Man's Search for Meaning

Nazi concentration camp. In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl concludes that camp prisoners who had found meaning in their life were more satisfied and therefore more likely to survive. Those that had merely been happy in life found it harder to keep a good morale and were less likely to survive. Smith goes on to cite many different sources that give statistics as to how more and more Americans are finding happiness in their lives, but no true meaning.…

Whether it is our careers, family, or the affairs of the country, we must think of what is essential to live meaningful lives. While the path to discovering one’s purpose and life’s meaning is unique, there is one particular barricade that can affect us all; the failure of self-forgiveness. Man’s Search For Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl, The Painted Veil, by W Somerset Maugham, and The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee…

PBS film, God on Trial, was an excellent display of the Holocaust experience as a prisoner. It reveals the circumstances they lived in, their mind of thinking, and the ways they were treated as prisoners. Similar to Viktor E. Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning, the movie shows the prisoners searching for a reason for their punishment. They witnessed their family members in pain, their belongings being torn away from them, and their dignity slowly diminishing. For example, one of the…

to compensate for the tragic situation. Furthermore, Victor Frankl would cautiously convey recommendations on treatment arrangements for Job’s emotional and mental state. Based on how he advocated his fellow Jews to keep faith (Part Two of Man’s Search for Meaning), it is safe to hypothesize that he would advise the friends to encourage Job to do the same. In addition, he would inspire them to undertake lengthy group prayers. He would probably condone group worshipping sessions as…

Is suffering supposed to make sense? Why do we suffer? At first this question seems intuitive. However, after the first spontaneous outburst of answers, we start to question why there is suffering in the world and how we can make sense of it. Generally, when these ultimate questions are asked we tend to assert conclusions based on God or our personal values. It goes beyond that. Religion provides a guideline for these questions, and our values are extremely important for a sense of identity,…

Victor Frankl was a psychiatrist in practice in Vienna before World War II; he survived many years Auschwitz and other death camps. In Man’s Searching for Meaning he manages to convey his experience of living inside one of these death camps from the unique perspective an inmate who is also a healer, ever watchful and caring towards those around him. From his descriptions, we know that he live through an extended horrific nightmare that we do not even want to imagine. We can really only bear this…

Happiness is a state of mind that which most people find themselves searching for in an attempt to create more positive experiences. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines happiness as a state of well-being good fortune, contentment, and pleasurable experience. As this definition is too general, people tend to offer their own interpretations. Some believe happiness can be found where there is money. Others disagree, they view that happiness lies in the acquirement of knowledge, high diplomas,…

Logotherapy is a term derived from “logos,” a Greek word that translates as “meaning,” and therapy, which is defined as treatment of a condition, illness, or maladjustment. Logotherapy was developed by neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl. He, in his book man, search for meaning has outlined as for how his theory helped him to get through the time at Nazis concentration camps and how his this experience later developed and reinforced and strengthened his theories. This therapy not only…

Physically Free, Emotionally Bound Connor Alforque explores David Fengel’s inspiring story from extreme depravity and captivity to his freedom journey home. Will David’s long and agonising ordeal inside a concentration camp deprive him of finally experiencing true freedom, or can he radically rebuild his mind after the experiences he endured during his excruciating past? Held captive and abandoned, David’s mind was in darkness, his eyes were blind to the outside world and David was…

While reading The Man Search for Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl I was filled with so many emotions that changed my way of thinking. The details of the concentration camps and the thought of not knowing when the next meal or if living another day would be an option really touched me. It’s hard to believe something so terrible happened to such innocent people who were just living their everyday lives. Frankl draws the reader into the point where they feel as if they are with him surviving the…