WHO IS VIKTOR E. FRANKL?
KLIK-Upanja SLOVENIA
Project QuaLiS: Best Practise in Qualifying Listening Skills to Promote Emotional Health, 2013-2015
VIKTOR E. FRANKL
Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, * 26th March
1905, Vienna, † 2nd September 1997, Vienna
Born: March 26, 1905, Vienna
Died: September 2, 1997, Vienna
Academic titles: M.D. (1930), Ph.D. (1949)
Family:
First marriage (1941) with Tilly, b. Grosser (died
in Bergen-Belsen 1945)
Second marriage (1947) with Eleonore, b.
Schwindt
Daughter Gabriele; 2 grandchildren, Katharina
and Alexander
3 great-grandchildren, Anna, Paul, and Elena
Life and Work
Viktor Emil Frankl, M.D., Ph.D. was Professor of
Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of
Vienna Medical School.
1940-42 Frankl was director of the Neurological
Department of the Rothschild Hospital
During World War II he spent 3 years in various
concentration camps, including Theresienstadt,
Auschwitz, and Dachau.
1946-70 he was director of the Vienna
Neurological Policlinic.
He was Visiting Professor at Harvard and at
universities in Pittsburgh, San Diego and Dallas.
The U.S. International University in California
installed a special chair for logotherapy - this is
the psychotherapeutic school founded by
Frankl, often called the "Third Viennese School"
(after Freud's psychoanalysis and Adler's
individual psychology.) He received 29 honorary
doctorates from universities in all parts of the
world.
Frankl held lectures at 209 universities on all 5
continents.
Frankl was a mountain guide in mountaineering
club "Alpenverein Donauland" in Austria. Are
named after three difficult climbing routes in
the mountains of Rax and Peilsten. In later years
in the United States earned a certificate for a
one-seater airplane pilot.
"The responsibility of man is something terrible, but at the
same time wonderful! Straight frightening is that I
have at all times responsible for the other, that every
decision - from the smallest to the largest - the decision
"forever and ever" and that at any moment seize or
squander that opportunity. every moment brings
thousands of options, but you can choose only one but with all the other condemn the lack of, as well as
"forever and ever." However, it is wonderful the
realization that my own future and the future of things
and people around me at any time depends on my
decision to make the prospect even so small. What
realize at the moment and this is what I get in life, rip
into reality and away from some of passing. "
LOGOTHERAPEUTIC NOTION OF
HUMAN
Man is as three-dimensional being at every point
and in every corner of the man are all three
dimensions, which are combined into a whole.
Frankl speaks of psychophysical parallelism,
where the parallelism means that the
interaction (somatic and psychological
dimensions) is so big that when something
happens to one, the second immediately arises
reaction to these happening.
For example: hunger is a psychological experience
or feeling, which has its parallel body: blood
sugar is lowered, the stomach is empty and
growling. The third dimension is a little different
because it is not so firmly attached to
parallelism. Here there is room for freedom, a
man may go over the psychophysical chaining.
There a human meets with himself. Man here
can withstand its psychophysical - I'm
completely tired, but I'm going to bring this
work to an end. Only man is able to resist its
psychophysical.
Body dimension is the simplest, easiest to explore,
measure and understand.
Psychological dimension is no longer so simple to
understand. It is difficult to measure fear or joy.
Spiritual dimension contains freedom. You can not
assume anything here or measured. Here we
find love, self-overcoming, ethical feelings,
conscience, sense of values​​, issues of death,
creation.
.
Psychological and somatic comes from the
parents.
From where it comes spiritual?
.
Frankl says that for the wrong questions we can
not get the right answers. Spiritual is outside of
space and time. Without the merger of wife and
husband, so with no sexual act, it is no human,
but only the sexual act is not enough to obtain a
human. It must come the third person, the
spirit.
.
Logotherapy argues that at the conception comes
close the spiritual and spiritual personality is
immediately present, although still slumbers. A
spiritual person is waiting for her instrument,
which is part of the psychophysical personality
to perfection differentiate and develop in order
to become useful.
.
Example of building materials and contractor: the material can be
good or bad, it can be a lot of it or a little. The question is, what
will the constructor do with the material. We need a minimum
of material. Some of the best marble do nothing. The other from
a little less good material make beautiful things. What can a
man with the assigned spirit of the assigned yet upgraded? We
need to raise the man in the position of the builder, so he can
not identify with construction materials. It is always necessary to
remember: you're not a building material, you are developer.
Every man has a lot of choices in their lives and to be human is a
possibility that arises from this, for what he chooses to be
realized. At the moment when I am taking the choices as a
person, I am taking the choices as a spiritual person.
Biological dimension we inherit from our parents /
it represents the minimum subsistence level.
