In this book, Dr. Frankl explains the experience during his time in the one of the concertation camps in Auschwitz which led to his discovery of Logotherapy, his own version of modern existential analysis. Frankl distinguishes several form of neurosis and traces some of them (the noogenic neurosis) to the failure of the sufferer to find meaning and a sense of responsibility in his existence. Central theme of existentialism: to live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in the suffering.

The process of selecting Capos was a negative one, only the most brutal of the prisoners were chosen for the job. Capos were trustees and had special privileges over all prisoners. A certain number of prisoners were transferred to another camp but mostly their final destination were the gas chambers. The selection process was the signal for a free fight among all the prisoners or of group against group. Three phases of the inmate's mental reaction to camp life include:
1. The period following his admission
2. The period when he is well entered in camp routine
3. The period following his release and liberation

Cold curiosity predominated somehow detaching the mind from its surrounding which came to be regarded with a kind of objectivity. At that time one cultivated this state of mind as a means of protection. Apathy, the blunting of the emotions and the feeling that one could not care anymore were the symptoms arising during the second stage of the prisoner's psychological reactions and which eventually made him insensitive to daily and hourly beatings. Apathy the main symptom of the second phase was a necessary mechanism of self-defense. The close connection between the state of mind - his courage and hope or lack of them - and the state of immunity sometimes upon sudden loss of hope and courage can have a deadly effect.

Logotherapy focuses on the future, on the meaning to be fulfilled by the patient in his future. The patient is actually confronted with and reoriented toward the meaning of his life. Mental health is based on a certain degree of tension, the tension between what one has already achieved and what one still ought to accomplish or the gap between what one is and what one should become. Existential vacuum manifests itself mainly in a state of boredom.

Logotherapy sees in responsibleness the very essence of human existence. Self-actualization is possible only as a side-effect of self-transcendence. Suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning such as meaning of a sacrifice. Man has both potentialities that is being a saint or a swine within himself which one is actualized depends on decisions but not on conditions. Tragic optimism is when one is and remains optimistic in spite of the tragic triad. A triad which consists of pain, guilt and death. Three main avenues on which one arrives at meaning in life:
1. By creating a work or doing a deed
2. Experiencing something or encountering someone
3. Turning a personal tragedy into triumph

At the concentration camps, Dr. Frankl faced a lot of atrocities despite all the them he decided to turn his personal tragedy of losing his entire family, being treated as a prisoner and another Jew to be sent to a gas chamber into a triumph by focusing on his field of education and discovering Logotherapy.

Blog | YouTube  | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn

I have to confess: I am a born optimist; for me the glass is always half full and in addition – through nature or nurture - I am also very activist and voluntaristic. So you will rarely or never catch me in a melancholic mood or with a fatalistic attitude. Thus, it does not come as a surprise that I can recognize myself in a booklet that has as essential message: "do not remain idle, take your life in your hands, overcome negative situations by focusing on the future and give meaning to it all by yourself". And that is what Victor Frankl advocates. He even worked out a whole psychological approach around this view, called "logotherapy".

To illustrate the effectiveness of his therapy, Frankl goes back to the worst possible experience that people in history have had to undergo: the Holocaust. And Frankl knows what he is talking about: he himself was in 4 concentration and/or extermination camps (like Auschwitz). The first part of this booklet shows what he has experienced and how he has survived. There was a considerable portion of luck involved, but according to him also the attitude to give meaning to his life, and in his concrete situation, to the unprecedented, beastly suffering that he and many others had to undergo.

As a psychologist he already was on that track before the war: he published about the enormous impact that the mental attitude of a person has on his psychological and physical health. And in the camps he tried to apply those insights. Afterwards he worked out his logotherapy, from Vienna (among colleagues who had collaborated with the Nazi regime or had not dared to oppose it), and after the American translation of his work (late 1950s) also from the United States. It goes without saying that this booklet was extremely successful, and is still being read and lauded in cultures that are very focused on the future.

