BOOK REVIEW
Man’s search for meaning
By Viktor E. Frankl
Reviewed by Ali Ahmed
Austria: B e a c o n P r e s s ( E n g l i s h ) 1946
Viktor Frankl, someone would say the
originator of Logotherapy, a therapy to find the
meaning of life was one of the victims of
atrocities inside Nazi concentration camps,
found some aspects which could lead towards
personal meaning of life, it is known as the
modern existential analysis.
Many writings on existentialism can be found of
notable: Albert Camus, Soren Kierkegaard,
Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Jean-Paul Sartre etc. If
we talk about them Camus and Sartre although they
had sharp political differences, they were profound
moralists, and their philosophies including their
political stances cannot be understood without
reference to their strong ethical commitments, but
according to Sigmund Freud’s: idea, unconscious
urges, memories, and thoughts have an impact on
people’s behavior. If we compare Freudism and
Franklism there is difference in approach, as
according to predecessor frustration element is
found but for successor that frustration leads
towards the meaning of life.
1
In PART ONE he recalls the events occured within
the concentration camps of AUSCHWITZ and
DACHAU. Life in the concentration camp was
very maltreated. They knew they had nothing to
lose except the ridiculous naked lives. According
to the author: for optimism, he and his comrades
applied a psychological condition of “delusion of
reprieve”. Even though they are aware of the
camps’ notoriety for murder and abuse, many
detainees have a strong belief that they will not be
killed or treated badly, as F.Dostoevski for jail
sufferings said that “Yes, a man can get used to
anything, but don not ask us how.” Author also
mentions mental conditions of prisoners as often
were delirious(hallucinations) and many of them
moribund(about to die), for this ‘regression
defence mechanism’ where a person behave like
immature to counter stress was required. He also
addresses the existence of love in sufferings as,
that love goes very far beyond the physical person
of the beloved, pointing towards the inner
spirituality of being. Frankl derived his solace and
the inspiration for his idea of logotherapy from
these individuals. This innovative kind of
psychotherapy refuted Freud’s theories and
demonstrated how resilient a person can be when
they discover the meaning of life..
In PART TWO author largely addresses the
term LOGOTHERAPHY, in which he elaborated
the processes like the Will to meaning, Existential
frustration, Noogenic Neuroses, Noo- dynamics,
The Existential vacuum and Meaning of Life is
discussed with examples of some patient’s cure.
Photo is of the 1946 edition by Verlag für Jugend und Volk (Austria) Beacon Press (English).
Ali, Book Review
In conclusion the optimism in the face of tragedy
occurs, as human race is resilient to sufferings, guilt
and transitoriness, here Frankl defines three
avenues of profound meaning of life: i) by creating
a work or deed ii) by experience something iii) the
meaning in life.
Ali Ahmed Junejo is a student in the BE in Electrical
Engineering program at NED University Of
Engineering and Technology, Karachi. He has
research interests in Psychoanalysis,Existentialism,
Metaphysics, Politics, and History.
Author email: alijunejoahmed123@gmail.com
Ali, Book Review