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man’s search for meaning

I had never heard of Viktor Frankl but I read some interesting posts about him recently on a certain tumblrlog:

Frankl believes (and I concur) that “this striving to find a meaning in one’s life is the primary motivational force in man.”

Later he writes, “this meaning is unique and specific in that it must and can be fulfilled by him alone; only then does it achieve a significant which will satisfy his own will to meaning …

Most people’s biggest problem then (I mean, by definition it would HAVE to be their “biggest”!) is “the feeling of the total and ultimate meaninglessness of their lives. They lack the awareness of a meaning worth living for. They are haunted by the experience of their inner emptiness, a void within themselves; they are caught in that situation [Frankl calls] the ‘existential vacuum.’” ….

The three ways we can find meaning in our lives:

1) “by creating a work or doing a deed”

2) “by experiencing something or encountering someone” (such as “goodness, truth and beauty – by experiencing nature and culture or, by experiencing another human being in his very uniqueness – by loving him”)

3) “by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering”

I thought this was v. interesting. There are def. have been periods in my life when I’m like, what am I doing with myself? Other times I’ve felt turbocharged and ready to take on the world. It is good to have goals and things to work toward. I am not sure if I agree with Frankl’s three points, but they are interesting to think about.

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