AP+P2+2014-15+Viktor+Frankl

Jillian Nash

Cultural:



Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning stemmed from both his experiences as a psychiatrist and as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps. His personal life and the events that he endured allows for him to connect to readers on a very intimate level, giving his story and his concepts deeper meaning for his audience. An article on Psychology Today written by a psychiatrist reads, “Frankl’s message is ultimately one of hope: even in the most absurd, painful, and dehumanizing situation, life can be given a meaning, and so too can suffering” (Burton). By sharing his cultural experiences, Frankl allows for the audience to trust Frankl and allow for him to be a credible source from which they are learning about logotherapy from. Introducing his technique through his experiences aids the reader in fully understanding the therapy and also persuades the reader to accept logotherapy as a valid method. Had it not been for both Frankl’s background of psychiatry and practicing the technique and his application during his imprisonment, he may not have been able to establish his own credibility and would not have been able to persuade the reader so thoroughly. Frankl gives examples that the vast majority of the population can relate to and uses those examples to explain how he would apply logotherapy, allowing for an easier understanding for readers. He takes extremely human concepts and feelings and gives them meaning, which gives people the ability to relate and understand.

Joshua Smith Aim: Viktor Frankl purpose for writing “Man’s Search For Meaning” is to explain and analyze Logotherapy. Frankl explains in his work that, “logotherapy, in comparison with psychoanalysis, is a method less retrospective and less introspective” (Frankl 120). Frankl explains that logotherapy has it’s focus on the future that a patient wants to achieve. Frankl explicitly states logotherapy’s purpose and, therefore, his own purpose: analyze the patient and the meaning he/she has in life. The form of therapy was appropriate, considering the horrors that Frankl faced in the concentration camp system. Indeed, “ Frankl's concentration camp experiences profoundly influenced his life's work after the war” (The Question of God). There were many times that he lost hope in the camps; but he still found meaning in his life by trying to finish his book. He used his experiences to try and convince patients that they did indeed have meaning in their lives. Frankl’s aim in his psychoanalysis is to find a purpose in his patient’s life and remind them that no tragedy, great or small, can eliminate that purpose.

Nida Hasan: Audience:

Viktor Frankl’s work is a reflection of his personal experiences in concentration camps during the Holocaust, and although they are not relatable to most of his audience, he shows the universal themes of suffering that do have the ability to relate to a larger audience. A biography on Frankl states, “He existed in the moment, took care to recognize everyone’s unique essence, and it was that moment that the world needed and called for him” (“Biography” 1). Frankl’s goal was to reach audiences all around the “world”, but it was not only to show them the horrors that he and his comrades faced in concentration camps. He wanted to show how similar most people in the world truly, in terms of their attempts to avoid suffering. In this way, he appealed to an audience of Holocaust survivors, their families, and any other person who took a chance in reading his book. Since he always related his examples to daily problems, he reached out to a world that was still recovering from the tragedies of the Holocaust and the war. He addresses all the emotions of pain and suffering in the context of his experiences, but they can certainly appeal to generations of readers. Additionally, his work on developing various types of therapy for those who are unclear on their purpose of life address a stage that he believes almost every person will experience, making his audience extremely universal.

Emily Voveris

Historical:



Frankl was born into a Jewish, Viennan family in 1905. He attended Medical school from 1928-1930, during this time he was asked to work with high school level on paying attention to their mental health, during this time not a single high school student at the school committed suicide during this time. During the Holocaust Frankl and his wife were captured and moved to a Jewish ghetto .There he served as a therapist for those who were newcomers to the ghetto ensuring that they did not commit suicide and looked over their mental health. Later he was moved to Auschwitz where he went through experiences that he would later use to develop his methods of logotherapy. The experiences translated further when he was moved to the Kaufering. Several researchers have come come to the following conclusion that, “ Frankl's concentration camp experiences profoundly influenced his life's work after the war” (The Question of God). The wisdom that he gained through going through the Holocaust has allowed him to develop the methods of mental treatment that have made a major impact on the modern world.

Works Cited:

Burton, Neel. “Hide and Seek.” Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, 24 May 2012. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.

“Biography of Victor Frankl.” Viktor Frankl. Noetic Films, 2014. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.

Frankl, Viktor. Mans Search for Meaning. New York: Washington Square Press, 1959. Print. PBS. The Question of God: Other Voices: Viktor Frankl.PBS. Web. October 22nd, 2014.