Mans search for meaning Essay -- essays research papers fc

REACTION TO VICTOR FRANKLS MANS SEARCH FOR MEANINGFrankl attains as high a level of humanism in his writing as one would think doable of any scientist. His psychology is based on empiricism. His experiences as a captive in a Nazi concentration camp, stripped of everything but his bare existence, led him to explore the ultimate sense of meaning in human life. In own privileged western world we dont have to struggle for life and its essentials, like food. Furthermore, there is plenty to keep us busy, whether it be work or other forms of entertainment. In such an environment it is easy to forget or procrastinate in the search for lifes meaning. In Frankls account, the search for meaning had life-and-death implications, like the need for food and water. Having formed a theory so based on experience, Frankl is much slight schematic or cerebral than even the most humanistic of psychologists. Some of his conclusions are not unlike those of Abraham Maslow and Erich Fromm. This is clear i n the importance all threesome give to transcendence. He asserts that the more one forgets himselfthe more human he is and the more he actualizes himself (133). This assertion reminds one of Maslows definitions of peak experiences as those of transcendence. Maslow claims that it is possible to learn from such experiences in order to become more conscious of being. This idea firmly correlates with Frankls. The main concern for mankind is fulfilling a meaning. It is in this stage that Frank...