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Summary: Frankl uses concentration camp experiences to develop theory
Review: How did anyone survive the tortuous conditions in the concentration camps in Germany? As a survivor, Viktor Frankl discusses how he observed himself and other survivors find meaning in the terrible suffering they endured. Frankly sites many examples of human courage and endurance that occurred, but he does not go into graphic detail of actual events. He explains how these experiences helped him to build upon his psychological theory which he termed Logotherapy. The book is divided into two parts, the first part describes his experiences and the second part consists of an explanation of his theory. I was emotionally moved to tears many times while reading this book and will never think about life the same way again. I have told everyone I know that they must read this book
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Summary: The triumph of the human spirit!
Review: "He who has a 'why' to live for can bear with almost any 'how'." (Friedrich Nietszche)How many of us would give up when faced with insurmountable odds? Dr. Viktor Frankl endured and survived his incarceration at the Nazi concentration camps. He lived on to establish logotherapy, a new approach to psychotherapy. His dehumanizing ordeal is a humbling account of the triumph of the human spirit when faced with adversity. It is difficult to read each chapter without being moved by the inhumanity that surrounded him and his fellow prisoners. Dr. Frankl searched for and found the meaning for his existence, (the 'why'), notwithstanding the circumstances, (the 'how'), around him. This book is more than a personal account of a death camp survivor. It is a testimony to man's enduring will to survive and an inspiration for anyone seeking a reason for living.
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Summary: Finding Meaning in Life
Review: Every now and then, I notice that a book is frequently mentioned in conversations or referenced in other works. Once I have made that mental connection, I am compelled to discover why that book has influenced so many different people. Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" is one of those influential books, and now I know why -- it is one of the best, thought-provoking, and potentially life-changing books I have ever read. Frankl was a Holocaust survivor who used his concentration camp experiences as a laboratory to study the nature and character of man. Frankl went on to become a world-renowned psychiatrist whose thoughts developed a new psychotherapy called logotherapy. Frankl believed man's main concern in life is in fulfilling a meaning that is unique only to him, that each life has its own specific meaning, and that everyone is responsible for his own life and existence. The book was broken down into two complementary chapters, and a postscript (revised edition). In the first chapter, "Experiences in a Concentration Camp," Frankl shared his thoughts and observations as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps. The descriptions of his life and the lives and actions of his fellow prisoners was authentic, yet not as overly graphic as other Holocaust accounts I have read. In the second chapter, "Logotherapy in a Nutshell," Frankl gave a scholarly explanation of logotherapy. While some of the more academic terms and concepts were difficult to understand at first and required me to re-read some sections, he gave sufficient examples that helped me to get his main points. The postscript was titled, "The Case for a Tragic Optimism," and was based on a lecture Frankl gave in 1983. Frankl defined "tragic optimism" as "...an optimism in the face of tragedy and in view of the human potential which at its best always allows for: (1) turning suffering into a human achievement and accomplishment; (2) deriving from guilt the opportunity to change oneself for the better; and (3) deriving from life's transitoriness an incentive to take responsible action." The postscript helped me to better understand some of the more difficult connections between the first two chapters. Throughout this book, I found many spiritual and thought-provoking quotes and passages that made reading it a very personal and reflective experience for me: "He who has a 'why' to live can bear with almost any 'how.'" Friedrich Nietzsche "We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." "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." "...the commonplace truth that no one has the right to do wrong, not even if wrong has been done to them." "Man is 'not' fully conditioned and determined but rather determines himself whether he gives in to conditions or stands up to them. In other words, man is ultimately self-determining. Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become in the next moment." "Live as if you were living for the second time and had acted as wrongly the first time as you are about to act now." "In the past, nothing is irretrievably lost, but rather, on the contrary, everything is irrevocably stored and treasured." I consider my life to be a constant work-in-progress, so this book is on my short list of books that I plan to read again and again to help me keep my life focused and meaningful.
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Summary: All have a unique meaning to life to personally discover!
