Man's Search for Meaning

About the book

Viktor Frankl recounts his survival in Nazi concentration camps, detailing the psychological stages prisoners endured from admission to liberation. He observes how physical and mental degradation stripped individuals of their identities, noting that those who survived often maintained a personal sense of purpose. Based on these observations, Frankl introduces logotherapy, a clinical framework asserting that the primary human drive is the will to meaning rather than pleasure or power. He identifies three pathways to internal fulfillment: creative achievement, interpersonal connection through love, and the defiant choice of attitude in the face of unavoidable suffering.

This book serves readers interested in existential psychology and those seeking a framework for enduring personal hardship. It provides a practical methodology for reframing pain and loss as opportunities for character development. Readers finish the text with a technical understanding of how mental health links to the pursuit of a specific goal. Instead of offering abstract comfort, the text equips the individual with a cognitive toolset to find objective reasons for living during periods of intense emptiness or despair.

Details

Published

1946

Publisher

Beacon Press (MA)

Language

EN