Introduction
The book Man’ Search for Meaning is one of the most influential works on the psychoanalysis of the modern time. It was written by Viktor Frankl, a former Auschwitz prisoner, and the outstanding psychoanalyst. The existential vacuum is one of the most important concepts explained by Frankl in his book. However extreme the external conditions are, we can choose our attitude to them and our sufferings. The existential vacuum results from the loss of hope for a better future. Love is a key to survival according to Frankl.
The Main Part
The ideas presented by Viktor Frankl in his book Man’ Search for Meaning reflect his view, derived from his personal experience of being the inmate of the Nazi concentration camp, on the way an individual should take to cope with the suffering and to survive. The existential vacuum is the concept suggested by Frankl to describe the mental stance of the individual, who lost the meaning of life. The inability to find the purpose of life creates the inner emptiness. Frankl developed his theory of logotherapy, which was based on three pillars including the freedom of will, will to meaning, and meaning in life (Batthyany n.pag.). Frankl interprets the Greek word “logos” as not simply the “word” but rather the “meaning”. Thus, his theory of psychoanalysis is not about the treatment with the word but rather the treatment with ideas, meaning, and its search. The critics argue that the search for meaning is the evidence of mental illness. However, Frankl argues that the existential vacuum is the stance caused by the loss of hope for a better future. He claims, “Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how’” (Frankl 104). In contrast to Freud, who says that if an individual searched for the meaning of life, they were ill, Frankl argues that it is through the search for meaning an individual can overcome the mental illness.
“Viktor Frankl did not consider himself a prophet. But how else but prophetic would one call Frankl’s greatest accomplishment: over 50 years ago he identified the societal sickness that already then was haunting the world, and now has become pandemic?” (Krasko n.pag.).
The answer is that it is the loss of the meaning of life, which leads to mental illness. At the same time, critics argue that the search for meaning leads to neurosis. Frankl says that it is through the reasoning and searching for meaning an individual finds the path to survival. He says, “Ultimately, a man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked” (Frankl 108). This is one of the central ideas presented in the book Man’ Search for Meaning. Frankl tries to say that to survive or to overcome the pressure of the environment, we need to comprehend that we must change our attitude to life. Our attitude determines our stance. Frankl explains that we must not be pressured by our expectations from life. We achieve happiness and success when we realize that they are not the feelings of satisfaction or joy, they are the hard way to them.
That is why he says that the sufferings are an integral part of our life and our goal is to realize what life expects from us at that moment. Sometimes, it expects us being pushing but, sometimes, it teaches us the resignation and bearing our cross with dignity (Popova n.pag.). It is courage, which helps us to accept our fate. Frankl says that the tears are not evidence of the weakness; instead, they are evidence of the courage to suffer (Frankl 80). The sufferings give a person the chance to be stronger and braver than ever. They test the ability of an individual to prove their moral strength. It should be emphasized that the author stresses that moral fiber is much more important for survival than physical strength.
He says that the fragile and sensitive people suffered from the sorrows of the concentration camp much more than those, who were physically stronger, but they were not destructed by the situation morally, whereas many of the physically strong inmates were unable to rehabilitate mentally after the liberation. It is important to note that Frankl pays much attention to the sense of humor as the means to go through the sufferings. He says that the humor helped him and his fellows to survive in the concentration camp. If you can laugh at the situation even if it makes you suffer, you delay your suffering. At the moment when you perceive it with a sense of humor, you do not suffer. Frankl says that when he was an inmate in the concentration camp, he realized that love was the key to withstand life obstacles. He says that the image of his wife helped him to feel able to cope with the circumstances.
The book Man’ Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl represents very interesting work on psychoanalysis. Although the ideas presented in it are criticized by many psychoanalysts, they are, undoubtedly, worthy to analyze. The author went through the search for meaning himself when he was an inmate in Auschwitz. He found it in helping others to find the meaning of their own lives (Frankl 100). Frankl remained the optimist despite all the sufferings. No doubt, his experience is the bright illustration of human dignity and courage. Frankl says that you cannot change the circumstances but you can change your attitude to them and that is how you can survive. “As Gordon Allport notes in his Preface to the third edition, this is what the ancient Stoics called the ‘last freedom’. The evil of torture is not so much physical, but the active attempt to extinguish it” (“Man Search for Meaning” n.pag.).
Conclusion
To sum up, all the above mentioned, it should be said that the ideas presented in the book Man’ Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl deserve special attention. They reflect the life experience and wisdom, which indicate the right way to happiness and success. It is all about how to survive and to remain human at the same time.
Works Cited
Batthyany, Alexander. “What is Logotherapy and Existential Analysis?”. Viktorfrankl.org. n.d.
Frankl, Viktor Emil. Man’s Search for Meaning, Boston: Beacon Press, 2006. Print.
Krasko, Genrich L. “Viktor Frankl: The Prophet of Meaning”. Mit.edu. 2005. Web.
“Man Search for Meaning”. Butler-bowdon.com. 2013.
Popova, Maria. “Viktor Frankl on the Human Search for Meaning”. Brainpickings.org. n.d.