ST.

FRANCIS XAVIER COLLEGE SEMINARY

Seminary Road, Catalunan Grande, Davao City
ARCHDIOCESE OF DAVAO

NAME: IVAN CLARK L. PALABAO YEAR LEVEL: DY-3 MAXIMILIAM KOLBE

DIOCESE: DIOCESE OF MATI PROFESSOR: REV. FR. ROBERT ADAM CAJIPO

Looking for Life’s Meaning: A Philosophy of Hope for Suicidals (An Existential Point of
view of Viktor Frankl)

Life is difficult. People would come up with suicidal thoughts even to the extent that they
would commit them. This phenomenon occurs when people are suffering. Suffering is to be
defined as someone’s state of serious pain, either caused by someone or something. Also, it is
what one that endures1. There are a lot of kinds of suffering such as mental, physical, emotional,
financial, and so forth. Moreover, Viktor Frankl, an Austrian Psychiatrist and an Existentialist
Philosopher, deals with this problem. He tries to explain the possibility of one finding the
meaning of his suffering.

Despite the difficulty of life, meaning could always be found. Suffering stops being it if
the meaning is found. Meaning, then, may cause one to stop having constant suicidal thoughts
and could thwart suicidal attempts. Furthermore, meaning of life has already been dealt with
even in the ancient times. Socrates, in his dealing with ethics, argues that one must examine his
life for it to improve2. From this perspective, one could live his life meaningfully when he
examines himself because from there human life could flourish. Plato, Socrates’ student, added
that a meaningful life is one’s pursuit of knowledge3. Plato’s Platonic Idealism presents an
allegory to explain knowledge (Allegory of the cave). Only one of the three people within the
cave could see what was outside. Plato's philosophy could lead us to the conclusion that realizing
reality makes life more meaningful. For Aristotle, Plato’s student, a meaningful life is a happy
life. He added that happiness is a virtue and must be attained virtuously 4. In spite of the fact that
these philosophers have dealt with the meaning of life, existential nihilist philosophers would
like to argue that life has no intrinsic value. They believed that life has no meaning or purpose.
Specifically, Friedrich Nietzsche was one of those philosophers who opposed the inherent worth
of life. Later, we will discuss more his philosophy and we will try to show you how his does it
lead one to the wrong notion.
1
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/suffering
2
Klipfel, K. M. (2015), Thinking about Meaning: Socrates and conceptual analysis
3
Vital, A. (The Meaning of Life According to Different Philosophies)
4
Stanford Ecyclopedia of Philosophy (2022), Aristotle’s Ethics < https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-
ethics/>
 As far as our knowledge goes, suicide cases are prevailing in this world. These cases are
probably the result of the unending suffering that one endures. That is the main reason why
someone would seriously consider taking his life. Thus, this philosophical essay would lead one
to find the meaning of his life so that, we could bring them the hope that they need. Moreover,
suicidal people will see this as a sign of optimism that they will realize that their lives still have
value. But, throughout this paper, we will offer some arguments to support our statements
because, in fact, without an argument, we are unable to persuade the audience for whom I am
writing this.

In existentialism, man is understood as the one who is responsible his for development.
This movement has been started during the middle of the 19 th century and ended in the mid-20th
century (modern period). During this time, people have thrown away the earlier teachings of
ancient and the medieval thinkers. The approach is changed into human-centeredness in which
individuals are freer with their choices5. Since man is responsible for his freedom, therefore he is
also the one who must look at the meaning of his life. In the words of Viktor Frankl, he says;

“Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must
recognize that is he who is asked. In a word each man is questioned by life; and he can
only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being
responsible.6”

Moreover, the meaning of life is unique and specific. There is no objective definition of
life because its meaning only depends on man’s freedom – of how he would find it. However,
the search for life's meaning is always possible, but how one goes about doing so is up to him.
When we say that the meaning of life is unique and specific, it is to say that the meaning of the
given moment. It is unique in the sense that one finds it out of one’s freedom. For instance, the
meaning of the poor’s life cannot be the same as the rich because, aside from they are living a
different life, they both are in pursuit, but separately, of the meaning of their lives. Hence, the
meaning of life depends on one’s freedom to will to find the meaning.

Morgan Scott Peck, an American Psychiatrist, says in his famous work The Road Less
Traveled, “Life is difficult. This is a great truth. 7” Thus, it is to say that the difficulty in life is
inevitable – that no man can escape from it because it is already inherent in life. While man lives,
he also suffers. Frankl, then, added that despite the difficulty of life, meaning is always in given
circumstances therefore it is possible to be found. He says, “Human life, under any
circumstances, never ceases to have a meaning.” To say further, Frankl wants to affirm that life
has value. It starts with nothing. In addition, if life is understood as full of suffering and one

5
https://www.philosophybasics.com/movements_existentialism.html#:~:text=It%20began%20in%20the
%20mid,existing%20in%20an%20irrational%20universe.
6
Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (Boston: Beacon Press, 1946), 74
7
Morgan Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled: A new Psychology of Love , Traditional Values and Spiritual
Growth (1978)
could find meaning in it, therefore life is still meaningful. Nevertheless, if man is responsible for
his freedom, he is also responsible to look for his meaning.

