PHILOSPHY OF LIFE AND LIFESTYLE

VIKTOR FRANKL

Submitted By

SANA KHAN

Batch- (2018-2023)

PRN- 18010224042

Division- A

BBA LLB

Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA

Symbiosis International (Deemed) University,

PUNE

In

February, 2019

Under the Guidance of

Dr. Garima Yadav

Co-in-charge

Philosophy of life and lifestyle

 Certificate

The project entitled “Viktor Frankl” submitted to the Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA for
Managerial Economics as part of internal assessment is based on my original work carried
out under the guidance of Garima Yadav from December, 2108 to February, 2019. The
research work has not been submitted elsewhere for award of any degree.

The material borrowed from other sources and incorporated in the research report has been
duly acknowledged.

I understand that I myself could be held responsible and accountable for plagiarism, if any,
detected later on.

Signature- Sana Khan

Date- 1102.2019
 Acknowledgement

First and foremost, I would like to thank and praise the Almighty, God, for showering on me
his blessings throughout my research project and for completing it successfully. I am also
grateful for the good health and wellbeing that was the most necessary.

Prima facia, I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude towards my research
guide, Garima Yadav, our Asst. Professor for the subject of Managerial Economics, for
giving me the opportunity to research on such a thoughtful topic and for providing me with
invaluable support throughout the research. Her dynamism, vision and motivation has deeply
inspired me to not give up when I was stuck in the middle of the research. It is a matter of
great privilege and honour to work and learn under such guidance and support. I would also
like to thank her for her patience and empathy. I am indebted to her for sharing her expertise
and sincere and valuable encouragement extended to me.

Not to forget the heartfelt thanks to my family, relatives and friends for their help and kind
nature. I am extremely grateful to them for their care, prayers and sacrifices for preparing me
for my future.

I also thank the staff especially the Library of the institution for their kindness and the help
that they provided me through the learning resources available.

Finally, I place on record, my thanks to all the people who have supported me immensely to
successfully complete this research project either directly or indirectly.

Thank you
Introduction

Viktor Frankl was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who had

survived many Nazi’s concentration camps such as of holocaust,
therasienstadt, Auschwitz, kaufering and Turkheim. He was born and
brought up in Vienna into a Jewish family of civil servants. At a very early
stage of his life he realised his interests in the subject which gave him
clarity in his professional life. His ambit of success is wide which ranges
from being the founder of Logotherapy to publishing different varieties of
book such as his autobiographical Man's Search for Meaning, which
introduces the psychotherapeutic theory of Logotherapy, incorporates his
observations about the way human beings coped with life in concentration
camps during World War II. In Ärztliche Seelsorge (1947; The Doctor and
the Soul), Die Existenzanalyse und die Probleme der Zeit (1947),
and Theorie und Therapie der Neurosen (1956), Frankl continues to
expound his logotherapeutic theory by focusing on the spiritual dimension
of the human psyche, the use of exhortation to challenge people to face
their problems, and the importance of "willing" a meaning to life. Das
Menschenbild der Seelenheilkunde (1959), in particular, focuses on
spiritual aspects of the human psyche as contributing factors in any
effective system of psychotherapy. Der umbewusste Gott (1966; The
Unconscious God), Psychotherapy and Existentialism (1967), and The Will
to Meaning (1969) continue to explore the philosophically existential
characteristics of Logotherapy, especially the search for meaning and its
compatibility with religion and theology. There are three main
components that are at the heart of the Franklian philosophy:

1. Each person has a healthy core.

2. The primary focus is to enlighten a person to their own internal
resources and provide them with the tools to use their inner core.
3. Life offers you purpose and meaning; it does not owe you a sense
of fulfilment or happiness.

He being the founder of logotherapy explains that an individual’s primary

focus must be to find the meaning of his life in other words it is the
pursuit of that meaning for one’s life. The theory is founded on the
belief that human nature is motivated by the search for a life purpose.
His theories were heavily influenced by his personal experiences of
suffering and loss in Nazi concentration camps.

