8/12/2019 Mans Search for Meaninig

1/2

Man's search for meaning

As with all the previous books, I started reading Man in search for meaning with the

preface, from which I really understood its title. Dr. Frankl, psychiatrist and writer,

reports from the perspective of an imprisoned the tragic happenings in a a!i prison

camp of Auschwit! and Dachau. "he writer alternates between first person and third

person, between confessional tone and academic one, generali!ing often the impact that

suffering has on the #prisoner# in general, not only on himself. "herefore, at first reading,

the book seems to be $ust a simple autobiography.

In his book, the well%known &iennese psychiatrist disclose his eperience in the above

mentioned concentration camps, that guided him into the discovering logotherapy oreistential analysis.

&iktor Frankl believes that it is possible to practice the art of leaving even when you are

imprisoned, making the following analogy( #a man's suffering is similar to the behavior

of gas. If a certain )uantity of gas is pumped into an empty chamber, it will fill the

chamber completely and evenly, no matter how big the chamber.# In the same way as a

gas, suffering fills the soul and human conciseness completely no matter if the

#)uantities# are small or large. "his is the reason for which the #dimension# of human

suffering is relative and varies from person to person.

*is most preoccupying thought was the nature and treatment of neurosis, as he believed

that most of these are cause by a failure of the patient to find a meaning to his+her

own eistence. "o help in this search for meaning, he often asks his patients( #hat

is the reason for not killing yourself-#. Also the book is concentrated around a

iet!sche principle which is found several times in the tet( *e who has a why to

live for can bear almost any how.#

In the first section of the book, Frankl identifies three significant periods for a prisoner(

following admission into the camp/ when well entrenched in camp routine/ and

following release and liberation. "he first psychological phase is characteri!ed by

shock, every member imprisoned eperiencing the #delusion of reprieve# followed

by the thought of suicide when reality began to strike in. At this point, the second

8/12/2019 Mans Search for Meaninig

2/2

phase named apathy replace it. "he last phase comes with difficulties in en$oying the

freedom after being released from the camp.

In the second chapter, Dr. Frankl suggests three different ways by which a person can

discover its meaning in life( creating or accomplish a deed/ eperimenting something or

knowing someone/ our attitude towards the inevitable suffering.

"he final section, #"he 0ase for a "ragic 1ptimism,# refers to the so called #tragic triad#

which consists of pain, guilt and death.

I cannot stop noticing that the book is abundant in )uotes from different authors such as

iet!sche, Dostoevsky and 2pino!a that apparently have gave Dr. Frankl the

courage necessary in the terrible moments spent in camp. A very significant )uote is

from Dostoevsky saying that #Man is a creature that can get used to anything, and I

think that is the best definition of him.3

# Man's search for meaning# is not $ust another story about a!i camps and the horrors

that occurred there. It is a book of great depth, that emphasi!es the psychology of the

prisoner, his changes in mentality, loss of identity and the impossibility of an

individuality considering that everything they owned was a simple number. 4ven Dr.

Frankl was nothing more than a number( 556 578.

"he essence lies in the belief that man's motivating force is the search for meaning which

often can be found in suffering and in pain, in love and through love. 2uffering remains

like a gas, it fills the soul and human consciousness entirely, leaving traces and felt

deeply, but not an obstacle in the individual's personal evolution.

2tudent( 1prisor 9ilda :orena

;4I, MAI