Victor Frankl wrote the book Man’s Search for Meaning to account for his time in concentration camps during World War II. He tells his story through the lens of Logotherapy, his own branch of therapy focused on the importance of meaning.
In this post, we’ll discuss Viktor Frankl’s background, his philosophy and the core ideas of logotherapy.
Viktor Frankl’s Background
Born in 1905, Frankl studied neurology and therapy and published his first scientific article in 1924 at the age of 19. During the war, he spent three years in concentration camps, including Auschwitz.
The first half of Man’s Search for Meaning is Frankl’s account of these camps. He discusses the politics and defense mechanisms people used to survive in the camps. Frankl witnessed first-hand the dichotomy between people who gave up completely and others who adjusted surprisingly well.
Having written his first book, Frankl had a clear idea of logotherapy before being sent to Auschwitz. With this philosophy, he was able to apply the importance of meaning to everyday life.
Partly due to Frankl’s experience in the concentration camps, logotherapy offers a potential solution to human suffering.
The Will to Meaning
Opposed to psychotherapy, Frankl argued that most human action isn’t performed simply to seek pleasure and avoid pain. He argued that we need to find meaning in our lives. And many of our frustrations in life come from a feeling of meaninglessness.
The will to meaning is our need to find a suitable meaning and life purpose.
In fact, our primary purpose in life is to find our meaning. Our meaning is specific and unique to who we are. And only we can fulfill our meaning.
When we have a clear Why, we can always figure out the How.
Existential Frustration & Psychotherapy
Existential frustration occurs when we lack a will to meaning. Frankl defined noogenic neurosis as the form that arises from existential frustration. Unlike psychotherapy with its focus on symbolism, logotherapy aims to treat existential frustration.
Frankl gives the example of an American diplomat who had been visiting a psychotherapist for five years when he visited his practice. This patient was discontented with his career and didn’t enjoy working with American foreign policy.
His previous analyst repeatedly diagnosed him as having a problem with authority figures and urged him to reconcile with his father. Only then, would he contentedly work with the authority figures of the US government and his superiors.
Within a few sessions, Frankl realised the patient just needed a different line of work. And the simple fix was to find a more meaningful job. On a personal note, I had a similar feeling when I start this website.
Logotherapy’s simple purpose is to help patients find meaning in life.
What Is Logotherapy?
Logotherapy has three core elements.
- First, each person has a healthy core that includes a sense of humour, love and the ability to undertake different causes in life.
- The primary purpose of logotherapy is to enlighten a person to use the tools necessary to reach their inner core.
- Life offers us purpose and meaning, but it doesn’t owe us a sense of fulfilment or happiness.
Logotherapy defines the search for purpose as humans’ main motivation in life.
What Is the Meaning of Life?
Frankl uses an interesting analogy in this book. He says that asking a doctor the meaning of life is like asking a master chess player for the best chess move. The chess master won’t be able to answer, because it depends on the person, their situation and their opponent.
Every person should find their own meaning. Their meaning should be important and something they are uniquely qualified for.
How Can We Create Meaning?
Logotherapy offers three methods to help us discover our meaning.
- Creative Value. We can create meaning by creating a work or doing a deed.
- Experiential Value. We can also create meaning by experiencing something or encountering someone.
- Attitudinal Value. Finally, we can also create meaning with our attitude toward unavoidable suffering. We can modify our attitude toward inevitable suffering.
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances
Viktor Frankl
Frankl clarified that the value of suffering is meaningful only when the first two creative possibilities are not available. For example, in a concentration camp where suffering is inevitable. This idea overlaps with the Stoic concept of Amor Fati.
We should never suffer unnecessarily simply for the sake of suffering.
Logotherapy in Auschwitz
Frankl applied logotherapy to remain hopeful in the concentration camps everyday.
He described the regular occurrence in the camp of someone not getting out of bed in the morning. That was a sign that they’d lost hope and lost their meaning.
Within two days, these people would almost always have died. Because without meaning, they weren’t willing to put up with the excruciating circumstances.
He also told of two fellow inmates who nearly committed suicide one day. Frankl, and other inmates, reminded them what they had to live for.
One of these men had children outside the camp and was able to find meaning in the love of his family. The other man had a scientific paper that only he could bring the world.
Whether your meaning comes from family or your occupation, we can all find meaning in something greater than ourselves.
Remember when we have a clear Why, we can always figure out How.
How Is Logotherapy Used Today?
Logotherapy is used regularly in therapy today for a variety of purposes. Benefits of logotherapy include treating addiction, anxiety and neuroses. Logotherapy can also treat cases of OCD, schizophrenia and depression.
Paradoxical intentions are a method from logotherapy that help reduce anxiety.
Paradoxical Intentions for Anxiety
A core technique in logotherapy is paradoxical intention, which forces us to look forward to things that we initially dreaded. Paradoxical intentions allow us to reverse our attitudes and reduce our fears.
A symptom-phobia feedback loop often causes neurosis. When a symptom causes our phobia, it reinforces the initial symptom. For example, worrying about not falling asleep is more likely to keep us awake.
With a paradoxical intention, we would instead look forward to staying awake all night. This technique reduces the phobia that multiplies the symptoms.
Logotherapy in a Nutshell
Victor Frankl was a neurologist-therapist in the early 20th century who ended up in the concentration camps of World War II. He wrote the book Man’s Search for Meaning to give his personal account of the camps and to introduce the philosophy of logotherapy.
Logotherapy is a form of therapy that aims at resolving existential frustration. It’s used to treat a range of mental health issues from addiction and anxiety to schizophrenia and depression. The idea is that we need to have a clear meaning in life.
We can take the core ideas from logotherapy to apply meaning to our lives. We can create meaning by creating something, loving someone, or changing our attitude toward suffering.
Discover meaning in life with logotherapy and Mind & Practice today.