Viktor Frankl "Man's Search for Meaning"

Summary of Frankl:

Viktor Frankl, born in 1905, was a holocaust survivor during the war. His time spent in the concentration camps contributed and furthered his beliefs for how man should act in tough situations. Viktor Frankl wrote his book titled Man’s Search for Meaning in 1945 with the hope of helping those who had lost hope in life. He created a new psychology system referred as “Logotherapy” that was mostly a philosophical way of getting through issues such as loss and suffering. Logotherapy is defined as the will to meaning and is used to help find the “purpose” in an individual’s life. This explorative search is an attempt to find the meaning of life. He insists that every individual has a purpose to their lives but also that everyone must find their own individual purpose because it is never the same for anyone. Never, he states, is it the same every day or even every hour.

He believed that life was not about the journey to find pleasure or power, rather to find the meaning of life. He explained that one could find this meaning in one of three ways: the first being through working and doing something significant and accomplishments, second through loving someone (both caring for someone and also getting loved in return) and finally through overcoming difficult things/times. The last I believe is the most significant of his points, not only because he talks about it most, but because his philosophy about suffering is not similar to a large majority of people who believe suffering is a negative aspect in life. Frankl explains that if one goes through suffering and does not learn anything about themselves it was a waste of the opportunity to understand the meaning of an individual’s life. This understanding comes from the way individuals act towards suffering and how the overcome it.

Another major point Frankl discusses stems from an existentialist outlook on life. He believes that although you may go through a large amount of suffering, you can always choose how you respond and react to the situations. He states “Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become in the next moment” (131).

These two systems for life connect through the practice of determining meaning through how you react. Your reaction, stated above, is up to your own decisions. Therefore if you act in a certain way towards accomplishing some goal this becomes your purpose in life. Several instances of this are stated in Frankl’s book. He helps many people get through struggling times such as suicidal thought or grieving a loved one. When I read this book the part that stood out to me was the section about him helping struggling individuals. He would talk with them about their thoughts and get them to think about what made them not commit suicide already. These simple things would be the basis of his treatment. Whether it was their kids, an influential job or a loved one, he could determine these factors and bring them to light in the individuals mind. These things keeping a person alive would then translate into the meaning/purpose of their life.

The final major topic I found interesting in Man’s Search for Meaning came from being happy. An individual, he stated, could not just force themselves to be happy, rather one must find reason to be happy and from this reason one could truly find happiness.

Logotherapy

Logotherapy originates from the Greek word “Logos” defined as “meaning”. Viktor Frankl’s philosophy is that an individual will always have a meaning or purpose in their life. This purpose is not easily found nor is it the same every day or even every hour, but it always exists. Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy created to a new form of psychology through his new philosophy.

Viktor Frankl was born in 1905 and was forced into several concentration camps during the Holocaust. Frankl’s purpose, as he understood it, was survival. He was constantly tested and proved to himself that by suffering through the pain he could still keep a positive outlook on life. Frankl was forced to see dying from the extermination of masses and the others dying from the unbearable amount of suffering that they could not work through. Although this experience was a brutal way to understand the meaning of life, Frankl was able to grasp his form of philosophy and psychology from these experiences.

An individual’s purpose is not to gain pleasure or to get power; but rather an individual’s purpose is to find meaning in his or her life. Frankl believed you can find meaning through three practices. The first is by being creative and productive. This approach allows the individual to feel a sense of accomplishment and pride in the work done. (Frankl 111, Johnson 125). The second practice is through experience. By experiencing something or someone (like loving) the individual can determine the meaning in life as well. (Frankl 111, Johnson 125). Frankl believed love is significant because of the positive things and potential your partner sees in you and the happiness and you get in your life with your partner. (Frankl 111-112, Johnson 125). The final way an individual can find meaning in their life is through suffering. This practice is the most difficult of the three because while Frankl believes you can find meaning without suffering, if you are forced into suffering you can extract a large sense of meaning from it as well. If an individual can form a positive outlook and attitude through suffering, suffering is worthwhile. (Frankl 111-116, Johnson 125). In the most incurable situations, like terminal illness, Frankl believes by choosing a positive mind frame one can find meaning in one’s life.

