...Throughout history, the Holocaust has remains one of the most inhuman events to have ever taken place. So many individuals died in tortuous ways, and nothing will ever make that right. After reading Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, I have a whole new look of the things that are happening around me. During the story, Frankl was put through horrible situations; however, he never gave up because he had a reason to push on and live. After reading about his experiences, Frankl’s book has taught me so many things and has impacted my life in a whole new way. During the story, Viktor Frankl used inspiration to survive the Holocaust. Although I cannot relate to the fight for survival, the book has taught me to never give up on any goal I...
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...Reflections on Man’s Search For Meaning INT 101 Dr. Walker December 4 2013 Thomas Jefferson wrote – “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”1 The pursuit of happiness seems to be the end game for life, but is it? Viktor Frankl is a concentration camp survivor and goes one level deeper in his book Man’s Search For Meaning. Finding the true meaning in life is the key to self-actualization. Frankl quotes the words of Fredrich Nietzsche – “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”2 Frankl reveals what life was like in the concentration camps. He also discusses Logotherapy, which he created. Frankl was subjected to four different Nazi camps and was dehumanized to a mere number: 119,104. Moreover, Nazis murdered his wife, mother, father, and unborn child, yet Frankl was able to find a purpose for living in all his sufferings. Frankl goes into detail on the concentration camps. Life was hell on earth. What appeared to him was the mind’s power to protect. The longer the stay, the more numbing all human emotion became. There are some behaviors I would like to highlight. They are strong and appear based on Frankl’s experiences in the camps. Hope People died daily in the camps. The guards played a finger game. They would randomly point, and if you were picked, you died. The simple act of pointing delivered your fate. Prisoners who focused on the WHY to live had a better chance at survival. Frankl determined that a youthful face and eagerness to work increased...
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...Abstract Searching for purpose and meaning in life is a trend among the human race in today’s world. This has been brought by human beings changing their way of thinking and focusing their thinking to what they think matters most in their lives. This mode of thinking is known as logotherapy. It was first coined Dr. Victor Emil Frankl. Frankl is mostly known for his book, Mans search for Meaning where he uses his life as an example to show that even after losing everything dear to them, human beings can still find meaning in his life. Frankl went through four concentration camps where he lost his wife, father and mother. Even after all this suffering Frankl still managed to find meaning in his life. Frankl’s suffering can be said to be the main motivation towards the development of Logotherapy. Key terms are Logotheraphy, Viktor Frankl, psychoanalysis. Development of Logotherapy. Viktor Frankl became interested in medicine while still an adolescent. He became interested in psychology while in High School (Life and Work, n.d). Frankl attended the same school as Sigmund Freud. Frankl became interested in Freud’s thinking and philosophies. Frankl started correspondence with Freud but soon differed with Freud’s thinking that sexual impulses explain a majority of human behavior Frankl claimed that Freud’s thinking to be too dogmatic to explain human being behavior. After leaving Freud, Frankl became interested in Alfred Alder’s philosophy on individual psychology. Individual psychology...
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...Both Viktor Frankl and Martin Luther King Jr. had first hand experience with others brutally taking away part of their humanity, and attempted to correct these wrongdoings in some way. Viktor Frankl attempted to mend his own wounds and the lives of others, mainly after the fact with reflection and management of what they were forced through, while King attempted to actively better his situation by placing himself in harm's way. These differing ways of managing suffering have widely different applications, but both embrace brokenness as a tool that can be used, in combination of community and wholeness, to create meaningful change. Viktor Frankl reflected on the terrible situation of himself and others being forced into concentration camps...
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...College Writing II Searching for The Meaning of Life to make a Life Worth Living It was a typical Sunday night and after a long weekend you go to bed exhausted. After what seemed like minutes you open your eyes to the sound of the alarm blaring in your ear. Wanting nothing more but to hit the snooze button and drift back to sleep you turn on your phone and realize you are already running late to class. Immediately you jump out of bed, grab your backpack and sprint out the door. At the same time you run out of the door your phone slips from your pocket and it shatters on the concrete. You feel as if it is the end of the world, and the only thing on your mind is the thought of not being able to check Facebook or Twitter for the rest of the day and it just tears you apart. After what seems to be the worse day ever your phone rings. Irritated and unable to see who is calling you angrily answer the call. Realizing it is your mother on the other line you immediately interrupt her to tell her it is dire that you get a new phone as soon as possible. After ignorantly insisting for a new phone your mother then informs you that your grandmother has severely fallen and it is not looking to good for her and she might not make it. Taken back you instantly realize how selfish and ungrateful you were acting. Sometimes people get caught up in materialistic things and lose sight of the true meaning of life. It is moments like these that bring us back to reality and remind us not...