Logotherapy is a term derived from “logos,” a Greek word that

translates as “meaning,” and therapy, which is defined as treatment of a
condition, illness, or maladjustment. It is a decades-old
psychotherapeutic approach developed by Viktor Frankl. The driving force
behind logotherapy is the idea that human beings are most motivated by
a search for meaning, indicating that the meaning of life is the biggest
question on our minds and the biggest stressor on our psyches. It is often
subsumed under the headings of humanistic psychology and existential
psychology (Ponsaran, 2007). Furthermore, logotherapy is referred to as
the Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy (Hatt, 1965). Adler promoted
the will to power; Freud stressed the pleasure principle and Frankl the will
to meaning (Boeree,2006). Originally logotherapy was called height
psychology in response to the Freudian concept of depth psychology.
Depth psychology focused on insights from the natural and unconscious
processes within a person, but height psychology promoted the idea that
people could transcend these natural processes (Pytell, 2003).
Logotherapy is different from psychoanalysis in that its methods are less
retrospective and less introspective (Frankl, 1959). Logotherapy focuses
on the future aspects of a patient’s life, more specifically the meaning
that one intends to fulfill (Boeree, 2006). Logos is the Greek word, which
denotes meaning. Hence, Logotherapy focuses on a person’s search for
meaning. This search for meaning in one’s life is postulated as the
primary motivational force (Frankl, 1959). He clarifies that this search for
meaning does not have any relation to spirituality or religion, but strictly
relates to finding purpose in one’s life or tasks (Somani, 2009). Moreover,
logo therapists do not prescribe meaning to a patient but rather describe
the process of how meaning is obtained in hopes of providing the patient
with a sense of fulfilment (Thorne & Henley 2005). Thus, Logotherapy
regards its assignment as that of assisting a patient to find meaning in life
(Frankl, 1959). It can be used by itself to treat a mental health disorder,
as most early psychotherapy was used. It can also be used in a positive
psychology context to help people with no discernible mental health
disorders live a life with meaning, and in turn higher levels of well being.
Logotherapy can also be used in a group or family therapy setting to help
people deal with a number of stressors. The versatility of logotherapy is
clear when looking through its modern-day applications. It has recently
been used to help support students, whether it’s in the context of giving
elementary school students a sense of meaning and lowering their levels
of depression or in the context of giving first-year University students
logotherapy-based support .

Research has also indicated that a lack of meaning can lead to one being
more prone to boredom, indicating that logotherapy could even be an
effective intervention for someone who is often bored.

LOGOTHERAPY TECHNIQUES:
The three main techniques of logotherapy are:

1. Dereflection : Dereflection is used when a person is overly self-

absorbed on an issue or attainment of a goal. By redirecting the
attention, or dereflecting the attention away from the self, the person
can become whole by thinking about others rather than themselves.
2. Paradoxical intention : Paradoxical intention involves asking for the
thing we fear the most. For people whoexperience anxiety or phobias,
fear can paralyze them. But by using humour and ridicule, they can
wish for the thing they fear the most, thus removing the fear from
their intention and relieving the anxious symptoms associated with it.
Socratic dialogue: Socratic dialogue is a technique in which the
logotherapist uses the own person's words as a method of self-
discovery. By listening intently to what the person says, the therapist
can point out specific patterns of words, or word solutions to the client,
and let the client see new meaning in them. This process allows a
person to realize that the answer lies within and is just waiting to be
discovered. How does Logotherapy Differ from other Psychotherapy?
Logotherapy does not conflict with psychotherapy but is instead simply
focused on meaning. Logotherapists believe that a lack of meaning can
lead to “emptiness, hopelessness, or despair”, so they try to help people
find meaning “through ‘creative values’, ‘experiential values’, and
‘attitudinal values’” 
This article is wholly and solely focuses on the works of Dr. Viktor Frankl.
The researcher attempts to justify the above topic. In the article,
researcher will review a few literatures on works of Viktor Frankl and with
the help of secondary data and information; try to know more about his
works and contributions made by the said person.

Themes covered:
 The essay will be focusing on the major works of Victor Frankl which
includes Logotherapy.

Views of the learner along with the literature review: The

following literatures were consulted while writing the essay. A brief review
of the same has been done below:

Devoe, D. (2012). "Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy: The

Search For Purpose and Meaning :

Equivalent parts biographical and

theoretical, this paper provides a
discussion of the main historical
events and contrib
Equivalent parts biographical and
theoretical, this paper provides a
discussion of the main historical
events and contrib.
Equivalent parts biographical and theoretical, this paper provides a
discussion of the main historical events and contributions of Viktor Frankl.
Frankl's intellectual development began with a brief immersion in Freud
and Alder’s teachings in the early 1920s. He began to formalize the tenets
of his theory and therapy, Logotherapy, while assisting unemployed
Viennese in the Great Depression. Logotherapy maintains that a human’s
principal motivation is not to search for power or gratification, but to
discover the purpose of existence. Various existential ideas are discussed
including the notions of a no logical dimension and existential frustration.
The paper concludes that Logotherapy has many applications in the
modern medical, psychological, and business sectors and outlines his
horrific experiences in the concentration camps and provides a basic
introduction to his therapeutic practice of Logotherapy. Frankl was
subjected to four different Nazi camps and was dehumanized to a mere
number: 119,104. Moreover, Nazis murdered his wife, mother, father,
and unborn child, yet Frankl were able to find a purpose for living in all
his sufferings (Frankl, 1959). Frankl insists that humanities primary
concern is not to search for enjoyment, or supremacy, but to discover the
meaning of existence.