Review: After years of hearing others praise this book, I finally read it for myself, and found it is worth reading! Dr. Victor Frankl, an author-psychiatrist, experienced first-hand the horrible atrocities that were forced upon the Jews in Nazi Concentration Camps, and lived to tell about it. He shares the truths he learned as a prisoner, including man's search for meaning in life, and his ability to survive extreme physical and emotional hardships, despite the odds. In the process he developed a new approach to psychotherapy, known as "logotherapy." At the root of the theory is the value of helping others find their unique purpose or mission in life. What was the key to the survival in the Nazi death camps? It wasn't survival of the fittest in the traditional sense of those who were the most physically robust of the human species. Rather it tended to be those individuals, described below, who found inner survival strength as follows:
(1.) Those who had a meaning in life, a sense of purpose, or intent to accomplish a goal. It was Dr. Frankl's desire to survive the death camps so that he could write and publish his experiences and truths learned through his suffering. (2.) Those who had a spiritual belief in God and a faith that there was a divine plan for them. They believed God would help them through their difficulties. Dr. Frankl said: "In spite of all the enforced physical and mental primitiveness of the life in a concentration camp, it was possible for spiritual life to deepen." (3.) Those who had an intellectual life to fall back on (in their thoughts) during the monotonous, strenuous, and most painful times of endurance. He states: "Sensitive people who were used to a rich intellectual life may have suffered much pain... but the damage to their inner selves was less. They were able to retreat from their terrible surroundings to a life of inner riches and spiritual freedom." This was something their oppressors were not able to take away from them. (4.) Those who held on to the cherished bonds of loved ones. Dr. Frankl often found strength by carrying on imagined conversations with his beloved wife who had been taken to another death camp. His ability to communicate his love for her in his thoughts, and receive back her love, gave him the incentive to hold on to life during the toughtest of times. Unfortunately his wife was not able to survive, but he didn't know this at the time. (Perhaps it was her Spirit he was communicating with afterall.) I was impressed with the description Dr. Frankl gave of a few of the prisoners, who despite being in a starving and sickly state, managed to go around offering aid and moral encouragement to others. Such individuals often gave of their meager piece of daily bread to keep another fellow prisoner alive. Such selfless service in the face of death, was truly admirable. In the second half of Dr. Frankl's book he distinguishes the difference between his theory of logotherapy and that of traditional approaches to physcho-analysis. At the core of his theory is the challenge to help individuals discover for themselves their reason for being, even a worthwhile goal. He quotes Nietzche who said: "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how." Dr. Frankl says: "The meaning of life always changes, but it never ceases to be." This book can be a great resource for readers to evaluate their own purpose in life, and perhaps in the process choose a path that is worthwhile not only to them but that will benefit others as well.
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Summary: Both touching and helpful!
Review: This book was touching to the point that it was painful to read at times. Yet, the overall message of this book is wonderfully exhilarating. Whatever meaning you find in your life is your life. If that meaning gives you hope, you will have hope. If that meaning gives you despair, you will find despair. This is a fantastic piece of existential work! The whole idea in this book reminds me a bit of the concept of the self-system in Toru Sato's genius book "The Ever-Transcending Spirit". Now "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" is a much newer book but it is another truly excellent book that takes these things one step further by integrating these ideas with the psychology of relationships as well as transpersonal experiences. I recommend this Frankl and Sato's book very very much! They are both outstanding!
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Summary: A Treatise of Hope and Inspiration
Review: Are human beings solely the product of conditional and environmental factors - biological, psychological and sociological - a predetermined being in every respect? Conversely, does the human being ultimately have freedom of choice? Can she/he, then, transcend these so-called deterministic factors, choose how to respond to the world and live with imposed suffering? In the end, is it conceivably possible to find "meaning" in our suffering?
In this book, Dr. Frankl addresses these important questions, illustrating his terrible experiences as an inmate of the Nazi concentration camps, leading to his discovery of "Logotherapy" - a revolutionary approach to psychotherapy, that places emphasis on the human being's "will-to-meaning".
