In the last part of this review I talked about the first section of Frankl’s book, A Man’s Search for Meaning, in which he describes the mechanisms used by the imprisoned men in the concentration camps to try to survive and overcome that situation. It is a pretty powerful story I think must be read in full.
In this post, I would like to take up on the second part of the book where he describes with some more detail how does the logotherapy works, using examples of his real-life patients to explicit some of the concepts.
I will focus on 3 main concepts which contextualize the primary field of work of logotherapy and that really gave me so many insights about life and society in general: the Noö-dynamics, the Noögenic neuroses and the existential vacuum.
Logotherapy tries to take a look into the future and find meanings to be fulfilled as this is man’s primary motivation in life, according to Frankl. Theses meanings are different for each person and therefore can only be fulfilled by him or her.
The process of finding meaning is not simple and does not come as natural for some people and can cause, what the author calls, an existential frustration. Basically, it is a type of existential anguish where the individual is frustrated due to the confusion in the seeking/discovering of the meaning of his/her life.
“Existential frustration is in itself neither pathological nor pathogenic. A man’s concern, even his despair, over the worthwhileness of life is an existential distress but by no means a mental disease.”
In fact, having some amount of conflict and frustration is not only normal but also healthy. This state is what Frankl describes as the Noö-dynamics, where the individual fluctuates between two sides of a spectrum: whether being in extreme existential conflict and having no conflict at all.
“I consider it a dangerous misconception of mental hygiene to assume that what man needs in the first place is equilibrium or, as it is called in biology, “homeostasis,” i.e., a tensionless state. What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task. […] What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.”
The existential frustration can, however, in some cases, turn into a neurotic situation, more specifically a Noögenic kind of neurosis.
“In contrast to neuroses in the traditional sense of the word, i.e., psychogenic neuroses, Noögenic neuroses have their origin not in the psychological but rather in the “noölogical” (from the Greek noös meaning mind) dimension of human existence. […] Noögenic neuroses do not emerge from conflicts between drives and instincts but rather from existential problems. Among such problems, the frustration of the will to meaning plays a large role.”
Other than some kind of neurosis, Frankl argues that those who do not have a meaning to fulfill may find themselves in an existential vacuum, which reveal itself in a state of boredom.
“That feeling of which so many patients complain today, namely, the feeling of the total and ultimate meaninglessness of their lives. They lack the awareness of a meaning worth living for. They are haunted by the experience of their inner emptiness, a void within themselves.”
According to him, this feeling of existential vacuum is worsening due to the progression of automation. It basically means that technology advance increased its participation and importance in our lives but in order to do that it had to replace humans who used to perform their activity in the first place.
The humans were then offered more time. However, if they don’t know what to do with this “free-time”, they can find themselves feeling a little empty which can then turn into a more dangerous scenario.
“The pity of it is that many of these [average workers] will not know what to do with all their newly acquired free time. […] Not a few cases of suicide can be traced back to this existential vacuum. Such widespread phenomena as depression, aggression and addiction are not understandable unless we recognize the existential vacuum underlying them. This is also true of the crises of pensioners and aging people.”
Existential vacuum can also create other worrying consequences which are detailed in the book. Overall, I find it relevant to discuss these ideas because they are all part of the human experience and it is one to be lived and shared with others.
For me, these three concepts of the logotherapy were very perceptible in the 20th century and they seem to be even more apparent in our post-modern society. Where everything is so fluid and nothing is what is it is, everything can change their meaning in a blink of an eye.
In a way, this new world makes creating roots way harder and, therefore, trusting the meanings you are supposed to fulfill a much more difficult action. Frankl points out that for those who don’t have religious/spiritual beliefs, for instance, it becomes yet harder because they have to find their meaning by themselves.
It is important to reiterate that the fact that people find it hard sometimes to discover their purposes does not necessarily mean they have a mental condition, but the opposite that they are healthy, and they are human.
The book is much richer than what is portrayed in this brief review and there are some many other concepts I didn’t mention. It is a type of book that each page brings many ideas and ‘a-ha’ moments. I definitely recommend it to every single soul. It’s a 9/10 kind of book. And if you read it let me know your thoughts.
I will write yet another article about other ideas I got/learned/reaffirmed from this book and it was actually the reason I wanted to talk about this book in the first place.
At last, I would like to disclaim that I am not a psychiatrist/psychologist/doctor and I could have interpreted some of the concepts in the wrong way. Also, these articles should not by any means work as a diagnosis. If you need help, seek a professional. Be safe!
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