AP+P2+2015+Logotherapy

1. Aim - Sarah Carruth An individual's strongest motivation is to find meaning and purpose in their life. Viktor Frankl created the idea of to encourage and guide people to discover their meaning in life and how to carry out that meaning. Logotherapy can be described as a distinct branch of psychotherapy because it focuses on the human spirit and the meaning of human existence, including an individual man's search for meaning. Each individual has a different meaning and purpose in life than that of their peers, which is why logotherapy is such an important study. Viktor Frankl, a neurologist and psychiatrist, is accredited with the creation of the idea of logotherapy. When interviewed about the purpose behind logotherapy, he explained, "It is not what we expect from life that is important, but what life expects from us that is important" (Frankl). The purpose of logotherapy is to help individuals achieve their own purpose in life in order to truly live life to the fullest. To live a meaningful life, an individual needs to discover their own meaning in life. To perish before discovering the personal meaning in lige would lead to a meaningless life. Logotherapy is important because its sole purpose is to solve the threat of leading a meaningless life, and instead focus on how to lead a meaningful life through the discovery of meaning and purpose in life.

2. Audience - Taylor Thomas Logotherapy is an idea in which a person deals with tragedies, depression, or sorrow through the exploration of the meaning of life. This can be directed towards people who have experienced great sorrow, its first being specifically survivors of the Holocaust. In an article it states, “...the holocaust was the vital force which thrust logotherapy onto the intellectual scene, both as a physiological system and a philosophy of life. The experiences in the concentration camps and the pathos with which Frankl presented his case after the holocaust was the vital ingredient giving logotherapy a universal audience,” (Bulka 90). This shows that the experiences that were obtained as a result of the holocaust opened up the opportunities for the use of logotherapy. This switching of miserable circumstances to now looking for the meaning of life allowed for people to want to find a purpose. Since there seemed to be great success in the implementation of this philosophy, it’s audience has broadened to reach a “universal audience”. Frankl’s creation of logotherapy and the searching for the meaning of life makes it so that a person can find their own purpose in life. This idea is very appealing to those that are looking for something more. Logotherapy has a broad audience of anyone who wants to find purpose and significance in their lives.

3. Cultural - Andi O'Bert Coined by Viktor Frankl in 1946, logotherapy is term used to treat depression or unhappiness through the search for the meaning of life. In today’s culture, there is a constant push for individuals to comply with what society should be their life’s goal rather than what they want to do themselves. This can often lead to unhappiness as one is acting for the sake of fitting in rather than being truly liberated to be themselves. In modern culture, one often aligns success with wealth, employment, family, popularity and superficial happiness rather than happiness that arises from wat an individual actually desires. According to Frankl, “Each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life”. Though happiness can only be attained through logotherapy and the discovery of one’s life’s meaning, today’s culture ignores that in favor of a universal meaning of life that does not always comply with that of the individual. Therefore, today’s society and logotherapy do not often align because when one acts on behalf of their individual life goals rather than those based on cultural values, they can be ostracized or looked down upon by other members of society.

4. Historical - Nicolina Nguyen

Logotherapy was created by Viktor Frankl, and discussed and published in his book // Man’s Search for Meaning // in 1946. According to the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy, “On returning to Vienna after Germany’s defeat in 1945, Frankl, who had secretly been keeping a record of his observations in the camps on scraps of paper, published a book in German setting out his ideas on Logotherapy” (About Viktor Frankl). Frankl wrote his book, //Man’s Search for Meaning//, after he personally experienced what it was like to live in a concentration camp. Logotherapy is the idea that people are motivated by the pull to discover the meaning in life. One significant part of the concept of logotherapy is that life has meaning even in the worst circumstances. Frankl was able to cultivate this idea while observing and experiencing the horrible treatment in the concentration camps. Even though Frankl was put into one of the worst situations imaginable, he discovered that life has meaning in all cases. Through his experiences, he was able to create logotherapy to aid others after the war was over.

Works Cited:

"About Viktor Frankl." Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy. N.p., n.d. Web.

Batthyany, Alexander. "What is Logotherapy and Existential Analysis?" VIKTOR FRANKL INSTITUT. Logotherapy and Existential Analysis. Viktor Frankl Institut., 1998. Web.

Bulka, Reuven P. "Logotherapy as a Response to the Holocaust." Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought (1975): 89-96. Tradition. Web.

Kur, Devorah. "Logotherapy- Meaning Centered Counseling." DK Wellness RSS. DK Wellness, 2015. Web.

Wong, Paul T. P. "Articles". Articles. International Network on Personal Meaning, 2007. Web.