Personally, I recognize in Frankl much of what was also discussed in post-war existentialism: the responsibility of each individual for his own happiness. But it must be said that Frankl has always explicitly distanced himself from the existentialist philosophy that departs from a nihilistic basis or at least from the ascertainment of the absurdity of life; his approach is much more agnostic, but in essence both views really are very pragmatic. Also characteristic for his message is his distancing from reductionist and anti-humanist movements, between which he also counts other movements in psychiatry such as those of Freud or Adler.

As far as this book is concerned: the concentration camp story in the first part as always remains shocking and startling, even after you have already read several such testimonies. But the second part, in which he explains what his logotherapy actually is, did disappoint me a bit. In addition to the general principle ("look to the future, give meaning to your life"), Frankl barely elaborates on exactly what this therapy consists of. He gives some incentives (like the principle of the paradoxical intention), but you do not have the impression that there is a systematic approach behind it. The rather chaotic build-up of his argument and the use of quite a bit of technical jargon does lessen the value of this book. And that's a pity. Nevertheless, from the abundance of reviews on this and other sites it is clear that his optimistic message still comforts and inspires a lot of people.
(2.5 stars)

n  

"فالويل لمن لا يرى في حياته معنى، ولا يستشعر هدفًا أو غرضًا لها؛ ومن ثم لا يجد قيمة في مواصلة هذه الحياة."

n
إن ما يميّز الإنسان عن باقي الكائنات الأخرى هو أن الإنسان لا يمكنه العيش من أجل الغذاء والنوم والجنس.. إلخ – على الرغم من أهمية هذه الحاجات- فقط، وإنما بأن يدرك أن لحياته معنى وأن يحيا من أجل هدف يحققه وأن يكون له مُثُل ومبادئ وقيم عليا.. وإن الإنسان الذي لا يدرك معنى وجوده أو لا يملك هدفًا يحيا من أجله لهو إنسان ضائع وستفقد "الحياة" لديه معناها وقد يكون أقرب للموت في كل لحظة.

إنّي على الصعيد الشخصي، وجدت الكتاب وأفكاره قريبة جدًا مني، لما مررت به من تجارب مشابهة. وقريبة أيضًا للإنسان بشكل عام. والكتاب ككل بسيط نوعًا ما وموجّه للعامة. ويعتبر مقدمة جيدة لإلقاء الضوء على مدرسة العلاج بالمعنى.

كتاب قيّم جدًا ولا تكفيه قراءة واحدة.

n  n
If someone asks me to recommend the best three books related to the Second World War and the horrors of the holocaust, this book will be one among them. Viktor Emil Frankl was an Austrian Neurologist and Psychiatrist. He was also a Holocaust survivor. This book describes his experiences in concentration camps in the first section and the logotherapy he developed for finding meaning in all forms of existence during the suffering in the second section.

n  My favorite three lines from this book. n
n  n   

“Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how'.”

n  n

n  

"But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer."

n

n  

n    “I do not forget any good deed done to me & I do not carry a grudge for a bad one.”n  

n

The way the author recalls all the events is simply brilliant. The hardships he faced in the concentration camp will indubitably shock you. I always wondered how he was able to survive three years in four concentration camps when I can't even think about living there for a single day.

This is one of the most challenging books I read in my life so far. But I reread this book once in a while to remind me of the importance of hope and how it can help a human being to overcome one of the most harrowing experiences that humankind has ever witnessed on this planet. This is one of those books that everyone in this world should read at least once in their lifetime.

