Preview

What Does Man's Search For Meaning Mean

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
710 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Does Man's Search For Meaning Mean
Man's Search for Meaning written by Viktor Frankl has two parts to it. The first section describes Frankl's experience in a concentration camp and the second section describes his view and opinion on logotherapy. Frankl talks a lot about existentialism in this book, such as his sections on the existential vacuum and the existentialist idea that you must find your own meaning, however he also uses a lot of buddhist principles. The buddhist principles that Frankl talks about in his book, Man's Search for Meaning, are the need for suffering,, the idea that only once you have suffered can you find fulfillment, and the involvement of the idea of truth in all of this. On page 67 Frankl writes, "If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must …show more content…
If there are so many interchangeable ideas between religions and philosophies how can anyone say what is the truth of everything? Everyone has their own different perspective and by saying that there is one ultimate truth, that is taking away the right of others to make their own decisions about what is true or not. Frankl expresses this when he writes, "Thus far we have shown that the meaning of life always changes, but that it never ceases to be" (115). For many, including buddhists, truth lies in their beliefs. Even people who follow the same religion have different beliefs about what is and what isn't. Therefore, according to Frankl, it is possible for something to be truth to one person that is a lie to another. He writes later on the same page, "finding a meaning in life is by experiencing something—such as goodness, truth and beauty —by experiencing nature and culture or, last but not least, by experiencing another human being in his very uniqueness;—by loving him." Each person must find their own truth. In Man's Search for Meaning Viktor Frankl discusses the subject of logotherapy, and of finding meaning in your own life. There are existential principles, Buddhist principles, and Christian principles in this book, as well as a smattering of other religions and philosophies, as long as you look for them hard enough. There is no one truth, no one meaning, other than what each person finds for themselves, and that is the main argument that Frankl is trying to make, and that suffering is perhaps the best or the most effective way to find that meaning or

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Another concept that resonated with me was Viktor Frankl’s concept of suffering When Frankl describes meaning to life; he describes suffering in a way that states, “if there is a meaning to life at all, then there must be a meaning to suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete” (p.67). This aligns with one of my own personal life philosophies. Without the times filled with anxiety, pain, and sorrow, I would not fully appreciate the times filled with happiness, love, and…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Viktor E. Frankl was born in Vienna in 1905 and lived to be 92. He was a neurologist, psychiatrist, and a professor at Vienna Medical School. Frankl founded “logotherapy” which is the existential psychotherapy focusing on the importance of meaning. He was married twice, his first wife died in 1945 and then he married Eleonore in 1947. Together they had a daughter named Gabriele. He spent 3 years in concentration camps during World War II. When he was forced into the first concentration camp in 1942 he lost a book that was very similar to “Man’s Search for Meaning” and began jotting down notes to recreate it. When he got out of the camps he returned to Vienna. In 1946 he became the director of the Vienna Neurological Policlinic. His book “Man’s Search for Meaning” has been translated into 27 different languages and is considered one of the 10 most influential books in America.…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is your meaning of life? And if you knew could it be a vital part of your survival? This is such a complex question, but even more complex when your circumstances are similar to Victor E. Frankl. A admirable phycologist, and author of “Mans Search For Meaning”. Victor took his readers through his journey and experiences of being prisoner in a concentration camp, but also the pursuit of life’s purpose.…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist, reflects on his experiences in a German concentration camp during the Holocaust. In the book, Frankl shows how one might find hope in light of adversity and meaning despite despair. In Man's Search for Meaning, one can find a response to the problem of evil in the world, and embrace the Jesuitical ideal of vocation…

    • 1029 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Frankl realized that finding the meaning allowed the people who survived to get through the hard times and come out the other side. Some of the core components of logotherapy is that every person holds a healthy core and even though life provides everyone with purpose, it most definitely does not mean you will be fulfilled or happy. One of Frankl's biggest things in his book was “freedom of…

    • 1469 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    I agree no matter what has been done to you, you should not go back and do something wrong because you feel you "deserve" it for all the wrongs committed to you. It is like the old saying " Two wrongs don't make a right" meaning if someone hits you and you hit them back it does not make it right just because you both hit each other. Frankl wrote this because people in concentration camps were going out and committing…

    • 1195 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mans search for meaning

    • 702 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The book, Man’s Search for Meaning was about a man who survived in a concentration camp and is now known as a famous psychiatrist. Frankl discusses exactly what happens in camp and how camp impacted him in vivid detail. He also discusses how he developed logotherapy, which is the proposition that the human person is motivated by a “will to meaning,” an inner feeling to find a meaning in life. Something that caught my attention is how sane Frankl seemed to be while he was in the concentration camp. Most other people were losing their sanity and hope of surviving and getting to see things back to normal. What also stood out in the book to me was how the survivors had to switch back to the normal world after all they went through. “Was Du erleblst, kann keine Macht der Welt Dir rauben”, (Frankl 90). This quote meant what you have experienced, no power on earth can take from you. This stood out as well because it meant to me that your past will never go away and it will always leave a mark on your life. In the book the survivors did not know what the normal was like outside of the camp. I could never imagine how they felt but I had an experience that was similar. I changed schools my senior year so I had to adjust to how different that school was from my old one. The newer school was a lot stricter, it was less diverse and it was longer. I immediately felt out of place and wanted to go back to my normal. Eventually I adjusted, just like the survivors did but of course it took them a lot longer to do. This book taught me to never take anything for granted and always be grateful for what I have. For example I use to take my family for granted because I figured they would always be there if I ever needed anything. Frankl helped me realize that at any second, they could be snatched away for me to possibly never see them again. So in the future I plan on being more appreciative of…