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...Tasia Barefield PHIL 104 - 003 Professor Steinbock 2-19-13 What is the Meaning of Life? After reading A Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor R. Frankl and short story The Grand Inquisitor on the Nature of Man by Fyodor Dostoevsky, one may begin to question freedom and the meaning of life is. Both books give their readers an abundance of information for them to decide for themselves if these two things go hand in hand. After reading both books I came to realize that a person does not need to be free to have a meaning of life. A person can find happiness in any situation they are placed in when they just have to find a reason to be happy. The Grand Inquisitor on the Nature of Man is a short story from the novel The Brothers Karamazov. The story about human nature and freedom is told by Ivan to his younger brother Alyosha. Alyosha just so happens to be a Monk and Ivan questions if there is a God. Their discussion is very dramatic and causes its readers to assume Ivan’s standpoint on religious faith. It almost seems as if Ivan is trying to get Alyosha to really think about his faith. He never says what he truly believes in; he kept his role as storyteller throughout the whole story. Dostoevsky’s story is about Jesus returning to earth to the city of Seville, during the Spanish Inquisition. He explains that the people automatically recognized him when they first saw him. Ivan explains to Alyosha saying: He comes silently and unannounced;...
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...Tuan Nguyen Professor Jeffrey McMahon July 28, 2014 English 1C Drama in Meaning I had a friend who studied with me in elementary to high school; her name was Lan. She was unlike other friends, always controlled by her parents. Because she grew up in a rich family and her parents did not want her to contact other people, she always isolated herself from the collective class. She couldn’t do whatever she wanted, just listened and did the thing that her parents want. With her, there was no goal and purpose in her life anymore. Lan did not care and just blindly did it; she was blind and lied to herself. This girl became frustrated and gradually stepped deeper into the whole of sink and darkness that she was digging up for herself. She couldn’t escape from her darkness because she never tried to escape from it. She only listened to her parents and not listen to herself about what she needed and what she wanted. Lan was not able to live a good life, and she was not being to find her purpose in life. When Lan did the things right, she usually considered that she was good and perfect; she thought that her life was perfect and there was no need to correct or change the way it was. This thought would make her easily become self- satisfied. Lan, who was also not moving or making any changing to adapt to the new situations suddenly come to life, was allowing bad things to come in her life. Moreover, without changing, she would be leaved behind and she would not be able to find...
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...A Critical Review of Man’s Search for Meaning by Laura Beres Introduction In Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl tells the very personal story of his experience as a prisoner in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. He presents this story in the form of an essay in which he shares his arguments and analysis as a doctor and psychologist as well as a former prisoner. This paper will review Frankl’s story as well as his main arguments, and will evaluate the quality of Frankl’s writing and focus on any areas of weakness within the story. Summary This section contains a summary of Man's Search. Frankl begins his book by stating that his purpose in writing the book is not to present facts and details of the Holocaust, but to provide a personal account of the everyday life of a prisoner living in a concentration camp. He states, “This tale is not concerned with the great horrors, which have already been described often enough (though less often believed), but…it will try to answer this question: How was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?” (21). Frankl then goes on to describe the three stages of a prisoner’s psychological reactions to being held captive in a concentration camp. The first phase, which occurs just after the prisoner is admitted to the camp, is shock. The second phase, occurring once the prisoner has fallen into a routine within the camp, is one of apathy, or “the blunting...
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...Man’s Search for Meaning Book Review There have been several books written by those who suffered in concentration camps during World War II; however, Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl is the both a fascinating and hopeful book from this period. This book is comprised of two primary parts. Part one is “Experiences in a Concentration Camp,” and part two is titled “Logotherapy in a Nutshell”. There is also a postscript entitled “The Case for a Tragic Optimism”. Throughout the book, Frankl gives the readers a new perspective about to how to view life and reiterates the statement that life is utterly what you decide to make of it. Frankl clearly states that he did not want to solely focus on the negative aspects from his stay in four different Concentration Camps including Auschwitz and Dachau but rather his own personal experience of survival. Immediately upon entering Auschwitz in 1942, he had to part ways with his prized almost completed scientific manuscript, which meant a great deal to him. Man’s Search for Meaning teaches the reader that it is possible to be positive in the most dire of situations. There are several factors in the book that Frankl discusses that helped him survive in the camps. He noted that there are three phases of the inmate’s mental reactions to life in camp: the admission period, the period when he is deep into the camp routine, and that after his release and liberation. His camp experience seemed nothing shy of a nightmare. Liberation...
