Man's Search for Meaning essay

Man's Search for Meaning essay

Chelsea Reinhardt

“He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.” When Viktor Frankl quotes Nietzsche he is saying that if you have something or someone to live for you can survive almost any mentally or physically horrible situation. In Frankl’s book, “ The Meaning of Life” he tells us of others like him, that had to find meaning in their terrible days at the concentration camp Auschwitz. Viktor and the prisoners were constantly thinking of what it would have been like to see their families or homes again. Their ability to find a meaning of life, was how they were able to survive. The thoughts and prayers they had of their loved ones kept them going. This quote is very central to the theme because throughout the book Frankl illustrates how he learned that by losing someone close to you or living during times of tragedy, he developed courage and strength which helped him finally find meaning in his life. Frankl applies Nietzsche’s thought to his survival by constantly having “faith in the future” and reflecting on the principles of Logotherapy that you have to change how you see the world.
Logos is Greek for meaning which translates into Logotherapy, which is the speculation that “life has meaning under all circumstances, even the most miserable ones.” The main ideas of logotherapy are “we have freedom to find meaning in what we do, and what we experience, or at least in the stand we take when faced with a situation of unchangeable suffering.” and “Our main motivation for living is our will to find meaning in life.”. Extentialism is how people see themselves fitting into the world. Some fundamentals of Extentialism are that “human nature is chosen through life choices” and that “A person is best when struggling against their individual nature, fighting for life.”. The main issue that Frankl thinks is important to retain a meaningful life is that we need to bring to mind what makes us happy otherwise we won’t have anything to live for....

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