Reflection Paper on Victor Frankl

A detailed Summary of Reflection Paper on Victor Frankl

In "Man's Search for Meaning" Victor Frankl contends that every individual has an innate tendency to search for the meaning of his existence. The author's experiences in several small NAZI death camps are used quite effectively to illustrate how focusing on the reasons behind a situation rather than the results that follow, allows a person to survive even the most torturous of circumstances. He writes of all the horrors, tragedies, sufferings and torments that he and his fellow prisoners experienced yet he recounted it in a way that seemed so gentle and light but in actuality its depth is profound.

The central point of the book was not on the external sufferings of the prisoners and the torments that they had to go through. Rather, the focus was on the psychological reactions of each prisoner to the external sufferings and torments of living an every day life at a concentration camp. The message that is prevalent is that no matter what type of suffering a person endures, as long as they hold onto their faith that everything happens for a reason, they can survive. By believing that everything happens for a reason, individuals are able to weather the storms of their lives with the strength and determination to overcome. He c

According to Dr. Frankl, the meaning of life varies for each person. Several times at camp he met individuals who had inner struggles to find meaning in their lives. This inner struggle primarily leads to the feeling of frustration because the individual tries to find meaning in his life by aligning it with the goals of society. In other words, it is man's lack of ability to find meaning on a personal level rather than a comparative one that drives him to feel hopeless and distraught. Frankl's logotherapy specifically attempts to restore a sense of meaning to replace feelings of worthlessness and alienation common in people with depression. He achieves this primarily by helping individuals to see that the power of the human spirit is more powerful than any other force on earth.

I stopped asking myself what I could expect from life. On the other hand, I started asking myself what life could expect from me. I'm only 19 years old and I have a full life ahead of me. There are so many things that I could still do and its never too late for me to start.

The author quoted several philosophers but was generally fond of citing Nietzsche's words, "He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how." In his experience in the concentration camps, individuals who saw that they have a future goal or aim in life regained their inner strength. These individuals needed to know that they were suffering for a reason. They had to find a purpose for everything that they were experiencing. If they couldn't find one then what's the use of carrying on. For this people, they always look at what to expect from life. When they realize that there is nothing more to expect from life, they give up.

"Everything can be taken from 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 way." (p.86). This is one of the more beautiful lines that Victor Frankl wrote in his book. This line helped me understand how man's freedom is very much related to the way he views the meaning of his life. In suffering, for example, one may choose to either just give up and take his own life or to carry on with the hope that one day he will overcome.

ites numerous heart-breaking stories about fellow prisoners and their ways of either coping or dealing with the situation or giving up and losing all hope.

Sometimes I feel that nothing significant ever occurs or that I haven't done enough to merit a life that is a fulfilling one. There are times when I do not comprehend the events that are happening in my life. Whenever I have a problem, I feel that God must be punishing me. I know that things happen for a reason and in a way suffering makes you become a better person because it makes you stronger. Still, life can be unfair. Turn on your television set and you see perfect people with perfect lives. You watch a pop star singing and dancing to the tune of her hit song and you wonder what does she have that you don't. Yet after reading Dr. Frankl's book, I would never exchange my life for anyone else's. I've experienced so many things and nothing can ever compare to what I have learned and what I have been through. My life has not been a perfect one, yet I can truly say with conviction that I have a life and that I am living a happy life.

We have the choice on how we should live our lives. God gave us free will in order for us to determine ourselves. When faced with dire circumstances, we can either face it or turn our backs like cowards. We should always remember that life has plenty to offer us but we should never forget that we too have a lot to offer life. Our generation is realistic, for we have to know man as he really is," Frankl writes. "After all, man is that being who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz; however, he is also that being who entered those gas chambers upright, with the Lord's prayer or the Shema Yisrael on his lips." The underlying teac

Some common words found in the essay are:
Dr Frankl, Victor Frankl, Shema Yisrael, Values Education, Dr Frankl's, According Frankl, Accountant CPA, Victor Frankl's, meaning life, dr frankl, victor frankl, expect life, happens reason, concentration camps, type suffering, life meaning, doing deed, inmate's mental reactions, believing happens reason, lines victor frankl, life according, victor frankl wrote, frankl wrote book,

Approximate Word count = 3403
Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous