Q: There is much wisdom in the words of Nietzsche: "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how”. (c)
Q:
We who have come back, by the aid of many lucky chances or miracles - whatever one may choose to call them - we know: the best of us did not return. (c)

A very hard to read book, which could be used as an antidepressant. If people can live through this, if you can write a book in your head, as a self-therapy so as not lose oneself or die from pain and fear and utter despair... then people can do anything.

The author... well... people like the author must have been made from steel or maybe titanuim or diamonds... Incredible will to not only live but to overcome things that would have made anyone drop and cry and die inside.

A reread. This needs to be reread multiple times to sink in.

Q:
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 will feel and do about what happens to you. .. Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. (c)
Q:
An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior. (c)
Q:
In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice. (c)
Q:
So 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! (c)
Q:
No man should judge unless he asks himself in absolute honesty whether in a similar situation he might not have done the same. (c)
Q:
Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become the next moment. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant. (c)
Q:
Sunday neurosis, that kind of depression which afflicts people who become aware of the lack of content in their lives when the rush of the busy week is over and the void within themselves becomes manifest. (c)
Q:
As a professor in two fields, neurology and psychiatry, I am fully aware of the extent to which man is subject to biological, psychological and sociological conditions. But in addition to being a professor in two fields I am a survivor of four camps - concentration camps, that is - and as such I also bear witness to the unexpected extent to which man is capable of defying and braving even the worst conditions conceivable. (c)
Q:
I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsiblity on the West Coast. (c) Funny guy, was a he a seer or something?

He who has a 'Why' to live for can bear almost any 'how'.

I will have to read this book again in 5 years. It makes a difference to how you look at yourself and how you think you're living your life and what you're living for.

داشتم فکر می کردم که دنیا با وجود این همه وحشی گری هنوز هم میتونه جای قشنگی برای آدم ها باشه. اما دوست دارم زمانی که این مساله رو به عنوان یه باور به زبون میارم ، اون آدمی باشم که تصوری واقعی از زشتی دنیا داره و اون نیمه ی تاریک زندگی رو هم لمس کرده

بخونید این کتاب رو ، حتما بخونید. حداقل چیزی که ازش بدست می آرید اینه که متوجه میشین انسان ها در بدترین شرایط روحی و جسمی شون باز هم قادر به ادامه دادن زندگی هستند. اینکه معنای زندگی هامون فراتر از شکست خوردن و به آسانی تسلیم شدن هست، و اینکه هستند انسان هایی که با لمس سیاه ترین نیمه ی این دنیا هنوز به وجود زیبایی هاش معتقدن

The original part one was the strongest I think because the rest started to go into the typical psychobabble inherent to books trying to contribute to the academic side of psychology or psychiatry but the first part really grounded the idea of giving meaning to one existence into personal experience and I found it very poignant about the mental state of people in very stressful and hopeless situations. It's a very empowering and important idea that no matter the situation a person can control their behavior and influence their own feelings of the situation. This idea of a person having so much control over their own selves and survival is one I whole heartedly agree with. Anyone having trouble figuring out life or what the point is could benefit from reading this I think.

Philosophically, this book doesn't have a leg to stand on. The whole notion of replacing the question of the meaning of life with the assertion that

Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his 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.

strikes me as inane. But differing on a matter of philosophy hardly warrants a one star review. What does warrant a one star review is the fact that the book is sanctimonious, moralizing, and, quite ironically, despair inducing. On multiple occasions references are made to some camp inmates behaving like ``swine" while other behaved like ``saints." For some unfathomable reason Frankl seems to think that the highest possible moral virtue, which he doesn't tire of extolling, is going through suffering ``with courage and dignity." Those camp inmates who gave up and became ``Moslems" or committed suicide are held in contempt as if going on living were the highest moral imperative.
The thing that is depressing about this book is its unrelenting emphasis on finding meaning in life through either work, love, or enduring suffering and the assertion that unless you can achieve this, you'll be consigned to woe. In this way, Frankl denies god's grace to those poor souls who fail to find meaning in work, who are unlucky in love, and who are too weak to endure suffering.

باشد که با این خواندن، از این بی معنا یی زندگی، رهایی پیدا کنم...

في رصيد قراءاتي السنوي تبزغ ثلاثة إلى أربعة كتب لتشكّل نقط ارتكاز؛ مكان أعود إليه ذهنيًا من أجل التشافي. هذا واحد من تلك الكتب التي تعيدك إلى العالم بعد تسليحك.

لو لم يكن فيكتور فرانكل قد جرب الاعتقال في أربع معسكرات للنازية من بينها أوشفتز، لبدا كل ما كتبه من قبيل المثالية الكاذبة. لكنها ليست كذلك؛ فالمؤلف ابن التجربة، والقدرة على إيجاد معنى (حتى في قلب المعاناة) هو ما يحصّننا ضد السقوط في الفراغ الوجودي - وباء العصر وقبل الكورونا حتى.

يقلب د. فرانكل الطاولة على منطق الضحية؛ فسؤال "ما معنى الحياة" لا يوجهه المرء لحياته، بل هو سؤال توجهه حياته إليه. إنه يؤكد بأن الإنسان ليس صنيعة ظروفه بالكامل (وإن كان يتأثر بها بنسبة كبيرة)، لكن الظروف نفسها تفرز ردود أفعال متفاوتة، وفي معسكر الاعتقال نفسه اختار البعض أن ينضموا للكابو ويتحولوا إلى جلادين، فيم اختار آخرون أن يُهدوا بعضهم كسرة خبز لم يكن لديهم غيرها.

إن قدرة المرء على خلق معنى لحياته تعني أن يمرن نفسه باستمرار على تجاوز ذاته؛ أن ينظر إلى حياته من خلال جودة العلاقات التي تحيطها، ومن خلال قدرته على خلق الجمال ومنح المعرفة. يقول: "كان علينا أن نعلم أنفسنا أنه لا يهم حقًا ما كنا نتوقعه من الحياة، بل ما تتوقعه الحياة منا".

يسقط فرانكل الضوء على العديد من أمراض عصرنا؛ إلى جانب الفراغ الوجودي طبعًا، لدينا المرض الآخر المتمثل في ربط قيمة الإنسان بفائدته. يجادل فرانكل بأن قيمة الإنسان مرتبطة بكرامته، وليس على مقدار ما يقدمه من فائدة.. وإلا أين الفرق بين هذه الفكرة وبين المنطق النازي؟

المغالطة الأخرى هي البحث عن السعادة؛ لا يبحث المرء عن السعادة بل عن أسبابها، فالسعادة نتيجة جانبية وليست هدفًا. إنها مثل الضحك؛ لا يمكنك افتعاله. إن السعادة هي ثمرة جانبية لحياة مليئة بالمعاني.

وختامًا، وكما صاغها فرانكل؛ "منذ أوشفيتز نعرف ما يستطيع الإنسان أن يفعله، ومنذ هيروشيما نعرف ما هو على المَحك". لدينا نسختنا الخاصة من أوشفيتز واسمها النكبة (يتحدث فرانكل أيضا عن تحول الضحية إلى جلاد)، ولدينا نسخة مصغرة من هيروشيما في انفجار بيروت، وكم هو وعرٌ وطويل.. هذا الطريق الذي علينا أن نأخذه من أجل المعنى.

شكرًا للناشر على الكتاب المهم، وشكرًا عبدالمقصود عبدالكريم على الترجمة الأنيقة.

One of the first of Viktor Frankl's books that transformed my thinking and my world view. Man cannot survive without hope, and hope cannot survive feelings of futility or meaninglessness. We must therefore move away from despair and negativity and look for meaning in our suffering, or grow from it and find a different path. Everyone should read this book.



Lately, I have been evaluating Frankl's messages about Love, that: "Love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire" and "Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality. No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him".
As Eleanor Roosevelt pointed out, many of us are afraid to fully "love" - we fear being being exposed to hurt. If, as I have come to conclude, there is Yin and Yang in all things, then there is joy and suffering even in the state of love. To open ourselves to love, therefore, requires courage and acceptance of both states. So perhaps we should be taught to be courageous first, to be more fearless. Maybe then we would be more open to the inevitable pain as well as joys of love?

Um Desafio Indesejado


"A man who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how"

Debilitado pelo prolongado cativeiro nos campos de concentração nazis, o psiquiatra Viktor Frankl, conta-nos como se socorreu da força anímica para contrabalançar o seu estado de fraqueza permanente.
O potencial humano dispõe duma panóplia de ferramentas capazes de enfrentar o Pior; Viktor Frankl mostra-nos algumas!...

É interessante constatar que embora este tipo de vivência seja traumatizante, quem lhe sobreviveu experienciou um grau de evolução que em circunstâncias normais certamente não sucederia!
Recordo-me de Roman Polanski, um realizador de nacionalidade judia que sobreviveu ao Holocausto, ter agradecido, numa entrevista, todas as suas experiências (a juventude vivida em plena Alemanha Nazi, inclusive) pois todas elas haviam contribuído para a sua formação como indivíduo!...
Quanto a mim, considero preferíveis outras que não essas, só que, a escolha nem sempre nos é permitida. Quando assim é, o melhor mesmo é enfrentar o desafio e esperar viver para contar! Foi a opção de Viktor Frankl!!!

Em suma, "Man's search for meaning" é uma história de sobrevivência chocante e deveras inspiradora!

