[Book Review] Man’s Search for Meaning – Part II

by Ana Zarb | Feb 8, 2019 | Reviews

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 20^th 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!

[Book review] A Man’s Search for Meaning – Part I

by Ana Zarb | Jan 28, 2019 | Reviews

A Man’s Search for Meaning was one of those books I discovered out of pure luck as I talked about on my Instagram account. I had a written quote from the author, Viktor E. Frankl, in an old notebook of mine and one day I decided to investigate it. Good thing I did.

Turns out Frankl was an Austrian-Jewish neurologist and psychiatrist from the 20^th century who was taught by the likes of Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler. One of his biggest accomplishments career-wise was being the father of the psychotherapy school called logotherapy.

Although less popular than Freud’s psychoanalysis and Adler’s individual psychology, his method was considered one of the most influential forms of existential analysis of his time and is still until today.

In life, though, he achieved a much bigger deed: surviving three holocaust concentration camps. In fact, his study was refined during the years in the camps by observing himself and the other imprisoned men. After the liberation, he returned to the practice of medicine and the treatment of patients and, at last, he writes a piece about all his learnings.

Young Frankl in 1945

The book is divided in two parts. In the first one Frankl talks about his experiences from the camp in a quite objective way. Well, as objective as he could be all facts considered. The second part was added in the latest editions and is where he explains the concepts involved in the logotherapy analysis process. For me, both parts are captivating for different reasons. The second one, however, brought me some real life insights and has changed my way of thinking and living.

The descriptions of the camp life, in part one of the book, are pretty intense and shocking. Of course, much has already been said, written, filmed and documented about this time in history, but one can’t avoid being impressed by the new perspectives brought by such powerful testimonies.

“Those who have not gone through a similar experience can hardly conceive of the soul-destroying mental conflict and clashes of will power which a famished man experiences.”

Hunger, diseases, poor hygiene and living conditions were not the only issues, when you considerer the dreadful mind games played by the nazi guards which led to mental exhaustion and a constant state of hopelessness.

Despite all horrors inflicted upon, some men found an inner strength to keep surviving. Many of them concentrated their efforts in the hope of being reunited to their loved ones. Others, in the potential life post-camp; some recurred to humor or religion.

Whichever the strategy was, as long as one found a reason, a meaning for that situation one could at least try not giving up. As he quotes Nietzsche on this: “He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how”.

Frankl then explains how we should find the meaning in everything in life, especially in suffering as it has a great potential to take us to a higher spiritual and mental levels. And that is basically the main argument of logotherapy: the search for meaning.

“The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity—even under the most difficult circumstances—to add a deeper meaning to his life.”

In this sense, human beings always have a choice to try to learn, grow and find meaning in every situation as we can always choose how to act despite all actions taken around us, for example: an imprisoned man could choose to be selfless and kind in the midst of the horror of the camps.

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

And as we have a choice, we also have a responsibility.

“Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual. These tasks, and therefore the meaning of life, differ from man to man, and from moment to moment.”

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TO BE CONTINUED