In an alternate dimension, a world light years away, Adolf Hitler was born paralyzed, Barack Obama was born Asian, Donald Trump was born a woman, and you were born with a mental illness. Would these people, including you, be in the same places they are today? Would these people have been capable of accomplishing the same feats they have? How would the world be altered? The confounding variables of genetics and luck set the parameters for the freedom of life. Genetics, the immutable nature of how one is born, specifies parameters by which one can live our life. It is not known to what extent DNA or the environment affects who one is, but it is recognized that DNA plays a significant role. Imagine being born with a mental illness such as
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The perception of meaning(explain this term) comes down to “becoming aware of what can be done about a given situation” (Frankl 144), and the most important part of finding meaning in life is to “turn personal tragedy into triumph” (146). A person has both good and bad potentials, in addition to, the freedom to “choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s way” (Frankl 66). Inside all of us are virtues and vices, what is important is the part we choose to keep dormant and the part we choose to act on. While a person does have the power to take charge of his life, the way he can takes charge is set by parameters out of his control. In “The Case for a Tragic Optimism”, Frankl introduced Jerry Long, a man who became a quadriplegic at seventeen. Jerry turned his tribulations into triumph by living by the motto, “I broke my neck, it didn’t break me” (147), insinuating that though tragedy may strike, one can still manage his life. But, does he truly have authority over his life if it was already determined what obstacles he had to jump
The perception of meaning(explain this term) comes down to “becoming aware of what can be done about a given situation” (Frankl 144), and the most important part of finding meaning in life is to “turn personal tragedy into triumph” (146). A person has both good and bad potentials, in addition to, the freedom to “choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s way” (Frankl 66). Inside all of us are virtues and vices, what is important is the part we choose to keep dormant and the part we choose to act on. While a person does have the power to take charge of his life, the way he can takes charge is set by parameters out of his control. In “The Case for a Tragic Optimism”, Frankl introduced Jerry Long, a man who became a quadriplegic at seventeen. Jerry turned his tribulations into triumph by living by the motto, “I broke my neck, it didn’t break me” (147), insinuating that though tragedy may strike, one can still manage his life. But, does he truly have authority over his life if it was already determined what obstacles he had to jump