Huge disappointment. It's one of those ever present books on everyone's "20 must-read books" list and it seems (perhaps because of these types of lists) to be more readily available in bookshops. I can only think it's gained notoriety for being on everyone's must-read lists rather than for being a great book, because great book it isn't.

I can summarise the book in one sentence: "people need to have a purpose in life." This may have been new in the 1940s. If I were reviewing the book in 1946 I would have given the book 5 stars. If I were reviewing the book as a classic of psychology, 4 stars. But reviewing it, as I am, from the perspective of self help literature in 2016, and in light of the huge hype this book gets, it's a 1 star simply because today, for me, it adds nothing new.

The Holocaust descriptions are very interesting if quite emotionless, but I didn't read the book for that. (I would have been better off reading Elie Wiesel for that.) The remainder of the book is a pretty dull quite repetitive academic text about logotherapy.

I fail to understand the hype around this book, and the endless 5 star reviews it gets on Goodreads...I suspect the 5 star reviews are simply because people THINK they should love it, because everybody else says they love it. A sorry case of groupthink.

I started reading "Man's Search for Meaning" thanks to a recommendation that appear on another book called 30 Days- Change your habits, Change your life: A couple of simple steps every day to create the life you want. Despite being one of the most influential books of the twentieth century, I had never heard about it but after reading the first pages, I quickly understood the reason for its fame. Man's Search for Meaning isn't a common story, is a true story. A collage of experiences, thoughts, and theories of a psychologist who survived in one of Nazi concentration camps. Although there are hundreds of books about the Holocaust, this story is really different; it isn't a dramatized story but a lucid and almost impartial story filtered through the eyes of psychology and neurology. It might seem a dark and miserable book but on the contrary, it's more a flame in the darkness that bright strong, a song of hope and strength. I recommend this book to all readers, without exception, I think it's a book that everyone should read and re-read to understand the true meaning of our lives.

Spanish version:
Empecé a leer "El hombre en busca de sentido" gracias a la recomendación del libro "30 días". Pese a ser uno de los libros más influyentes del sigo XX nunca había oído a hablar de él pero al empezar a avanzar a través de sus páginas rápidamente entendí el porqué de su fama. El hombre en busca de sentido no se trata de un relato común, sino más bien una agrupación de vivencias, reflexiones y teorías de un psicólogo superviviente de la masacre de los campos de concentración nazi. Pese a que hay cientos de libros que tratan el tema del holocausto, este relato es francamente diferente, no dramatiza en las situaciones penosas sino más bien las desgrana, las analiza y las filtra a través de los ojos de la psicología y la neurología. Lo más brillante del libro es la esperanza y las enseñanzas que hay en él, podría parecer un libro oscuro y miserable pero es todo lo contrario, es una llama en medio de la oscuridad, un canto al crecimiento interior y a la fortaleza de espíritu. Creo que no puedo evitar recomendar este libro a todos los lectores, sin excepción del género literario que os guste, es uno de esos libros que todos deberíamos leer y releer para comprender el verdadero significado de nuestras vidas.

n  An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior.n

Viktor Frankl, at the age of 39, was sent to a concentration camp to endure dehumanizing conditions while being used for slave labor. While there, he lost his brother, mother, and wife. Upon his release, he re-commenced developing and teaching his own brand of therapy: logotherapy.
tt
This book is a rather strange hybrid. In the first part, Frankl gives an overview of his time in the camps, paying special attention to the psychological repercussions of being so inhumanely treated. This leads to a general overview of his psychological theories, in part two, in which he argues that the search for meaning is of fundamental importance to the human psyche.
tt
I feel odd saying this, but the book left me feeling a bit cold. I found his descriptions of the concentration camp to be, however gruesome and depressing, somewhat detached in tone, which prevented me from being deeply affected. I do think he did a skillful job in conveying the day-to-day horrors of the experience; but the fact that this description is simply the foreground to a therapeutic theory somewhat detracts from its force, in my opinion.
tt
Maybe I only think this because I wasn’t too impressed with logotherapy, Frankl’s system of psychology. This therapeutic technique relies on helping patients to find a meaning in their lives. But I don’t think Frankl defines what “meaning” is very well, nor does he give much practical advice in the way of finding it. The theory all just seemed like a bunch of vague talk to me. I couldn’t see any usefulness or theoretical insight in Frankl’s system. I found it to be little more than a collection of platitudes.
tt
Perhaps I am unimpressed because we have already absorbed much of this existentialist-tinged psychotherapy into our culture? Perhaps my lack of excitement is a sign of this book’s enormous influence? I can’t say. But if you're curious, I recommend you read the book. It is short enough to be read in a day, and yet packs an impressive amount of narration and thought into its pages.