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Man's Search for Meaning: Introduction to…
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Man's Search for Meaning: Introduction to Logotherapy (original 1946; edition 1993)

by Viktor E. Frankl (Author)

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15,578312341 (4.25)255
In this work, a Viennese psychiatrist tells his grim experiences in a German concentration camp which led him to logotherapy, an existential method of psychiatry. This work has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 the author, a psychiatrist labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the stories of his many patients, he argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. His theory, known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos (meaning), holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.… (more)
Member:TELibrarianWaterford
Title:Man's Search for Meaning: Introduction to Logotherapy
Authors:Viktor E. Frankl (Author)
Info:Beacon Press (1993), Edition: New edition, 196 pages
Collections:Your library
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Work Information

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. FRANKL (1946)

  1. 70
    Night by Elie Wiesel (bnbookgirl)
  2. 10
    Man's Search for Himself by Rollo May (galacticus)
  3. 10
    The Drowned and the Saved by Primo Levi (ShaneTierney)
  4. 10
    At the Mind's Limit by Jean Améry (ShaneTierney)
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    Freedom and Destiny by Rollo May (Navarone)
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    Existential Psychology by Rollo May (galacticus)
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    If This Is a Man / The Truce by Primo Levi (WendyRobyn)
    WendyRobyn: Both personal accounts by Holocaust survivors. I feel the tone is similar. Frankl's book goes on to explore psychological implications of his experiences.
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» See also 255 mentions

English (287)  Spanish (11)  Portuguese (Brazil) (4)  French (2)  Dutch (2)  Swedish (1)  German (1)  Italian (1)  Catalan (1)  All languages (310)
Showing 1-5 of 287 (next | show all)
I remember laying on a hotel bed somewhere outside of Santa Fe and reading this book. That was ten years ago and it blew my mind then. A lot has happened since then, both in the world and in my life, but this book has remained as powerful as it ever was. Funny that I've read this book twice now without ever having checked out anything else by Frankl. Maybe that's next ( )
  bookonion | Mar 9, 2024 |
A powerful and inspiring work on how to find meaning in the life that’s in front of you, how to endure and find meaning even in the worst of suffering. And an introduction to the author’s theory of logotherapy. ( )
  Aidan767 | Feb 1, 2024 |
I picked up this book because it appears on almost every list of "Top Books Every Man Ought To Read Before They Die". This is my first time through it. I'm in my late 40s and not in the midst of an existential crisis - the issue of which this book hopes to resolve. However, I certainly was in that situation almost a decade ago. And, as I read the book, I found myself nodding along and agreeing with much of the conclusions Frankl came to in his studies and therapy sessions.

The edition of the book that I purchased was published in 2006. It includes not only the original test (his reflections on life in the concentration camps) but also a section where he discusses logotherapy (helping people overcome neurosis by finding meaning in their lives), another work of his called "the Case For Tragic Optimism", and an Afterward that highlights much of his life and practice.

The first half of the book - his recount of life in the concentration camps - is something anyone who enjoys history should read. It's also something students ought to read in school as a way to see just how evil the Nazi regime was (and maybe it will stop the flippant labeling of people we don't agree with as "Nazi"). Frankl talks about the conditions the prisoners lived in. But, his focus is more on the mental state of the prisoners - the various phases one often went through, how some would turn on their fellow prisoners as a means of survival, and how some would bond together to bring one another hope and comfort.

The second part of the book discusses the theory of logotherapy that Frankl developed. In this section, Frankl highlights how often he found the root cause of peoples' various phychosis was a sense of meaninglessness. And, once the therapist could help the patient discover the meaning for their life (he posits that it is unique for everyone) they begin to heal and find fulfillment. Rather than focusing on one's past (as Freud and his contemporaries taught), Frankl championed focusing on one's future as the way to wholeness.

One point that really struck home for me was Frankl (was back in 1959) talking about the existential crisis he found many people in despite living in a time of great prosperity. Most people (not all of course) didn't have to fight for food or shelter or basic needs. They were far better off than those who came before. And, yet, they struggled in life to find meaning and purpose. I have thought about this much myself - especially with those who are in the Gen Z group. There has never been a better time to be alive! But, depression is up, self-harm is up, suicide is up. Why is that?

Frankl, I think, has a good idea why. And how we can help ( )
  DavidWGilmore | Jan 31, 2024 |
Review scheduled for Holocaust Memorial Day 2024 at anzlitlovers.com, see https://anzlitlovers.com/2024/01/27/mans-search-for-meaning-1959-by-viktor-e-fra... ( )
  anzlitlovers | Jan 27, 2024 |
An excellent read on his experience in the concentration camps for three years, and how that experience confirmed his ideas for logotherapy (finding meaning in life). There are many better reviews of this book, but I wholeheartedly give a thumbs up to all my friends and family. My wife told me to read this, and after 24 years I finally got around to it. ( )
  wvlibrarydude | Jan 14, 2024 |
Showing 1-5 of 287 (next | show all)

» Add other authors (80 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
FRANKL, Viktor E.primary authorall editionsconfirmed
Allport, Gordon WPrefacesecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Aveline, Carlos C.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Šuvajevs, IgorsTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Åkerberg, Hans, professorPrefacesecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bacon, Clifford J.Traductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Benigno Freire, JoséEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Drolet, LouiseTraductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Edgardh, MargaretaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Eitinger, LeoForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Herrera, GabrielTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Herrero-Velarde, Gabriel InsaustiTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hygen, Johan B.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Insausti Herrero-Velarde, GabrielTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kalmar, JanosPhotographersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kopplhuber, ChristineTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kushner, Harold S.Forewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lasch, IlseTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Marcel, GabrielForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Martínez, FrancescaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
McDonald, Alonzo L.Forewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Metspalu, PiretTÕlkija.secondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pearson, BrigidCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pisano, HelenTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Stegmaier, Anna-MariaPostfacesecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vance, SimonNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Winslade, William J.Afterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Dedication
To the memory of my mother
First words
This book does not claim to be an account of facts and events but of personal experiences, experiences which millions of prisoners have suffered time and again.
Quotations
He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How
Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure, as Freud believed, or a quest for power, as Alfred Adler taught, but a quest for meaning.
Man's inner strangth may raise him about his outward fate
Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation. You cannot control what happens to you in life, but you can always control what you feel and do about what happens to you.
Life is meaningful and that we must learn to see life as meaningful despite our circumstances.
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Wikipedia in English (2)

In this work, a Viennese psychiatrist tells his grim experiences in a German concentration camp which led him to logotherapy, an existential method of psychiatry. This work has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 the author, a psychiatrist labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the stories of his many patients, he argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. His theory, known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos (meaning), holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.

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Book description
Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl's memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the experiences of others he treated later in his practice, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl's theory-known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos ("meaning")-holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.

At the time of Frankl's death in 1997, Man's Search for Meaning had sold more than 10 million copies in twenty-four languages. A 1991 reader survey for the Library of Congress that asked readers to name a "book that made a difference in your life" found Man's Search for Meaning among the ten most influential books in America.
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Beacon Press

3 editions of this book were published by Beacon Press.

Editions: 080701429X, 0807014265, 0807014273

 

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