سوژه ای با این اهمیت و منحصربه فرد بودن، تجربه زنده ماندن در اردوگاههای نازی و سپس فرصت مطالعه و کار بر مبنای چنین تجربیاتی را داشتن، سوژه ای کم نظیر است که فرصتی استثنایی برای نویسنده فراهم می آورد و پس از آن دیگر هنر نویسندگی و تامل و انتقال چنین تجربیاتی است

به نظرم دکتر فرانکل تا حد بسیار خوب از عهده این کار برآمده است. بخش اول اثر که قرار است زمینه فکری و تجربه ها را در اختیار مخاطب قرار دهد و به نوعی ذهن را پس از شنیدن داستان زندگی آماده بحثهای تحلیلی و آموزشی کند. بر این اساس، بخش دوم حتی می تواند جذاب تر هم باشد

در این بخش، فرانکل مکتب لوگوتراپی اش را معرفی می کند که جستجوی معنا در زندگی را بزرگترین انگیزه انسان برای ادامه حیات می داند و آنرا با نظریه های فرویدی و آدلری توجه به انگیزه های جنسی و قدرت در تعیین انگیزه های بشری مقایسه می کند. با این رویکرد، دست یابی معنا از سه مسیر انجام عمل و وظیفه، مواجهه با موقعیت یا دیگری، و نگرش نسبت ب�� رنج غیرقابل اجتناب انجام می پذیرد. بحثهایی که درمورد هر کدام از این سه مسیر می کند و تکنیک های متناظر هر کدام در لوگوتراپی جالب هستند و جزئیات قابل تامل بسیاری دارند

احساس می کنم همچنان می توان رویکرد علمی یا فلسفی تری نسبت به آموزه های فرانکل در این کتاب داشت، یا مسیر نقد نظریه های رقیب را با موشکافی بیشتری بررسی کرد. چرا که شاید محکمترین دلیلی که فرانکل در ذهن داشته است این بوده که مبنای نظری وی تجربه ای زیسته است که در اردوگاههای نازی فراهم آمده و احتمالا برای تائید صدق غالب حرفها کفایت می کند. اما واقعیت این گونه است که بحثهای نظری دقیق تر در طول زمان جاودان تراند و به مرور نسل فرانکل با نسلهایی جایگزین می شوند که تجربه ای از جنگ و بی معنایی اش ندارند

در دوره‌ی ذهنی‌ای هستم که دستم به ریویو نوشتن نمیره و ذهنم اونو بی‌اهمیت میدونه.
به هر حال خوشحالم که با مفهوم «لوگوتراپی» در این کتاب آشنا شدم و مشتاقم بیشتر درباره‌ش بخونم.
مرسی که با وجود اون همه رنج زنده موندی آقای فرانکل، و این تراپی رو به وجود آوردی.
برم ببینم ویل دورانت درباره‌ی معنای زندگی چه حرفایی داره برام بزنه...

Un psiquiatra judío sobreviviente de los campos de concentración nazi narra su análisis psicológico del comportamiento humano en las peores circunstancias y al hacerlo, nos deja un legado maravilloso a la humanidad : nos da la clave que resulta ser la diferencia entre sobrevivir o no.

Sin duda alguna todos debemos leer este libro y tenerlo muy a la mano para re leerlo.
Es una joya y es tremendo legado.

“Cada hombre , incluso en condiciones trágicas, puede decidir quién quiere ser -espiritual y mentalmente- y conservar su dignidad humana.

I have to separate the emotional impact of the first half of the book from my overall impression on how effective the book was as a whole. It's really difficult not to find stories of the holocaust incredibly gripping, and the way in which Frankl speaks of his experience is inspiring and yet still maintains that gravity you'd expect from such a narrative.
However, the latter half of the book delves much more into a psychological, and less personal, examination of 'logotherapy' (that is, the author's personal psychological theory). Once it became more of a text book with small sections reflecting on specific terms and theories, it was difficult to stay engaged. I also felt it lacked the cohesiveness that the first part of the book had with a more linear narrative structure.
Nonetheless, the nuggets of wisdom I gleaned from this book were worth the reading. And I can only commend Frankl on his 'tragic optimism' in such a horrific environment as a Nazi concentration camp.