Psychological dimension is in part inherited,
part of its development under the influence of
the environment / parents and others ..
Spiritual dimension comes from the Absolute
spirit. In a moment of conception enters a third
person beside "tertium Datur". So man is a
creature of earth and heavenly roots.
LOGOTHERAPY
is the psychotherapeutic direction, which is
focused on solving human problems and
hardships through his original human dimension
of freedom and responsibility, energy is
supplied primarily to the original motivation of
the human will to meaning.
.
Logotherapy mainly deals with neurotic disorders
resulting from existential emptiness (or
frustration, deprivation - the lack of a sense
that life is meaningful) and the patient tries to
find meaning in life.
SPIRITUAL DIMENSION: free will,
responsibility, conscience
The man has a need to find meaning of his life
and purpose of the moment in which he lives.
The meaning is given to us, we do not invent it
but we discover it in moment by moment in our
life or career. We were not created to achieve
homeostasis, but in order to achieve the
ambitious goals that we have laid on the path.
Nobody instead of us can not created them.
The meaning of our existence is created through
the love of someone or something (a project,
hobby enjoyment in a lovelyness, suffering ...)
Meaningful job is the best prevention of all
diseases, as well as the best medicine. With love
for someone or something, we forget ourself
(autotranscendenca), we are surpassing the
victious circle egocentrizm and we are
committed to each other. In this giving to others
we are experiencing happiness and
contentment. Ability to avtotranscendence
connects us with the Absolute spirit, the
Transcendence and without it we can not
understand our existencial.
Frankl was talking about the existential vacuum of
modern man. He spoke that today people do not come
to the doctor because they are in pain, but they want
to get the answer to the question of meaning. Without
this answer, it is difficult to live and a man can in this
point of view be in suicidal risk. Frankl has this
situation is called "noogenic neurosis or noogenic
depression" and he realized that about 2 5% of people
who come to the doctor, they come because of
noogenic neurosis or depressions.
It is important that volunteers on the phone have a
positive attitude to life and that they believe in an
absolute sense/meaning and that they are filfiled with
joy for life.
Help in a crisis situation: (The question is for
the whole group! Post by show of hands!)
Important question: What kind of attitude a
person has to life crisis? Which answer is in the
connection to logotherapy?
a) The crises in life are unnecessary!
b) What have I committed to someone that I am now in
such trouble?
c) Whose fault is it that I am in this situation?
d) I am not able to solve the crisis, so I will not even
attempt.
e) The crisis is a life task that gives me the opportunity
for personal growth.
Ideal posture from psychohygienyc position: The
crisis is a task that is intended for me. In itself I
have the potential to solve it. The crisis is an
opportunity to change behavioral patterns for
the better. The crisis stimulates my creativity,
help me to listening to the voice of conscience
with full responsibility choose the most sensible
solution.
Logotherapy rests on three basic
pillars, or three fundamental
assumptions.
Meaning of life
Freedom of will
Will to meaning
Meaning of life
The Philosophy of Meaning of Life starts with
the basic conviction that “…life has
unconditional meaning, which can not vanish
under any circumstance”. In other words, that
life holds a meaning in any situation,
even the most miserable.
.
A uniquely human capacity that we all have, and
which is similar to a pre-knowledge, or
awareness of meaning in our lives, is called
intuition. Our intuition is a foreknowledge, that
our existence is basically wanted in the word.
.
The whole of life is meaningful, and therefore,
every moment in life is meaningful. As the
whole of life has meaning, every person is
intended, every persons‟ situation offers unique
meaning possibilities to be fulfilled. (Lukas,
1995).
According to Frankl, to be free, and conscious, is
to be responsible: Responsible for our own life,
and for the life of others, to life.
Freedom of will
Human beings are the only creatures who are
can reach beyond themselves in the search for
purposeful goals and values. They have a body,
and a mind. But beyond, their bodies and
minds, they are equipped with Freedom of Will
to explore, and to decide, the direction of their
actions, even if this means acting in the belief of
something that is greater than them.
The key to understanding Frankl‘s concept of
the Freedom of Will is the inclusion of a third
dimension in human existence (Tertium Datur),
aside from the planes of body and mind. While
in body and mind we are determined, and/or
influenced by physical, and psychological
mechanisms, there is a dimension--a uniquely
human dimension— which allows us to reach
beyond ourselves in the search for meaning.
This dimension is called the Noetic dimension.
.
―It is seen as our main motivation for living and
for acting, and it goes deeper than the will to
pleasure and power. When we see meaning in
life, we are willing to endure any suffering. On
the other hand, if we see no meaning, even a
life of well-being will seem empty and futile‖
(Barnes, 1995; p. 9).
Everybody wants to be successful, and to
accomplish something worthwhile in life.
The will to meaning
―Logos‖ is a Greek word. It can be translated as
―Reason,‖ or ―Meaning‖ (Frankl, 1984b; p.
74). The literal translation of the word
logotherapy is ―therapy through meaning‖
(Frankl, 1984). It can also be translated as
―healing through meaning,‖ (Frankl, 1984b;
Introduction). Through its tenets and principles,
logotherapy is a meaning-centred
psychotherapy.
.
The existential background for the Will to
Meaning is related to the nature of human
existence: No other creature, but human beings
in the history of evolution reached the point of
being aware of, and confronted with life‘s
finiteness, and mortality.
The motivation concept in the Will to Meaning
means that every human being is inspired by a
striving and yearning for meaning.
.
―It is seen as our main motivation for living and
for acting, and it goes deeper than the will to
pleasure and power. When we see meaning in
life, we are willing to endure any suffering. On
the other hand, if we see no meaning, even a
life of well-being will seem empty and futile.
Everybody wants to be successful, and to
accomplish something worthwhile in life.
Frankl notes, "...there were always choices to
make. Every day, every hour, offered the
opportunity to make a decision, a decision
which determined whether you would or would
not submit to those powers which threatened to
rob you of your very self, your inner freedom;
which determined whether or not you would
become the plaything of circumstance,
renouncing freedom and dignity to become
molded into the form of the typical inmate.
All psychotherapies make philosophical
assumptions about the human persons that
cannot be proved with certainty. The
assumptions of Logotherapy include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The human being is an entity consisting of body, mind, and
spirit.
Life has meaning under all circumstances, even the most
miserable.
People have a will to meaning.
People have freedom under all circumstances to activate the
will to find meaning.
Life has a demand quality to which people must respond if
decisions are to be meaningful.
The individual is unique.
How to find meaning in life?
1. Creativity (giving something to the world through selfexpression: using our talents in various ways; i.e., the
work we do, the gifts we give to life).
2. Experiencing (receiving from the world: through
nature, culture, relationships, interactions with others
and with our environment).
3. Change of attitude (even if we can't change a situation
or circumstance, we can still choose our attitude
toward a condition; this is often a self-transcending
way of finding meaning, especially in unavoidable
suffering).
What pulls us ahead in life?
Happy events.
Life goals.
Placing values. Elastic scale.
Making decision (required has to decide, even if
we choose poorly - takes responsibility).
Gratitude.
Deviation.
Silence.
Specific Logotherapeutic Techniques
Paradoxe intention
The therapist encourages the patient to intend or
wish for, even if only for a second, precisely
what they feat.
Dereflection
The therapist diverts the patients away from their
problems towards something else meaningful in
in the world.
.
Socratic dialogue
Change of opinion
Method that helps in converting negative,
unhealthy views in a positive, healthy position.
WORKSHOP DEREFLECTION
Imagine that you are part of the group where
everybody speak depressive/sad things. How
does that influence you?
How would you feel if people around you would
talk about positive things? Which one do you
choose in your ordinary life? Would you like
implement some changes and how?
SOCRATIC DIALOGUE
The Socratic dialogue is the vehicle for
mobilizing the inner resources of the human
spirit.
The general rules of the Socratic Dialogue are the
following:
1. The questions are aimed to stretch thinking
further, and are specific;
2. The questions are open-ended rather than
closed;
3. The questions are thinking-oriented rather
than feeling-oriented;
4. The questions start from the present or the
past, and are futureoriented;
5. The questions aim to facilitate:
(a) Self-discovery [knowledge];
(b) Choice [decisions];
(c) Uniqueness [Personal Significance];
(d) Responsibility;
(e) Self-transcendence;
(f) Clarify Needs, and Values.
What are some of your greatest strengths?”
“Whew was the time that someone
expected the very best of you?” (b) “What are
two things you may do in the future
that as of yet you have not done?” What was
time when you put off something you
should have done right away?” (c) “What was it
like for you when someone did not
accept your point of view?” “What would you
say were „key‟ turning-points in your
life?‟ (d) “What was one thing you forced
yourself to so and it was good
afterwards?” “What are some things you want
to learn in the future?”
“What are some things you want to learn in the
future?” “Name
something that you finished that you had a hard
time starting?” (e) ―When was a time
when you put energy into something you
believed in?‖ ―When was a time that you
were of real help to someone in difficulty?‖ (f)
“What are three things that someone
else wants you to be?” “What are two things
that are difficult for you to accept?”
WORKSHOP
Please choose from one crisis situation and write
it down. Then, each read your situation and we
will choose one.
To selected situations we are gonna set up key
questions after Socrates' dialogue!