Man's Search for Meaning

Mass Market Paperback, 221 pages

English language

Published Feb. 6, 1985 by Pocket Books.

ISBN:
978-0-671-66736-8
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
14407595

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (159 reviews)

Internationally renowned psychiatrist, Viktor E. Frankl, endured years of unspeakable horror in Nazi death camps. During, and partly because of his suffering, Dr. Frankl developed a revolutionary approach to psychotherapy known as logotherapy. At the core of his theory is the belief that man's primary motivational force is his search for meaning. (back cover)

45 editions

Finding Life's Meaning

5 stars

In the darkest corners of human existence, where hope seems a distant memory, Viktor E. Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" emerges as a profound testament to the indomitable human spirit. This is a story of tragedy and triumph, illustrating the power of hope and resilience.

The Holocaust, one of the greatest tragedies in human history, casts a long shadow over Viktor E. Frankl's narrative. Deported to concentration camps, Frankl confronts the depths of human suffering and loss. Yet, amidst the ruins of humanity, he uncovers a remarkable truth: the unbreakable human spirit. His story, interwoven with the silent struggles of his fellow inmates, serves as a universal symbol of resistance against despair and dehumanization.

Central to the book is the quest for life’s meaning. Frankl's experiences in the concentration camps profoundly influenced his existential outlook and his perspective on life, emphasizing the significance of finding meaning even in the most …

El hombre en busca de sentido

5 stars

Viktor Frankl nos trae sus experiencias en un campo de concentración y cómo logra superar ése calvario.

Cuando uno pasa por una crisis y se enfrenta a la pérdida del sentido de vida, uno debería aferrarse a algo, ¿Qué le da sentido a tu vida? Si encuentras ése ancla a la realidad logras superar, no sin esfuerzo la adversidad. Lectura obligada para cuando estás bien y sobre todo para cuando estás mal.

La logoterapia nace de aquí y el enfrentarse a las cosas es para muchos, la vía a la recuperación.

Doesn't need my opinion

3 stars

But... I didn't really engage with it. The stories are obviously huge and terrible and we all should know all of this very well. And I do. It was just nothing that I didn't already deeply know at this point in my life so I abandoned the book without finishing it. But you know, do read it. Kids: read it! If there's anything in there that you didn't know, or that can still unlock new depths of humanity for you, you must read it! I didn't need to at this point and there's so much to be read and so little time! So I moved on pretty quick.

Review of "Man's search for meaning" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Divided into two parts, the first relates the inspirational survival of four concentration camps during the Holocaust with the important lesson being the positive correlation between one’s ability to maintain hope and their ability to survive. The second explains the system of Logotherapy pioneered by the author and a branch of Freudian psychoanalysis. Here the therapeutic setting is to help individuals understand the deeper meaning of suffering in life, their specific purpose, and to overcome mental tension by finding a broader individualized meaning for their existence.

Review of "Man's Search for Meaning" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

In the worst period of my life, I felt ill and depressed all the time. But only one thing that kept me going is the work I was doing back then. I'm a programmer. A simple routine of writing programs every day brought me little joy even I have nothing to hope for in the future.

Years after I crawled out from that depression, I have to nod to every single word of this book.
Everyone is different, and we can't deduce the vast life into three single meanings. But at least I find these meanings stay true to myself.

The first meaning is work. As I told my story, it was my saviour. It still is.

The second meaning is love. You sure know that sensation when you think about someone and you strive your best to protect her, or at least to not disappoint her.

The third meaning …

Strong first half, weak second half

4 stars

First half was an incredibly insightful look into the nature of man, and investigated an angle of the concentration camp not often looked at. The second half, which deals with his own theory of logotherapy feels a lot less impressive, mostly just reiterating things already implicit in the first half but a lot less convincingly.

Review of "Man's Search for Meaning" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This really is a great book encompassing the whole gamut of human emotions. Having experienced the most meaningless suffering of the concentration camps Viktor Frankl examines what distinguished those who lived and died and boiled it down to those who had a meaning in their life survived and those who could find none, in many cases died. I love his analogy of the meaning of a book or movie. “How do you know the ultimate meaning unless you hang in to the end?”

This is not an explanation of what is the meaning of life, the universe and everything but a framework for discovering what the meaning of your life could be. Since this such an old book I kind of regret that I didn’t read it earlier and now understand why it is so often mentioned. Such is life.

Review of "Man's Search for Meaning" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

The first part reminded me of the book "Night" (1960) by Elie Wiesel. Both are very important books to understand the intentisty and brutalism of concentration camps.

The second part explains the basis of Logotherapy, whose basis is the human´s will to meaning. In that sense it remined me of the book "Punished by rewards".

Review of "Man's Search for Meaning" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

"Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of life is, but rather he must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.... Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now!"

Review of "Man's Search for Meaning" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

There isn't much I can add about the effects of reading this book/essay. As I digested the horrors of the holocaust through the eyes of Viktor Frankl, a man determined to understand why humans strive for life despite enduring an enormous amount of suffering, I was struck by several thoughts.

The first, was how rhetorically effective his essay used a seamless integration of personal anecdote and thesis statement. I hardly knew I was reading an argument in support of logotherapy until the book was complete. I had never heard of Frankl's will to meaning psychology and I found it, well, meaningful.

The second thought that occurred to me was how I even came to read this book in the first place. It was honestly pretty random. It had been on my list of books to read, something formulated many years ago - so long I have no idea what inspired …

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Subjects

  • Logotherapy.
  • Meaning (Psychology)