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...Throughout the book Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, a boy who does not know his place in life, illustrates the human need for logotherapy. Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, wrote "Mans search for meaning", in which he describes his experiences and ways of resisting the efforts of dehumanization in the holocaust. In Viktor Frankl's writing he delineates Logotherapy, which are three principles of mankind. The main character in Catcher in the Rye is Holden Caulfield, he is an unstable young man, who wanders around New York for three days, without knowing where to go or what do. Holden Caulfield would benefit if he applied Logotherapy to his everyday life. The first principle of logotherapy states that's man has an inborn will to meaning, "We seek to live not only for ourselves, but to contribute something of worth to other people and to the world we live in."(370) Holden Caulfield rarely shows this trait, but he does reveal it seldomly to people he does not know for example when he says to a cab driver, "You know those ducks in that lagoon right near central park? That little lake? By any chance do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over?∦"(60) This exhibits that Holden cares for some things, which means he has a will to meaning somewhere inside of him, he just needs to find it, like one of his teachers says, "∦but I can very clearly see you dying nobly, for some highly unworthy cause"(188) In this quote, Mr. Antolini...
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...Summary In Man’s Search for Meaning, psychiatrist and neurologist Viktor Frankl (1905-1997) wrote about his time as a concentration camp inmate during the Second World War. One thing he found out was it was not about those who were physically strong, who survived longest in concentration camps, but those who had a sense of control over their environment. Viktor Frankl was one of the few, who survived in a place. This was in a place that eventually millions of people would die. After three years in various concentration camps, his camp Türkheim was liberated, upon which he returned to Vienna, where he was born. Frankl then spent the rest of his life teaching what he’d learned during the worst of times. That people can, and must, find meaning...
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... “Mans Search for Meaning” 5 The 5 programs 5 The Study 6 Table 1: Study Results 6 Analysis Team Annie Malpartida Brad Ingram Daniel Ojst Fernando Lamelas Jeremy Spund Introduction The Problem Manufacturing across the Midwest has seen sharp declines in the May 08 to May 09 Year. The automotive industry saw a reduction of over 39%, Steel output was down 36.8%, and manufacturing as a sector saw a 24% decrease.[i] But what does this mean for Morgan Moe Drugstores? Why is manufacturing so important? The Midwest primary output is manufacturing and agriculture. A decline in either one of these sectors means that the workers driving the Midwest economy have less to spend; meaning that the economic circulation in the region as a whole decreases. This loss of manufacturing is seen in the falling revenues of Morgan Moe. In many ways, the company has dealt with the difficult economic climate well. It has closed underperforming stores, consolidated the workforce, and reduced overhead. However, the laying off of many employees had some consequences. Negative press, internal rumors, and malcontent are spreading through the workforce. Websites like www.Ihatemorganmoe.blogspot.com are developing to further spread the discontent of laid-off workers. “Mans Search for Meaning” Upon reading this book, Jim Claussen, the Vice President of Human Relations, read a book by the psychologist Vicktor Frankl. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl[ii] is the...
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...* Oskar’s father always made him feel special, in every way he could (Sahara Desert) (pg 86) * After Oskar’s father passed away he needed a new role model, he needed someone to look up to, he needed someone to answer his questions * The point of Oskar writing these letters is so that he can find meaning un his life and by writing these letters he believes he can find meaning to his life * He is trying to find a new father, he wants to fill a gap in his life * There is a book called “man’s search for meaning” and it is written by Viktor Frankl, the summary of this book is that the meaning of life can be discovered in 3 ways * 1) you can perform a deed * 2) one can experience or encounter someone * 3) one can demonstrate a certain attitude toward suffering * Relates back to Oskar because he has to find meaning in his life, he is at a point where he is very lost and confused. Also that he has to find the meaning to the key, how it connects back to his father * Viktor Frankl discovered this thing called logotherapy, what this means is you have to find all meaning in things and you will be satisfied * Oskar writes the letters to find meaning in his life and by writing these letters it brings him satisfaction * Oskar has a feeling of becoming isolated so he writes these letters to people that he admires hoping he gets a response * Relates to the post-modern world because before the war that’s how people would communicate. That’s...
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...Phillip Robertson 11/21/14 Dr. Michael Railey Biographical Sketch Viktor E. Frankl the author of Man’s Search for Meaning had a very important and eventful life. His life before being forced into the Nazi concentration camps although vague showed that he was a very accomplished psychiatrist with a scientific journal ready for publication and a loving husband. He then became a forced laborer until his medical skills saved him. He was moved from forced labor to a position as a doctor helping typhus patients until his camp was liberated. After his imprisonment in the concentration camps he used his experiences and observations of all he had seen to form a new school of psychology called Logotherapy. Summary The book starts off in the transport...
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...that ought to govern human conduct, the values worth pursuing, and the character traits deserving development in life.  Responsibility as a key concept of contemporary morality Although often used, the term is rarely explained in the business ethics literature. Max Weber 1919: separates the ethics of conviction from the ethics of responsibility. Walter Schulz 1972: defines responsibility as „self-commitment originating from freedom in worldly relationships,“ maintaining the polarity of responsibility (with an inner and an outer pole). Responsibility includes three components:  Subject: Authority: Contents: Who is responsible? To whom is one responsible? For what is one responsible? Viktor E. Frankl in “Man’s Search for Meaning“ (1984): “Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibility. In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibility. That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West...
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