    • 702 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    A human characteristic is the struggle with understanding the purpose and meaning in life. Feeling that life is meaningless can lead to feelings of emptiness and hollowness, a condition that Viktor Frankl calls the existential vacuum. Those who experience the existential vacuum do not keep themselves busy with a routine or work and have the task of creating their own meaning (Corey, 2005). To discover the meaning in life, clients of existential therapy need to embrace…

    • 2423 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Man’s Search for Meaning, written by Viktor Frankl, is a memoir about overcoming sufferings to have an optimistic perspective on life in the midst of pain and death. Frankl provides examples of his own experiences after surviving three years in a Nazi concentration camp where his parents, brother, wife, and children died. Using his logotherapy theory, Frankl elaborates on the human pursuit while finding significance through experiences and sufferings. Against a backdrop of violence, cruelty, and death, Frankl creates a perception that by having a meaning or purpose, and a hope in the future, a person can propel through any torment.…

    • 1541 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mnas Search for Meaning

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Man's Search for Meaning is a relatively short but powerful novel about an experience through a concentration camp from the eyes of psychologist and author, Victor E. Frankl. "I had wanted simply to convey to the reader by way of a concrete example that life holds a potential meaning under any condition, even the most miserable ones." (Victor Frankel).…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Meaning of Life

    • 3684 Words
    • 15 Pages

    In her article The Meaning of Lives, Susan Wolf, a moral philosopher and philosopher of action, investigates whether meaning can exist in lives without postulating the existance of God. Wolf establishes her position on this philosophical question from an agnostic perspective and rationally argues that such a question can in fact “fit within a negative or agnostic view about the meaning of life” (Wolf 63). With this paper, I will first summarize the prominent points of Wolf’s article then highlight and expound upon areas of her argument that contradict her line of reason. Lastly, I will introduce the theistic perspective on meaningful lives along with presenting Wolf’s reason and argument as supporting evidence for the theistic view.…

    • 3684 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In September 1942, Viktor Frankl, a prominent Jewish psychiatrist and neurologist in Vienna, was arrested and transported to a Nazi concentration camp with his wife and parents. Three years later, when his camp was liberated, most of his family, including his pregnant wife, had perished -- but he, prisoner number 119104, had lived. In his bestselling 1946 book, Man's Search for Meaning, which he wrote in nine days about his experiences in the camps, Frankl concluded that the difference between those who had lived and those who had died came down to one thing: Meaning, an insight he came to early in life. When he was a high school student, one of his science teachers declared to the class, "Life is nothing more than a combustion process, a process of oxidation." Frankl jumped out of his chair and responded, "Sir, if this is so, then what can be the meaning of life?"…

    • 2451 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Existentialism in Kafka

    • 1619 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Existentialism is the thought that reality has no meaning or purpose, and that this is something man must come to terms with through his life until he faces death. The pursuit of meaning is a prevalent theme in the work of Franz Kafka, especially so in his parable “Before the Law,” in which a man refuses to face, or perhaps simply does not or will never realize, the fact that reality is meaningless. The central claim of existentialism is Jean-Paul Sartre’s proposition that “existence precedes essence”- that what defines someone is the their existence, their consciousness, and not their nature- the theory that life is not ruled by some omniscient metaphysical being or force, but rather, by the individual. Man defines himself, thus, man is responsible for himself in all things.…

    • 1619 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Man's Search for Meaning

    • 1518 Words
    • 7 Pages

    There are many significant ideas in the book that not only rang true to me but also helped me grow with challenges I face both personally and professionally. Professionally, as a supervisor and subordinate – I have always maintained a high expectation of myself and others. Over the years, I have learned that my expectations shouldn’t be judged on others with their abilities as we each have our unique set of qualities. Frankl wrote, “No man should judge unless he asks himself in absolute honesty whether in a similar situation he might not have done the same.” This idea solidifies my direction in striving to be able to accept others without judgment. I learned from this book that I should celebrate another’s qualities and respect the decisions they make while trying to find something positive. I see Frankl as a person who accepted anybody regardless of their chosen path, even the Nazi SS who imprisoned him or fellow countrymen who turned their back on him. Through his work, Frankl found that any man could change his path; however it was up to the individual man to choose his path. Both personally and professionally, it is clearer to me that life is what I choose to make of it and fate should have nothing to do with it. I am responsible for my life and future based on how I react to my fate.…

    • 1518 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    There are many different views as to what makes life meaningful. Philosopher, Thomas Nagel, presents a good argument as to why a “Sisyphisian” existence is meaningless. This does not necessarily mean that all lives are meaningless, because Richard Taylor and Raymond Martin provide strong evidence that prove otherwise.…

    • 2194 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics