Man's Search For Meaning

Rating:
Summary: Much food for thought
Review: Several years ago a friend had an operation for a cancerous growth behind his eye yet today is well and tells of the importance of the right mental attitude when facing adversity. Another friend faces a similar experience but appears to be in the process of succumbing in ignorance of the importance of mental attitude. Seeking guidance as to what I might do to help, I turned to this book.

After recounting the horrors of everyday life in a work camp - the initial selection process in which 90% were sent to the gas chambers while 10% were kept to extract the last ounce of work as slaves for construction firms; the Capos selected from the most brutal who had lost all scruples in order to save their life; how everything was subservient to keeping oneself and one's closest friends alive - Viktor Frankl tells of the psychological problems they met.

The most important seems to be the hope of release as shown by the very high death rate in his camp in the week between Christmas 1944 and new year 1945 which had no explanation in food, treatment, weather, disease or working conditions; it was that the majority had lived in the naïve hope that they would be home again by Christmas. In the absence of encouraging news, the prisoners lost courage; disappointment overcame them and their powers of resistance dropped. Frankl noticed that it was the men who comforted others, who gave away their last piece of bread who survived longest and who offered proof that everything can be taken but one thing - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances.

In the camp every decision determined whether or not you would submit to loss of inner freedom. The sort of person the prisoner became was the result of an inner decision and not of camp influences alone. It is this spiritual freedom which cannot be taken away which makes life meaningful and purposeful. Only those who allowed their inner hold on their moral and spiritual selves to subside eventually fell victim to the camp's degenerating influences. Most inmates believed that the real opportunities of life had passed. In reality, however, one could make a victory of those experiences, turning them into an inner triumph.

Frankl saw himself giving a lecture on the psychology of the concentration camp, living Spinoza's observation that "Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it." Armed with the insight that any attempt to restore man's inner strength had first to succeed in showing him some future goal he tried to help would-be suicides to realize that life was still expecting something from them - a loving son awaiting his return, an unfinished work to complete. When the impossibility of replacing you is realized it is impossible to throw your life away. When you know the why of your existence you will be able to bear almost any how.

Frankl had to learn and then teach that it really did not matter what we expect from life but rather what life expects from us. The answer lies in right action and in right conduct; life ultimately means taking responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill tasks that it constantly sets for each individual. These tasks, and therefore the meaning of life, differ from man to man and from moment to moment, making it impossible to define in general terms or in sweeping statements. No man and no destiny can be compared to any other man or destiny. It may require a man to shape his own fate, contemplate or accept his fate. There is only one right answer to the situation at hand.

When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer, he will have to accept his suffering as his single, unique task. His unique opportunity lies in the way he bears his burden. Once the meaning of suffering has been revealed, suffering has hidden opportunities for achievement. When he had the opportunity to address a group of prisoners his purpose was to help each man to find a full meaning to their life in that practically hopeless situation by pointing out the joys each had experienced in the past and that no one had suffered irreplaceable losses. Whoever was still alive had reason for hope; health, family, happiness, professional abilities, fortune, position in society, could all be restored. Life never ceases to have meaning and this infinite meaning includes suffering and dying, privation and death. God or someone alive or dead would hope to find them suffering proudly.

After the war, Frankl introduced Logotherapy, which focuses on the meanings of life to be fulfilled by the patient in the future. The patient is confronted with the meaning of his life. The meaning of human existence as well as man's search for such a meaning is unique and specific and can be fulfilled by him alone. He is able to live and even to die for the sake of his ideals and values. The more that you forget yourself by giving to a cause or serving in love, the more you actualize yourself. We can discover meaning in three ways - creating a work or doing a deed; by experiencing something or encountering someone; and by the attitude we take to unavoidable suffering.

When we are no longer able to change a situation such as inoperable cancer we have to change our attitude. He asks his patients to project themselves forward to their deathbed and look back on the meaningful things in their lives. Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be; he has control over what he will become in the next moment.

This book has certainly provided much food for thought!

Rating:
Summary: A work deserving of the highest respect.
Review: Viktor Frankl deserves the highest respect, much as Nelson Mandela does today although the severity of the experience would have been somewhat harsher but less daunting in time. Frankl's book covers two main aspects in his title: Search for Meaning, the first details his experiences in Auschwitz, one of the worst concentration camps used by the Nazis and controlled by the SS. The second part of the book outlines his own way of psychotherapy entitled Logotherapy, refering to the Greek word Logos, in this case related to meaning. It approaches the process of psychotherapy in a completely different way from that of Freud.

It's the first part of the book which completely captures the reader, its simply unputdownable, Frankl's suffering in the camps is remarkable in the sense of the humanity he talks of rather than the more than obvious horrors he must have been exposed to. The camp changed him as a human being or rather, one feels, that Frankl grows into his own humanity expanding what was already there in potential form as he reminds the reader that his early Logotherapy manuscript was with him in the camp, although lost. It is edifying that he returns from the camp in a spirit of underlying trust in humanity's ability to, so to speak, save itself.

In the second part he describes Logotherapy and the techniques used to put it into practice. The therapy deals with the search for meaning in a person's life and the lack of it in present society. This has of course been even more exacerbated in current times compared with the more moderate version of the 50's and 60's of Frankl's era. It is in fact remarkable that this kind of therapy has not taken over from other forms given its obvious improvement over older more mechanical and less human forms of therapy.

Its a remarkable work deserving of the highest respect.

Rating:
Summary: WHATS YOUR MEANINGFUL MOTIVATOR?
Review: Man Search For Meaning is a timeless self help classic that is still best selling even though it was written in the 1940s. When I began reading this book, I could not put it down.

As a success coach, people come to me to help them find meaning in their lives. People want to get motivated. I frequently tell them stories from this book, and I advise them to read it because it sheds a new light on how anyone in any situation has total control of his thoughts and can find meaning--even in such difficult times.

Zev Saftlas, Author of Motivation That Works: How to Get Motivated and Stay Motivated

Rating:
Summary: Looking deep inside and coming out on top.
Review: In Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl writes:

"[...] how does a human being go about finding meaning? [...] this situation has to be evaluated [...] in the light of a hierarchy of values. These values [...] are founded on our biological past and are rooted in our biological depth [...] If a pre-reflective axiological self-understanding exists, we may assume that it is ultimately anchored in our biological heritage" (Frankl 169-70).

In response, it is argued that man is not "essential" he is in a constant state of becoming. He can transcend the biology as suggested by Dennett in Darwin's Dangerous Idea via culture (Dennett 504). The impetus may come from the outside, if referring to culture, but, as Frankl suggests, the change comes from within.

"But what about human liberty? Is there no spiritual freedom in regard to behavior and reaction to any given surroundings? Is that theory true which would have us believe that man is no more than a product of many conditional and environmental factors -- be they biological, psychological or sociological nature? Is man but an accidental product of these? Most important, do the prisonersEreaction to the singular world of the concentration camp prove that man cannot escape the influence of his surroundings? Does man have no choice of action in the face of such circumstances?"(Frankl 86)

Frankl replies, "Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress" (Frankl 86). From an Existentialist perspective, it is existence over essence that, moreover, from a Humanist perspective gives man agency and not just an automaton subject to the whims of mindless institutions, subatomic considerations or proteonic reproduction. Man transcends via emotion.

There is more: "All that oppressed me at that moment became objective, seen and described from the remote viewpoint of science. By this method I succeeded somehow in rising above the situation, above the sufferings of the moment, and I observed them as if they were already of the past. Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it" (Frankl 82).

Emotions, despite the negative press are a strong survival tool. Even if emotion inhibits the brain from an objective view, often times muddying the waters with such immeasurable as desire, fear and hate. Passions alter our perspective and inevitably adds a personal signature to the situation. We cannot always be the "disinterested observer" we are the situation and we have become the object of study. By elevating ourselves above the emotional states we place ourselves in, we can try to perceive the situation objectively. By being objective and exercising our agency as individuals we can take "The opportunities to make something positive of camp life" (Frankl 80). In a sense, a form of Carpe Diem Ewe seize the moment. There are constraints, no doubt, to this radical sense of free will, a sense that situations change, conditions alter. However, having outlined the quotation above, we can adapt, we can move outside the limitations of the situation and exercise agency.

"Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual. These tasks, and therefore the meaning of life, differ from man to man, and from moment to moment. Thus it is impossible to define the meaning of life in a general way"(Frankl 98).

To live up to Sartre or Camus' Existential edict, everyone is answerable for finding one's own rationale in life and is responsible for those decisions. Like all "process" this is not static, we are flux, so is the process of finding meaning. It is a procedure that will need to be repetitive, changing for different times and conditions. It is the outcome of this course of action that allows us to be ourselves as willing subjects but constrained - not determined - nonetheless, by ever-altering conditions.

Miguel Llora

Rating:
Summary: Man's Search For Meaning - Endurance Through Trial
Review: This is by far the most inspiring book I've ever read. Starting with a firsthand account of the holocaust, and finishing with a psychoanalytical approach to the suffering which took place there, Frankl shows us his ability to objectively analyse and draw conslusions from his own experiences. His story is not one of bitterness, as one might expect, but one of survival, of deep meaning and optimism. He looks back to his holocause experience with the eye of one truly at peace with himself and his life. It is truly beautiful that one can endure such a process, even at times, questioning their will to live, and come out liberated both in body and spirit. In his toughest times, Frankl thought frequently of the love he had for his wife; this love, his meaning to survive when in the depths of hell, gave me a new outlook on my life. Frankl's story is a testament to his own philosophy. That he could survive such a trial, when the mind becomes desensitized, focusing only on the day to day camp regimen, surrounded by death at every turn, is a beautiful and inspiring fact. He allows you into the frame of mind of a holocaust victim, and poses the question of how one, once liberated physically from the camps, could even begin to reenter a society so different from the atmosphere they'd come to know. His ability to find his "will to meaning," and optimistaically help others, through logotherapy, to find a meaning in their lives, is, again, truly inspiring. Unlike some of my fellow reviewers, I find this optimism inspiring and wonderful, not naive and idealistic. We should reward him for having achieved peace in his life, especially after an experience like that, not offer pointless pessimism. This book allows you to take an emotional journey into the holocaust, seeing its effects on the mind, and gives an inspiring and optimistic look toward ways to not only survive that experience, but to turn it into something meaningful.

Rating:
Summary: The guide to true meaning
Review: This book as was referenced by Denis Waitley's Psychology of Winning Tape/Book. Was one of the great changers of my life. Not only did I reconnect to fellow jews that experienced real hell, in Adolf Hitler's torture camps.

I learned that men/women can survive anything, if they will it and make it meaningful..

If we want meaning in our lives, we can not wait for others to give it to us. We must both discover and create our own meaning.

This poem describes my personal meaning in life.

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rating:
Summary: POWERFUL AND COMPELLING!
Review: I look with awe and reverence at those who have survived Auschwitz and similar death camps and am amazed beyond belief at how they managed to survive not only physically, but emotionally. I do not believe any amount of psychology could fully prepare one for the horrors inflicted on the survivors of such attrocities. Both my parents fought for their country overseas during the World War II and I heard, first hand, of stories that touch, horrify and will remain with me for a lifetime.

Dr. Frankl developed an approach to psychotherapy known as, logotherapy. At the core of his theory is the belief that man's motivational force is reaching for meaning. While this book is not one that could be described as enjoyable reading, there is something about the author's experiences that will remain with us long after the book has concluded. Frankl gives meaning to life, despite life's suffering, and in a thought-provoking manner leaves a lasting impact on the reader that could well change the path of direction you choose to follow and how you continue to live your life.

Rating:
Summary: Very Powerful
Review: Frankl tackles a lot of ground in a short space, looking deeply into the profound question of meaning in our lives from the perspective of a Nazi concentration camp survivor.

The first half of this book is a recounting of the authors' experiences as an inmate in various Nazi death camps. My skin crawled reading about the brutality and inhumanity he tells us of. I've heard and read a lot about the concentration camps before, but this first hand experience was very powerful. Frankl had already developed his psychological theory before the internment, so he tells us how his experiences essentially confirmed his view that humans have a need to find personal meaning. He recounts numerous stories from the camps of how hope for the future kept him and his comrades alive. Frankl describes how the prisoners were able to create dreams and plans for the future in order to stay sane and keep their will to live in an environment where it was very easy to give up. What I got out of his recounting of the horrors of the death camps was that even though the Nazi's took away almost all of the basic human necessities we are used to in life, and brutalized their prisoners, they weren't able to control the minds of those imprisoned. We each have the ability to control our own thoughts no matter what the situation - this is our power.

The second half of the book delves into Frankl's formal psychological theory he terms "Logotherapy". He says traditional psychotherapy looks into our past to find cures for current psychological problems. His Logotherapy on the other hand he says helps people through finding hope for the future by getting in touch with the meaning in their lives. I felt his argument was in some ways simplistic in that he suggests those who are depressed and/or suicidal have lost a personal meaning to life - and that they need to find it. That much is probably already evident to the suicidal patient - they already know they have nothing to live for. Telling them to "go find meaning to your life" is surely good advice, but kind of obvious. How do you do it? Frankl does have some suggestions however.

I felt that overall this was a compelling read that challenges the reader to consider what role personal meaning has in their life.

Rating:
Summary: Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Psalm 43:5
Review: Surely topics and questions that have not been sufficiently answered since time began (whenever that was).

My paperback copy was swiped off the shelf of my maternal grandmother's; no telling how much she payed for it at the time,(25 cents maybe for a 1960's copy?).

I loved this book, even though it deals with horrific realities in a concentration camp.

Victor Frankl's experiences in the camp at Aushwitz are herein related. Also, threaded within that account are his reflections on the human psyche's response to such horrifying treatment which gave credence and further insight into his own developing system of psychotherapy, later termed logotherapy. His life's work was hidden within his coat, but the Nazi's confiscated and destroyed his manuscript upon arrival at the camp. He would spend whatever precious moments of personal freedom to scribble his thoughts on whatever he could find to keep those thoughts alive.

What made the most lasting impression on me was his describing that first day at Aushwitz when the Nazi's, from a sick and twisted interpretation/understanding of Matthew 25:33, divided all of the arrivals into two groups, one to be gassed and the other to survive and go through a hellish ordeal at the unmerciful mercy of their captors. My thoughts on the Nazi's action in that instance is that they must not have read in their Bibles where God says "Vengeance is mine says the Lord, I will repay" which is found in both the Old and New Testaments, and to Abraham and his descendants "I will curse those who curse thee" Genesis 12:3.

Frankl's Logotherapy has benefitted such groups of people suffering from depression and other severe forms of mental disturbances.

Rating:
Summary: The perfect gift
Review: I received this book as a gift from my brother, and it's one of the best gifts I've ever received. It was hard to put this one down, every page is as inspiring as the previous one.
Excellent!