Man's Search for Meaning

Man's Search for Meaning is an Austrian nonfiction book written by Viktor Frankl.

Fast Facts

1. Author: Viktor Frankl
2. Genre: Non-Fiction/Self-Help
3. Publication Date: 1946
4. Publisher: Washington Square Press (in U.S.)
5. Pages: 221
6. ISBN 9780671646707
7. Surveyed as one of the most "influential books in the U.S."

Plot Synopsis

In order to survive as a concentration camp prisoner during World War II, Frankl developed a psychotherapeutic method he later called logotherapy.

Logotherapy is essentially the belief that life has meaning, and people are free to find that meaning in their own lives.

In the first part of Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl describes the mentality his fellow prisoners felt in the camp, going from shock to apathy to bitterness to disillusionment before it all ended.

In the second part of the book, he applies those experiences to his explanation of Logotherapy.

Principles of Logotherapy

• *Life has meaning under all circumstances.
• *The main motivation for living is the will to find meaning in life.
• *People have freedom in finding meaning in their lives.

Quotes

• "We can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: (1) by creating a work or doing a deed; (2) by experiencing a something or encountering someone; and (3) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering."

• "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!"

• "Man is capable of changing the world for the better if possible, and of changing himself for the better if necessary."

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