Man's Search For Meaning By Victor Frankl

Man’s Search for Meaning is written by Victor Frankl, an Auschwitz Holocaust survivor. The book is divided into two sections that consist of an autobiography and a logo-therapy section. During the autobiography section Mr. Frankl takes the reader through his time at the Auschwitz camp and gives his perspective of what happened as a camp prisoner and a psychiatrist. Viktor Frankl discusses concepts of suffering, humanity, spirituality, choices, social factors, and meaning to life. Frankl thoroughly examines these concepts through the eyes of someone who lived through one of the worst concentration work camps and then explains how these concepts merge with his own theory of counseling, logo-therapy. Logo-therapy is based on a foundation of Existentialism,
When Frankl describes meaning to life he focuses on the present moment and living more in the now. As someone that suffers from high levels of anxiety I personally appreciated his take on meaning. Frankl gave me a whole new perspective when talking about finding meaning in life. Before reading Man’s Search for Meaning, I always pondered the concept of meaning to life and correlated meaning with a spiritual connection or a big ideal (i.e, life after death, predestination). Frankl breaks meaning down into finding meaning in the given moment. Instead of thinking about meaning to life in a futuristic sense, I know think of meaning to life in the present.
Another concept that resonated with me was Viktor Frankl’s concept of suffering When Frankl describes meaning to life; he describes suffering in a way that states, “if there is a meaning to life at all, then there must be a meaning to suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete” (p.67). This aligns with one of my own personal life philosophies. Without the times filled with anxiety, pain, and sorrow, I would not fully appreciate the times filled with happiness, love, and