Frankl’s believed that despite suffering, individuals can choose to respond in a positive way and therefore find meaning. This specific outlook draws itself from the existential perspective and is stated as: “Existentialism focuses on the inner core of a man, as opposed to the emphasis on outer adjustment… the essential problem of existence is that of… being oneself” (Salger 118).So even if your life up to this point has been determined, you always have the freedom to think positively. Through suffering individuals should not ask questions like “Why is this happening to me?” or “What did I do to deserve this” rather they should be asking “In spite of the bad that is occurring how should I alter my attitude to find meaning out of this situation?” (Fabry 131). Attitude directly affects how individuals view theirs life and by keeping a positive outlook, meaning comes more naturally.

Frankl’s logotherapy had a significant effect on small group discussion and group sharing. By talking through situations in our past and focusing on our future individuals in the group can help each other find meaning in their life and in others. Joseph Fabry concludes that “the most important part in logotherapeutically oriented sharing group[s] is to develop an atmosphere of trust where people will risk cautiously taking off their masks and looking at themselves not only as they are but as they have the vision of becoming” (130). In a therapeutic sense the only way for an individual to find their purpose is through honesty and openness about their past and who they are as a person. It is difficult to be honest and open in group settings but the positives outweigh the uncomfortableness that sharing in groups might pose. The positives come from the idea that everyone has their own purpose and story and by sharing these with others, new possibilities and suggestions of how to go about finding your meaning might occur sooner.

The challenges present in Logotherapy are clear. In logotherapy the therapist and client must be willing to experience things and work together to help each other. The challenge is when there is an unprepared therapist (or sometimes referred to as leader in small group settings). The therapist must be prepared to think through each situation the client presents and ask necessary questions to help find the clients meaning in life. The therapist cannot give clients the specific meaning but rather shed light on the possibilities of meaning or ways to find meaning (Fabry 130). Paul E. Johnson states, “The challenge of logotherapy is this creative encounter” (129). Each person has a different way of discovering meaning and the therapist must search for ways to bring this creative encounter out.

This complicated philosophy poses several key factors that helped contribute to society. The first being his existential outlook on life and on thinking, the second is that everyone has meaning in their life and the third is that to help fix despair and sadness you must find this meaning in your life. His strategies on attempting to find meaning in life gave birth to the psychology of logotheraphy and practices of small group work. Society has groups such as Alcoholic Anonymous and support groups that help those who are struggling and create a purpose in each person’s life. Finally, the major significance he gave to both the worlds of philosophy and psychology was not only in finding the meaning in life but the importance of connection and a strong relationship between therapist and client. Without this relationship Frankl’s strategy could never be as prevalent as it is still today.

Work Cited

Fabry, Joseph B. "Application of Logotherapy in Small Sharing Groups."Journal of Religion &

Health 13.2: 128-36. Print.

Joseph Fabry was a journalist who wrote for the academic book “Journal of Religion and Health”. Fabry was the author of “The Pursuit of Meaning” discussing the role of Viktor Frankl in both philosophy and psychology. Fabry provided a summary of a majority of Frankl’s work but also pulled specific points and went deeper into understanding them (such as the way leaders must act and how individuals should go about suffering).

Frankl, Viktor E. Man's Search for Meaning. Boston: Beacon, 2006. Print.

Viktor Frankl was an author of “Man’s Search for Meaning”. Frankl is most famous for having books being published worldwide, being an Austrian neurologist, and a very influential psychiatrist. His entire book was the bases of this research paper.

Johnson, Paul E. "The Challenge of Logotherapy."Journal of Religion and Health: 122-30. Print.

Paul Johnson had his piece published by the “Journal of Religion and Health” which is a widely known source for academic purposes. He develops a creative approach and discusses connection between the therapist and client. Johnson specifically goes into the work Frankl originally provided and explain the main purposes.

Lantz, Jim. "Viktor Frankl and Interactional Group Therapy." Journal of Religion and

Health 37.2 (1998): 93-103. Print.

Jim Lantz worked at the Ohio State University College of Social Work where he then went on to teaching at Worthington Marital Therapy Institute. His work has been published in the scholarly source of “Journal of Religion and Health”. His work provided a reading that discussed group work and how to go about group therapy.

Saiger, George Max. "Some Thoughts on the Existential Lens in Group

Psychotherapy."  Group 20: 113-30. Print

George Max Saiger went to medical school at Harvard Law where he then went on to work as a resident at The Potomac Valley Nursing Center as well as the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.