A Mans Search For Meaning

Biographical Sketch

Victor Frankl, a man who I can say, has seen the worst of mankind during his imprisonment at Auschwitz, a concentration camp in Germany is nothing short of a hero. While there, he was left with nothing other than a fighting chance of survival, the stubble on his head and the will to live to possibly see a better day tomorrow. He survived not only physically but mentally as well. I would describe Frankl to be an absurd hero. As many inmates were hopeless because they lost their family, friends, and any chance of freedom Frankl stayed hopeful. As he found inspiration during his incarceration, Frankl was able to survive the harshest conditions. He serves as an inspiration to many because when he has seen the worst a man can do, experienced unforgettable tragedies, he was still able to find hope, and his very own meaning to his life till his passing.

Most interesting segment

I found it interesting on how the closely the body and mind work together. For example, it seems that all the prisoners shared a significant struggle for survival and living to see the next day. It was shown when the prisoners who had something that they loved or had something to live for kept them going. “Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved. It finds its deepest meaning in his spiritual being, his inner self. Whether or not he is actually present, whether or not he is still alive at all, ceases somehow to be of importance” (Frankl). For Frankl, the love of his wife kept him going and for many other inmates it was different but what was unique is that their love for whatever it may have been, saved their life. Love is the highest goal that somebody can achieve. I believe that man can learn how to love once he has traveled to his world and experience his experiences.

Discussion

“He knows the why of his existence and will be able to bear almost any "how”(Frankl). If you have a reason to live, then there is no situation that you can not overcome. For example, the other day I went hiking and I saw a bug with one leg missing trying to get to shelter. I thought to myself, “Why does the bug keep on going when it's missing a leg ?” It is gonna die either way so what is the point? This was a shared theme in the book. With our backs against the wall, and all our options, our resources, depleted, how do you keep on going forward? Hope. The bugs hope for a better tomorrow, each day struggling to survive. The prisoner who in the dream told him thought he was going to get out by March 30th. This hope gave him the will to go and endure his harsh conditions. His hope was the only thing he could cling to. Frankl also makes an important point about hope as well. He states that once a prisoner has lost hope, all is doomed. This shows as time went by and the war got worse, and when the prisoner realized his dream became less and less likely, he lost all hope and finally succumbed to typhus. Frankl believes that the prisoner's hope of being set free was keeping the prisoner alive. And that the disappointment killed him. This claim was supported when the death rate increased during the holidays when many of the prisoners had aspirations of being free and home with their families. Any inmate with the will to live had an increased chance of survival and those who did not meet their fortunate end.

Summary

An important lesson that I got from this book was that when there is a will there is a way. Frankl believes is that a man’s desire to find meaning in his life can help him survive even the most inhumane conditions. Once someone finds this desire he has something to live for. Since each human is different, they find meanings in their own way. There is no definition of the purpose of life because each purpose is different. As Long as this desire is kept alive through hope, it is possible to survive anything. It is important that you keep hope alive because without hope then we are not strong enough to survive. Also, with love comes a sense of understanding. As he understood that man is capable of evil he also saw the good that man could do. This sense of tragic optimism as some would call it is an inspiration to many because each and every time when life told him no, he stood up and said yes. This development of logotherapy helps many patients develop a sense of meaning and helps them get rid of a certain anxiety or phobia that they might have encountered.

Purpose in Life

A man's purpose in life is not something concrete as science says it is. Science dictates that a man's purpose in life is to live, procreate, and then die. But it is not that simple. As philosophers and existentialist have pondered, “ What is life's purpose?” Many Philosophers believe that our purpose and meaning to life is however we decide to give it meaning. For example, in one of my previous classes, we discussed a story about a Sisyphus, a who was cursed by the gods to endure an endless struggle by pushing a heavy boulder up a hill for eternity. At first, Sisyphus was unhappy about his situation. But as time progressed he accepted his condition and found purpose in his condition like Frankl. This accepted condition allowed Sisyphus to continue to push the boulder uphill even though it was going to fall down again. That was his struggle and he embraced it. In any situation that we face in life may it be in our favor or not, we must embrace it and find meaning in it so that we can continue living. Life without meaning is like eating popeyes biscuits without any lemonade. Pointless.