The unmentionable atrocities in the Nazi concentration camps of WWII have been well documented. However, Dr. Frankl does not focus on the atrocities themselves, but the numerous ways his fellow inmates "responded" to the suffering inflicted upon them by their captors. Frankl emphasises that the prisoners of these camps must not be viewed as mere expressions of certain physical and sociological conditions, he writes,
"Even though conditions such as lack of sleep, insufficient food and various mental stresses may suggest that the inmates were bound to react in certain ways, in the final analysis it becomes clear that the sort of person the prisoner became was the result of an inner decision, and not the result of camp influence alone. Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him - mentally and spiritually. He may retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp." (P.87)
The inmates' survival and sanity depended upon a fundamental inner decision, a choice, in terms of how they responded, mentally and spiritually, to these indignities. From Frankl's observations of his fellow prisoners and his own experiences, brought him to conclude, that,
"We have stated that that which was, ultimately responsible for the state of the prisoner's inner self was not so much the enumerated psychophysical causes as it was the result of a free decision." (P.90)
Those individuals who discovered meaning in their suffering and a faith in the future, maintained an attitude of survival, and had a better chance at staying alive.
"Man's Search for Meaning" is a powerful text, which explores issues of profound significance, with clarity and humaneness. This is also a highly credible book, because it is written by a man who experienced first hand man's inhumanity to man, and from these unspeakable indignities, discovered a psychology of hope, which can be applied across the entire spectrum of the human condition.
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Summary: Bring a Highlighter Along
Review: For a long time, I'd heard about this book and seen it quoted by other authors. I finally realized that if so many great writers and speakers were familiar with it, I should be too. It is definitely a must read. It is in my personal top 10 list of all time. Frankl's revelations and wisdom from his horrifying experience will intrigue and amaze you. This book will be underlined, highlighted, and dog-earred. I promise.
Gene Jennings, Author of Timely Words
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Summary: MUST read!
Review: I read this book in a college course which I am forever grateful for; I would not have read it if I didn't take this course. When it comes to reading a book that affects your life and its meaning, this books sets the standard. It provides a painful and true look into a dark and horrbile time in human history. Instead of standing at the fence and looking into the state of man in a concentration camp, we are offered a view from within the camp and the man. When you consider the survival and the perspective of the author, an actual survivor, life becomes inspiring and full of meaning.
As humans we must pay attention to the lessons of history and the wisdom learned by those who lived it. In this case, we are presented with a message wrapped in horror. Yet, the outcome can be inspiration and change.
The text is written in direct and simple langauge. Its level of thought and reading is certainly mature, but its significance is ageless! Empathy is born here. It is a wide-open glimpse into the heart and soul of a man who survived hell.
This book is a message for all.
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Summary: Thought Provoking
Review: This is one of those book that has to be read. "Man's Search for Meaning" is actually in two parts. The first part is Frankel's experiences in various concentration camps during WWII. The anecdotes are deeply disturbing while it gives an insight how someone can survive the horrors of the times. It is these experiences that the second part of the book relies upon.
The second part of the book is what Frankel describes as logotherapy. Frankel's hypothesis and his psychotherepic practice after the war is based on the premis that man's life needs to have meaning. He uses the story of various prisoners trying to survive another day including not smoking the last bit of a cigarette because that was the reason to continue until the next day. He notes that everybody in the camp would know when a prisoner was going to die because they gave up the will to live.
This is not an easy read and it is not an indepth study of logotherapy. What it is is a very concisly written book on both the horrors of prison camp and the development of a fascinating therapy developed from part of these experiences. It is interesting to note that he turned a horror into a benefit to mankind. For that development, this is alone worth reading. Highly Recommended
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Summary: Required Reading for Human Life 101
Review: The problem with Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" is that it is so frequently recommended, by so many people, that you might think that it's one of those things that are "good for you."
Good for you -- like boring foodstuffs and cod liver oil and boring books you were forced to read in high school and never understood.
But, man, no, that is not this book.
The narrative portion of the book is a simply worded account of a man who lived through that most notorious of man-made hells, Auschwitz. It's purely by chance that he survived; his family was murdered.
You may be thinking, "Why would I want to read that?"
Well, just pick it up and find out.
This book was forced on me. I didn't want to read it. Someone else wanted me to read it and gave me a copy. He told me that he regularly buys copies in used book stores and gives them away to others. He believes in the book that much.
So, I picked it up, thinking I'd read a page or two and then stop.
I kept reading all night till I had finished the entire book.
The book is that good.
Give it a try, and let it do for you what it can.
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