Suffering is inevitable because life is a process. In the words of Carl Rogers, also an
American Psychologist says, “Life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a
destination.” Hence, we can say that there is always suffering in life. Peck is therefore correct in
his statement. Moreover, Viktor Frankl wants to add that suffering ceases to be it when it finally
realizes its meaning, because meaning can transform and transcend the suffering 8. He cited
sacrifice as an example. One would literally be in great suffering the moment one sacrifices
something especially if it is one’s own life. However, the moment after that, one might see the
purpose of it and it would become a meaningful one – a beautiful experience.

Furthermore, man’s loss of meaning does not mean he is restricted to find it. Meaning is
in any circumstance even in the most tragic experience however, it is only up to him how would
he find it. But, how could one be aware of his meaninglessness? How could he possibly be
inspired to will meaning? According to my analysis, it is only when other individuals – outside
of his reality – who also have found their meaning, influence him to find his meaning. I may be a
person who has already found the meaning of life and I could therefore stand in a position to
influence others who have lost their meaning, particularly the suicidal, by writing this paper.

According to Frankl’s survey, 89 percent of his participants have admitted that one must
need “something” in which to continue to live. If there is none, then there is no sense of survival
in it. If there is none, one’s life would appear to be without purpose and unreasonable. That
“something” is literally the meaning. That is why one must optimistically find his circumstance’s
meaning in order to continue living because being a failure of finding the meaning would
obviously lead him to an easy killing himself. In other words, life’s meaning plays a very
important role in the life of man because he must carry it in his entire life until he ceases to
breathe.

In opposition, Friedrich Nietzsche would like to argue that life has no intrinsic value. He
accepts the idea that pain is unavoidable, and that is something agreeable, yet it is debatable
whether or not life has any intrinsic value. He then added that man creates his values as an aid
for survival and growth9. Nietzsche, in the work of Langsam, emphasizes that the only way that
value may enter the world is through the creation of value, which is why it is so crucial 10.
However, he added that things have no value unless one values them relatively.

In this manner, Nietzsche’s proposition is highly controvertible. In that sense, every

individual is a bearer of truth – that there is no objective truth in things. There is no longer a
distinction between good and evil because the value is determined by how a person views an
object. Consequently, he sees no meaning in life until man creates it. Nonetheless, Viktor Frankl
8
Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (Boston: Beacon Press, 1946)
9
https://iep.utm.edu/nietzsch/#H4
10
Harold Langsam, Nietzsche and value creation: subjectivism, self-expression, and strength (2017)
greatly argues that life has an intrinsic meaning. Meaning is everywhere – in every circumstance
of life, in every given moment. For him, it is something to find. Thus, when someone finds, he
does not find nothing. It needs first to be something in order to be found. Life is not an empty
space which man fills up something. It is already what it is before man exists – and meaning is
already guaranteed.

In conclusion, life is difficult yet it is still a beautiful reality to live because we can draw
meaning from it out of our own will and our pursuit of attaining it. Life does not start with
nothing. There is always meaning in it – meaning which always be found. However, it could
only be found when someone has the will to find it. Now, if one has already found the meaning
of his life, the meaning would help him go on to life because he now finds it purposeful.
Meaning is what leads us to happiness however we do not live in this world to look for
happiness; rather we live in this world to look for a reason to be happy. By our own capacity of
willing, we make our lives a beautiful one. Suffering has its own meaning and beauty – and, I
guess, that is what someone must be holding on to in order to continue living.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://www.philosophybasics.com/movements_existentialism.html#:~:text=It%20began%20in
%20the%20mid,existing%20in%20an%20irrational%20universe.

https://www.philosophybasics.com/movements_existentialism.html#:~:text=It%20began%20in
%20the%20mid,existing%20in%20an%20irrational%20universe.

https://iep.utm.edu/nietzsch/#H4

Harold Langsam, Nietzsche and value creation: subjectivism, self-expression, and strength
(2017)

Klipfel, K. M. (2015), Thinking about Meaning: Socrates and conceptual analysis

Morgan Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled: A new Psychology of Love , Traditional Values
and Spiritual Growth (1978)

Vital, A. (The Meaning of Life According to Different Philosophies)

Stanford Ecyclopedia of Philosophy (2022), Aristotle’s Ethics <

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/>

Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (Boston: Beacon Press, 1946)