AP+P2+2015+Viktor+Frankl

Viktor Frankl demonstrating his ideas years after the end of World War II.
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 * 1) Audience
 * 2) Iliana
 * 3) A chronicle of spiritual survival, Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search For Meaning” is not only an account of Nazi concentration camps, but also the importance of hope through suffering that all humans can identify with. Frankl’s memoir does indeed recall the concrete, defining details of the death camps, yet it does so in a manner that intertwines his philosophy of logotherapy - the idea that our main motivation in life is meaning. A psychology article on “Man’s Search For Meaning” reports, “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). Humans have the freedom to individual perception and choice, but the circumstance of suffering is inevitable and unavoidable for every man and woman. Frankl highlights that amid the most inhumane conditions and depressing occurrences, finding and acting on one’s meaning to life is essential to survival. Because suffering is such a universal quality, Frankl’s narrative of it is one that can be applied to every human being. The inescapability of suffering and the way people try to cope with that is through hope and finding a mechanism of survival. Frankl elaborates on this in the preface, “...if hundreds of thousands of people reach out for a book whose very title promises to deal with the question of a meaning to life, it must be a question that burns under their fingernails” (XIII). The success of “Man’s Search For Meaning” indicates that many individuals are personally in pursuit of hope and a way to drive out the negativity that coincides with suffering. Frankl underlines that suffering knows no bounds and specifics, illuminating how any human is susceptible to its effects.


 * 1) Viktor Frankl, a renowned neurologist and psychiatrist.
 * 2) Aim
 * 3) Diana
 * 4) Viktor Frankl, whose life was marred by tragedy after tragedy, dedicated his life in searching for “meaning” in all aspects of life, as depicted by his book “Man’s Search For Meaning” (Viktor Frankl Institute). Frankl believes that attaining such a capacity for openness and optimism in finding significance in each event in people’s lives is beneficial to the individual’s health. An article depicting his effort in the pursuit of happiness writes, “He argues that in the absence of meaning, people fill the resultant void with hedonistic pleasures, power, materialism, hatred, boredom, or neurotic obsessions and compulsions” (Viktor Frankl). Frankl recognizes that “power, materialism, hatred” etc. plaque each individual’s life. As a result, he calls humanity to ignore materialistic gain and wealth and instead search deeper into the relationships with other people. In this, individuals can provide the basis for understanding and contentment with the position an individual has in his life. Frankl finds purpose in his own life through his quest to help others find purpose. His journey chronicles the struggle and the triumph of attaining such understanding with other individuals.

> The Culture of Concentration Camps Frankl as a physician prior to being arrested and sent to a concentration camp.
 * 1) [[image:casello.png]]
 * 1) Cultural
 * 2) Sanne Casello
 * 3) Viktor Frankl was born into the center of the artistic, cultural and medical world. In 1905, Vienna was thriving at the turn of the 20th century. The youth was a promised a world of opportunity, as culturally it was expected for them to excel. As a child, Frankl embraced his Jewish heritage as he grew up in an area of Vienna which was predominantly Jewish. At a young age, Frankl established his goal of becoming a doctor. He achieved this goal by graduating from Gymnasium, and attending the University of Vienna. There, he was able to specialize in neurology and psychiatry. His Jewish heritage and childhood did not culturally hinder his ability to become a doctor. However, in March of 1938, Nazi Germany invaded and forced incorporation of Austria, referred to as the Anschluss. The Anschluss caused a rapid and extreme change in culture in Austria. Suddenly, opportunity for the future was diminished and fear was introduced- the only thing that remained was hope. Nazi Germany led by fear, and individuals had to fend for only themselves. A culture of trust and support was lost. The culture Viktor Frankl experienced at Auschwitz was very similar. He states, “ On the average, only those prisoners could keep alive who, after years of trekking from camp to camp had lost all scruples in their fight for existence; they were prepared to use every means, honest and otherwise, in order to save themselves” (Frankl). Thus, this time in his life exposed him to the diminishment of cultural values he respected in his youth. At the camps, the animalistic qualities of man were exposed, moral was lost, and people had to learn to fend for only themselves. Therefore, there is a large contrast between the culture of Frankl’s youth and his adulthood, both having a substantial affect on his development.
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 * 1) Historical
 * 2) Gabriela
 * 3) Viktor Frankl was born on March 26, 1905. He not only received his MD, but his PhD at the University of Vienna, there he had studied psychiatry and neurology. He continued working at the Hospital in Vienna. While he was working, WWII was well into fighting. At this time, Adolf Hitler began trying to rid of all people who were not a certain race, specifically he mostly aimed his intentions at people who were Jewish. Thus, in 1942, he and his family were arrested and sent to Theresienstadt (a concentration camp). For about three years, he was moved back and forth between concentration camps, at one point he even lived at Auschwitz. In 1945, at the end of WWII, he was set free, unfortunately, upon liberation he was told that his wife, brother, father, and mother had died. While in the camp, Frankl did not stop being a doctor, whenever a prisoner felt suicidal thoughts, he encouraged people to think of times when they were very happy; he told people to use spiritual values in order to escape physical conditions. Although it was very hard for him to recover from the horrors of the concentration camps, he was able to get his PhD about 4 years after his liberation. In fact, "Despite hardship, immense suffering, and unspeakable family tragedies, Viktor Frankl, through his background and professional triumph, fought to cultivate understanding in the world, despite the evil that had entered it." (Biography of Viktor Frankl). Long after his death in 1997, Frankl continues to be an asset in the psychology world.

Works Cited “Biography of Viktor Frankl.” //Viktor and I//. Noetic Films, Inc., n.d. Web. 14 Sep. 2015. Burton, Neel. “Man’s Search For Meaning.” // Psychology Today //. Psychology Today, 24 May 2012. Web. 14 Sept. 2015. Frankl, Viktor. “Man’s Search For Meaning.” Boston: Beacon Press, 2006. Print. “Viktor Frankl.” //The Pursuit of Happiness//. Pursuit of Happiness Inc., 2015. Web. 14 Sep. 2015. //Viktor Frankl Institute//. Viktor Frankl-Institut. n.d. Web. 14 Sep. 2015. “Viktor Frankl (1905-1997).” //GoodTherapy.org.// GoodTherapy.org, 7 July 2015. Web. 14 Sep. 2015.