Paul T. P. Wong(2014) ‘‘Viktor Frankl’s Meaning-Seeking

Model and Positive Psychology’’.

Belief in the ultimate meaning of life is inherently related to the belief that
life has intrinsic meaning and value, regardless of circumstances.
Therefore, life is worth living because of this belief. It reminds us of
William James’ affirmative statement: “Be not afraid of life, Believe that
life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact” (James, 1896,
Section IX). William James understood, as Frankl did, the functional
benefits of belief in the meaning and value of life. Ultimate meaning is
related to such issues as the meaning of suffering, the meaning of self-
identity, the meaning of life as a whole and the nature of existence. “The
grandiose order, I believe, is what Frankl understands by logos, ultimate
meaning. We can never hope to ‘find’ it in its totality; we can only pursue
it to the best of our abilities” (Fabry, 1994, p. 35). Self-identity, differing
from ultimate meaning, is knowable to a certain extent. However, when
we push the concept of self-identity to its limit and ask such questions as,
“Where did I come from? Where do I go after death? What is God’s
unique calling for my life,” we are venturing into the realm of ultimate
meaning. At this level, our search for ultimate meaning is an ongoing
process. In a sense, ultimate meaning belongs to the spiritual and
transcendental realm. From time to time, we are given a glimpse of the
glorious possibility that there is ultimate meaning and purpose in life.
However, as we go through different stages of life and different
experiences, our understanding evolves. This unending quest for believing
that there is coherence and order in the world. Seeking to gain a better
understanding of ultimate meaning helps us to understand both the
spiritual dimension of who we are as human beings as well as the
responsible action/reaction in each situation. According to Frankl,
comprehension goes beyond understanding everyday situations; it
involves our attempt to grasp the big picture as well as our social
responsibility.

Conclusion:
Having a purpose in life can strengthen resilience in the face of adversity,
research says. This is also the basis of logotherapy, a traditional
psychotherapeutic practice. In this article, we look at its current-day uses
and give you some ideas as to how to find your own life purpose.

FINDING MEANING WITH LOGOTHERAPY

Logotherapy is based on the premise that humans are driven to find a
sense of meaning and purpose in life. According to Frankl, life’s meaning
can be discovered in three different ways:

1. By creating a work or accomplishing some task

2. By experiencing something fully or loving somebody
3. By the attitude that one adopts toward unavoidable suffering
Frankl believed that suffering is a part of life, and that man’s ultimate
freedom is his ability to choose how to respond to any set of given
circumstances, even the most painful ones. Additionally, people can find
meaning in their lives by identifying the unique roles that only they can
fulfil. For example, when a man consulted with Frankl due to
severe depression following the death of his wife, Frankl asked him to
consider what would have happened if he had died first and his wife had
been forced to mourn his death. The man was able to recognize that his
own suffering spared his wife from having that experience, which served
as a curative factor and helped relieve his depression.

CONDITIONS TREATED WITH LOGOTHERAPY:

Logotherapy is founded on a belief that many illnesses or  mental health
issues are actually due to existential angst. Through his work, we found
that people struggled with feelings of meaninglessness, a situation
which he referred to as the existential vacuum. It can be used to treat a
wide range of issues that are existential in nature. More specifically,
logotherapy has been found effective in the treatment of substance
abuse, posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety.
References:
1. Biography.(n.d). VictorFranklInstitut. 
Retrievedfromhttp://www.viktorfrankl.org/e/chronology.html.
2. Bulka, R.P. (1978). Is logotherapy authoritarian? Journal of
Humanistic Psychology, 18(4), 45-54.
3. Delavari, H., Nasirian, M., & Baezegar bafrooei, K. (2014). Logo
therapy effect on anxiety and depression in mothers of children with
cancer.  Iranian Journal of Pediatric Hematology Oncology, 4(2), 42-
48.
4. Frankl, V.E. (1959). Man’s search for meaning. Boston: Beacon
Press.
5. Smith, A.J. (2013). Logotherapy to treat substance abuse as a
result of military-related PTSD. Journal of Military and Government
Counseling, 1(1), 61-74.