Виктор Франкл, безусловно, прав, считая, что Фрейд видел смысл жизни в удовольствиях, Адлер в поиске власти, а сам Франкл – в поиске смысла жизни. Все же я вижу некоторые противоречия. Автор делает разбор разных смыслов жизни и доказывает, что смысл жизни - не в продолжении рода (детях), не в работе, профессии, не тем паче в удовольствиях или власти; он категорически против нигилизма и абсурдизма, отрицания смысла жизни. Он пишет, что совесть – это орган смысла. Но при том при всем, он даже в какой-то степени дает объяснение поведению и личности Гитлера, что его совесть ему позволяла убивать людей. Давайте порассуждаем на эту тему. Если человек, находящийся при власти, имеет смыслом жизни ее укрепление и личное обогащение, ворует из бюджета (то есть у своих соотечественников) деньги, и его совесть (или ее отсутствие) позволяют ему это делать, значит, у него есть смысл жизни, и он не мучается на тему "ради чего он живет". Получается, он обрел смысл жизни. Между тем, Франкл пишет, что смысл в том, чтобы пройти через страдания, не сгибаясь. Я бесконечно восхищаюсь его личным мужеством и несгибаемостью воли к жизни, позволившей ему не только выжить в четырех нацистских концентрационных лагерях, но и помогать другим заключенным выжить. Но сейчас все-таки в большинстве стран мира (разумеется, за исключением тех, где в настоящий момент идет война или происходят стихийные бедствия) вопрос о физическом выживании пока не стоит (возможно, он появится в довольно большом количестве регионов из-за климатических изменений и катастроф, но пока такого нет). Да, каждый человек так или иначе страдает – кто от сложностей во взаимоотношениях с любимыми или родными. Не все проходят через страдания не сгибаясь, и не в этом смысл. Я согласна, что от нигилизма и отрицания смысла вреда больше, но я не знаю своего смысла жизни, увы. И эта книга не помогла мне его найти, хотя в ней много других мудрых мыслей и психотерапевтических техник.

من منا لم يطرح في مرحلة ما من عمره إما بصورة واعية أو حتى أحيانا دون وعي نتيجة ظغوط العمل أو العائلة أو حتى ضغوطه النفسية الخاصة .
لم أعيش انا؟ ما معنى حياتي؟ لم أعاني كل هذا؟
لم أنا بالذات دون فلان أو فلانة؟

و نبدأ في طرح تلك التساؤلات و ندخل تلك الدائرة.
و طبعا هناك من يتوقف ويستغفر الله ويعتبره إبتلاء ويواصل الحياة .
دون أن ينتبه أنه لم يجاوب على السؤال المركزي
" ما معنى حياةِ؟" ليعاود طرحه مرة أخرى وبصورة أقوى حين يصطدم بصخرة

I first read this incredible, moving text almost 10 years ago, when I was in my late 20s. I was fairly early on in my career as a therapist and was very lucky to come across this book by accident. It was one of the most essential works that formed the foundation of my practice and thinking as a psychologist. I have a vivid memory of reading in awe, reading as quickly as possible and pacing around the room with the book in my hand, feeling both excited and agitated to be reading something that felt so powerful and profound.

In re-reading it, many of the concepts are now very familiar, like well-worn paths. I’ve spent the last few months slowly and carefully reading small sections at a time, highlighting and underlining as I read, taking notes and reflecting. This text still holds the same power and wisdom. It is one to live by and learn from over many years of re-reading.

The quotes that I especially wish to remember:
- “I have realities in my past, not only the reality of work done and of love loved, but of sufferings bravely suffered. These sufferings are even the things of which I am most proud, though these are things which cannot inspire envy”. Pp 125.
- “A thought transfixed me: for the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth - that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire”. Pp. 49
- “No man and no destiny can be compared with any other man or any other destiny. No situation repeats itself, and each situation calls for a different response”. Pp. 85
- “For the world is in a bad state, but everything will become still worse unless each of us does his best. So, let us be alert - alert in a twofold sense: Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of. And since Hiroshima we know what is at stake”. Pp 154.

Very authentic description of life that the depravity of man revealed, it is written very factually and pragmatically.
The book is recommendable to everyone who strives to study the meaning of life, mindfulness and resilience.

“Beni kalbine mühürle, sevgi ölüm kadar güçlüdür”