Man's Search for Meaning
by Viktor E. Frankl
A psychiatrist who survived the concentration camps on finding meaning in any situation.
In one breath
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl has two parts: his account of surviving Nazi concentration camps, and an introduction to logotherapy, his approach built on the idea that the search for meaning is one of the strongest forces in a human life.
What it's about
Frankl, a Viennese psychiatrist, describes life in the camps with great restraint. He watches how people cope, and notices that those who still had something to live for, a person, a task, a hope, often found a strength others lacked.
In the second part he explains logotherapy. Meaning, he writes, can come from what we create or do, from what we experience and the people we love, and from the attitude we take toward suffering we cannot change.
It is a short book about the darkest of places, and somehow one of the most hopeful books there is.
Three ideas that stay
Meaning over pleasure
Frankl saw the will to meaning as more basic than the chase for comfort or success.
Three sources of meaning
What you give to the world, what you receive from it, and the attitude you choose.
The last freedom
Even when circumstances can't change, the way you meet them is still yours.
Why it inspired your friend
I can't read this book without a long pause afterwards. It puts my own worries in their place, without ever making them feel small.
What I took from it: meaning isn't something you find once. You give it, day by day, through what you do and who you love.
What gives your days meaning right now? Why not write down one answer?
Your friend. Who is your friend?
Try this, if you like
Write down one thing you're doing this week that matters to someone else.
Who might like it
For you if you're looking for meaning, going through something hard, or want perspective.
The first part describes the camps. Take your time with it.
Go deeper
The idea in short: Man's Search for Meaning →More on Purpose →
ifeelfive has no connection to the author or publisher. This is a short summary in our own words, not their official material, and nobody paid for this page. No shop or affiliate links.
