals who had given up hope on life. He asked them both to think of something worth living for. One answered that he had a son waiting for him at home, and the other said he was writing a book and wanted to finish it. Frankl helped them find meaning in their lives to ho ld on to some hope. Just as they did, anyone can find a meaning to live for, whether it be another person or a goal or achievement. I believe Frankls strongest evidence for his view of person is his experience in the Nazi concentration camp. PeopleShow MoreRelatedEssay On Mans Search For Meaning1561 Words   |  7 Pages In order to find meaning in one’s life while suffering or experiencing a difficult situation, meaning is often found in illusions and false hoods, rather than in reality. Within Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, The Matrix, and Allegory of the Cave by Plato, the reader witnesses individual characters that were unable to withstand the pain of the truth, and resort to altering their perception to live in a illusion in order to survive. On the path to discovering meaning in one’s life duringRead MoreMans Search for Meaning Essay608 Words   |  3 PagesMans Search for Meaning Viktor Frankls 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 prisonersRead MoreEssay On Mans Search For Meaning1837 Words   |  8 PagesSpeaking of personal experiences, I took the time to read a book about a man named Viktor Emil Frankl (26 March 1905 – 2 September 1997). ¹ He was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor. The book is called â€Å"Man’s Search for Meaning†, and I find it to be a truthful collection of anecdotes and philosophies. For those new to Viktor Frankl, he was an Eastern European Jewish specialist who was put in an inhumane imprisonment amid World War II. He endured every one of theRead MoreReflection Paper Search for Mans Meaning1286 Words   |  6 PagesReflection Paper: A Critical Book Review of Man’s Search for Meaning Heather Urmanski Silver Lake College History 205 Instructor Diane Weiland August 19, 2012 Introduction Man’s Search for Meaning, is a biography and the personal memoir of Victor Frankl’s experience in a Nazi Concentration Camp. The book was initially published in 1946 in German and was then published in 1959 in English, under the title From Death-Camp to Existentialism. Prior to World War II, Victor FranklRead MoreReflection On Mans Search For Meaning1367 Words   |  6 PagesA Reflection of Viktor Frankl’s Man s Search for Meaning. In this paper I will be analysing/ reflecting on Viktor Frankl’s Man s Search for Meaning. In my reflection I will compare the main philosophical message of frankl s experience and try to compare its meaning to my very own life experience. In order to do this I must give you some personal background while growing up I was born with some challenging complications due to a lack of oxygen at birth I was diagnosed with ataxic cerebralRead More Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl Essays1729 Words   |  7 Pageshistory classes throughout our lives, the conditions of these camps were blatantly abhorrent, and it is a surprise that people made it out of these camps alive. In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl uses his experiences in a concentration camp as an example to his readers that life holds a potential meaning no matter what condition a person is in. In the two parts of his book he analyzes his experiences and the experiences of hi s comrades in the concentration camps, and then heRead MoreMans Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl Essay1208 Words   |  5 Pages Viktor E. Frankl discusses how man can find meaning and a reason in his or her life. Viktor is faced with obstacles all along the way of his life, and questions arise that he has a hard time answering. The same pattern of obstacles and questions arise in my life. Although Viktor’s imprisonment in a concentration camp was far more discouraging than anything in my life, he still had to answer the same questions in life as I do. What is my meaning? Why should I go on? Frankl talks about how we canRead MoreVictor Frankls Life and Work Mans Search for Meaning Essays1390 Words   |  6 Pagesand the Soul†. Later on, he got a job position of director of the Vienna Neurological Policlinic back at his home in Vienna. He later reconstructed his book and wrote a different book, â€Å"Man’s Search for Meaning† in nine days. Viktor Frankl later died on September 2, 1997, of heart failure. Mans Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl is a story that talks about the need for hope in future especially to people who are facing trouble and disillusionment in life. The story emphasizes on the need to haveRead MoreMans Search For Meaning Essay1983 Words   |  8 PagesBeing Human: Solidarity, Suffering, and Spirituality Reviewing Viktor Frankl’s novel â€Å"Man’s Search for Meaning,† John Hick’s â€Å"Soul-making Theodicy,† and Abraham Heschel’s writings on â€Å"Solidarity, Reciprocity, and Sanctity,† I will make a point of extracting core arguments that exhibit the purpose of human nature. Within the three texts there are comparable contexts and relevance to suffering; suffering being an central idea from each of the writers. Throughout the readings, there are large portionsRead MoreEssay on Mans Search For Meaning1241 Words   |  5 PagesIn Mans Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl creates his personal, yet revolutional, type of therapy. He calls this therapy, logotherapy, the prefix of the word is taken from the Greek word logos, which denotes meaning. This derivation is chosen because logotherapy is centered on a humans primary motivation to search for the means in which he exists. To Frankl, finding meaning in life is a stronger force than any subconscious drive. He draws from his own, personal experiences in a Nazi concentration