Man's search for meaning: By Viktor Frankl Victor Frankl, the author of the book “man’s search of meaning” that I recently has read put loads of thoughts to his book which makes it interesting and inspiring to the reader. In his book, he points out the importance of looking to the future, and finding a meaning in your life.
He calls attention to the statement that the "why" is more significant than the "how". He means by this that a person who knows the "why" will find some way to figure out the "how". In this summary, I will firstly write a short introduction to the author of the book, which will help us understand why he wrote the book.Viktor Frankl was a psychiatrist. He believes in God and that there is a plan that God have for him. He started writing his book before he was arrested into the concentration camp.
He observed this as coincidence and a dispute to practice what he started before. The quote “I called to the Lord from my narrow prison and He answered me in the freedom of space” proves that he was a strong believer. Frankl lists three ways in which man finds meaning in life - through work, in love, and in suffering. He emphasizes, that the suffering that he is referring to here is the unavoidable suffering. To suffer unnecessarily is masochistic rather than heroic", he mentions. Frankl also points out an interesting aspect, which is the comparative sense of suffering.
He compares suffering filling the human soul to gas would evenly fill the entire space or container that it occupies. On the positive side, even minor happiness can elevate the spirit similarly. All through his story, we see two groups, the oppressed and the oppressors. However, he focuses on a different classification and comes up with two groups or races; the race of decent men, and race of indecent men.
He says, "Human kindness can be found in all groups, even those which as a whole are easily condemned". This is true in today's society as well. Compassion, honesty, integrity and such characteristics can be observed in people of all groups and nationalities; similarly, hate, aggression, unfairness and lies can also be seen within those same groups. He recognizes that in today's society suffering is equated to unhappiness, to the extent that the people are not only unhappy but also ashamed of being unhappy.There is a tendency to show your successes and happiness, and bury your failures and unhappiness. The author of this book tells the readers that unavoidable suffering should be seen as an opportunity to grow, to advance spiritually and mentally, and nothing to be ashamed of.
Frankl’s experiences left him with the conclusion that "Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfil the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual. " There is no general answer to the question "What is the meaning of life? . However, each of us is presented with a situation, and a set of problems and challenges to face in our lives the purpose of our lives is always suggested to us. It is misleading to look for a transcendent meaning beyond our lives.
So often, our life’s meaning is found in creative work or the enjoyment of it, our love of others, or even in our response to suffering, which like death is an inevitable part of life. Because of his experiences, Frankl emphasizes the possibilities of finding meaning through one’s unavoidable suffering.
