When life is stripped to the bare minimum, free of luxury and comfort, amidst suffering and pessimism truth of the human condition is stark. In Man’s Search for Meaning Viktor Frankl a psychiatrist through his experiences in concentration camps under Hitler’s regime discovers his answer to the basic question that makes us human. Philosophers have long debated the purpose of life and have produced answers ranging from orthodox religion, the meaning of life is given to everyone by God, to nihilism, there is no meaning to life. Despite the atrocities of concentration camps, Frankl determines his purpose and meaning of life through optimism and love; this helped me evaluate my priorities and my purpose in life.
Unlike animals, humans have a profound need to understand their origins …show more content…
He asserts “to live is to suffer, to suffer is to find meaning in the suffering” proposing that each of us are presented with different situations life is essentially solving these situations to the best of our abilities (Frankl 9). Therefore there is no overarching meaning to life for all people, but rather through our experiences past and future we must discover our own meaning to life. In fact, our purpose in life changes over time as we confront new challenges and grow. In my short lifetime of 18 years, while my goals in life have changed, my overall purpose and intrinsic motivation have not. My goals have changed from finding something I am passionate about to pursue in high school, to graduating high school, to getting into college, to maintaining Zell Miller, and the list of these short term goals are never-ending. However my motivation for these goals are constant and immutable: to live a happy and wholesome life, to honor my God, to honor my family and to continue to firmly hold my
Unlike animals, humans have a profound need to understand their origins …show more content…
He asserts “to live is to suffer, to suffer is to find meaning in the suffering” proposing that each of us are presented with different situations life is essentially solving these situations to the best of our abilities (Frankl 9). Therefore there is no overarching meaning to life for all people, but rather through our experiences past and future we must discover our own meaning to life. In fact, our purpose in life changes over time as we confront new challenges and grow. In my short lifetime of 18 years, while my goals in life have changed, my overall purpose and intrinsic motivation have not. My goals have changed from finding something I am passionate about to pursue in high school, to graduating high school, to getting into college, to maintaining Zell Miller, and the list of these short term goals are never-ending. However my motivation for these goals are constant and immutable: to live a happy and wholesome life, to honor my God, to honor my family and to continue to firmly hold my