Jennifer Felsberg 1

My opinion on Viktor Frankl’s Search for Meaning

Jennifer Felsberg

Grand Canyon University

Psychology 333

July 19, 2009

 Jennifer Felsberg 2

Viktor Frankl had many ways to search for meaning and purpose while he was suffering

in the concentration camp. The two ways that stand out the most to me were: Choosing one’s

attitude in any given set of circumstances and any man can decide what shall become of himself

mentally and spiritually (p. 66). Some other ways were to remember the good things he had in

life before his capture. Another was to think about his future and his plans after his release. He

was also able to experience the beauty of art and nature as never before (p39). To develop a

sense of humor and see things in a humorous light (p. 44) and lastly, letting fate take its course

(p. 55).

Frankl called the ability to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances the

last of the human freedoms. He said that there are always choices to make. Every day offers the

opportunity to make decisions. I think this goes along with his attitude to let fate take its course.

When he had decided to escape he felt unhappy that he had taken fate into his own hands. When

he made up his mind to stay and let fate take its course he had an inner peace. He also chose to

have an attitude that if he was going to die he would die doing something purposeful. This is

why he chose to work with the sick prisoners. He said we also have the choice in what will

become of our own mental and spiritual health. There were some prisoners that were physically

healthy when they entered the concentrations camp but they did not survive due to poor spiritual

health.

Frankl never really mentions God once in his book. On page 40 he states that he heard

from somewhere a victorious “Yes” in answer to his question of the existence of an ultimate

human purpose when he felt hopeless. He speaks of being spiritual but never directly of God.

This is something I find amazingly interesting. The main reason he is in the concentration camp

is because of his beliefs in being Jewish. The way he is able to approach this situation is very

clinical. I am not sure I could approach it in that fashion. It is almost without emotion. He does
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talk about the difficulty of the situation being an opportunity to grow spiritually, but not many

were able to do this. He does say that they held services in the corner of a hut. My father-in-law

was born in Germany. He came home from school one day at the age of 13 to see his family

being taken away by the Nazi’s. He ran and remained on his own for a while. He finally made

it to a boy’s home in Belgium. Finally, at the age of 19 he caught a ship bound for the United

Sates. His experience made him stronger in his faith. On a side note: As a grown adult with

children, my father-in-law did finally make the journey back to Germany. He did find a roll

book in which his parents names were listed as being in Auschwitz. He made copies to bring

back to his children.

Frankl was also able to escape his present situation by thinking of his past. Frankl called

this an inner life which let a prisoner escape to the past (p. 39). He would think of his wife and

their life together. He would also think of the everyday things he used to do like answering the

phone and riding the bus. He states that as the inner life of the prisoner became more intense

the prisoner experienced the beauty of art and nature as never before (p. 39). He was able to

notice the sunset and recognize its beauty, as were others. He also tells of how a cabaret was

improvised occasionally. It would give them a few minutes to forget the horrors in which they

lived. Sometimes prisoners would miss a meal to go to one of these. Prisoners would also think

about a future life outside the concentration camp. Sometimes it would be an amusing dream

about the future in the attempt to see things in a humorous light. He speaks of an inner strength

where a person could have a future goal or something to look forward to. A prisoner could

decline because he did not have any future goal. This is when he decided to start rewriting his

manuscript he lost the first day at Auschwitz. He says the prisoner who had lost faith in the

future was doomed (p. 74).

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I personally am very undecided as to whether Frankl’s thesis is consistent with scripture

or not. I am having a hard time just seeing one thesis. I see more of the small parts that create

the whole. Some of what Frankl says is not consistent with scripture. For example, letting fate

take its course does not seem consistent with scripture to me. I feel we need to make decisions

such as following Jesus or not. On the other hand, I feel God has a meaning and purpose for

each of our lives. We need to find that purpose to feel fulfilled and this is consistent with

Frankl’s thoughts. I enjoyed reading this book. I was amazed, in awe, inspired and captivated at

all he endured and survived.

Since I was so undecided about some Frankl’s thesis being consistent with scripture I

posed this question to a couple of my friends “Do you think believing in fate and believing in

God are the same?” Their responses are below.

I’m happy to share my thoughts on this - Fate is much more like controlled chance (e.g. "Things
were meant to be") There is no real concept of being in control of your destiny. Your only real
option is to react since you cannot stop what is "fated" to happen. However, with God, things
that God wants to happen are going to happen. Someone will be faithful and answer the call but
not everyone does when they are called. We are given freewill, the power to choose what we
will or will not do. The consequences of those choices or actions are a direct result of the
choices we make. Some are consequences of our parents choices, some go all the way back to
Adam. He moves on behalf of those who believe in Him and approach Him through His son,
Jesus Christ. We are born with the tools we need to achieve our purpose and destiny if we
choose to find it and let Him show us how to achieve it. Chris Knowles

I tend to mostly agree with Chris. I feel that G-d give us free will and like we as parents hope
with our kids, that the right choices are made. Since I am Jewish, I cannot really give a Christian
perspective on it. I personally feel that maybe fate and the belief in G-d are more interconnected
than we realize because if someone just believes in fate, just believes in G-d or believes in
both…they are still placing hope on something they cannot actually see or touch. I like to think
that G-d controls it all. Since this is a religion question and today is Friday, I will wish you and
your family Shabbat Shalom. Karen Rubin Brown

Through my friends Karen’s response I am able to understand more clearly how Frankl

believing in fate can be consistent with scripture. I was thinking about fate as being a random

chance. Karen was able to show me that belief in fate and belief in God are not two separate

thoughts, which is the belief that I held.

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References

Frankl, Viktor. (2006). Man’s Search for Meaning. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.