Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Logotherapy

I was reading an article on Quora and I saw that the author listed his occupation as "Evolutionary Logotherapist." My curiosity was piqued. What is an evolutionary logotherapist?

Logotherapy was invented by Victor Frankl. Frankl was an Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, philosopher, author, and Holocaust survivor who spent years in Nazi concentration camps.

From Wikipedia:

In 1942, just nine months after his marriage, Frankl and his family were sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp. His father died there of starvation and pneumonia. In 1944, Frankl and the surviving members of his family were transported to Auschwitz, where his mother and brother were murdered in the gas chambers. His wife died later of typhus in Bergen-Belsen. Frankl spent three years in four concentration camps.

Frankl wrote about his experiences in the camps in his autobiographical book Man's Search for Meaning, a book I read many years ago. He invented logotherapy, which is based on the premise that the primary motivational force of an individual is to find a meaning in life. 

From Wikipedia (edited):

While head of the Neurological Department at the general Polyclinic Hospital, Frankl wrote Man’s Search for Meaning over a nine-day period. The book was released in German in 1946. The English translation of Man's Search for Meaning was published in 1959, and became an international bestseller.  Millions of copies were sold in dozens of languages. In a 1991 survey conducted for the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club, Man's Search for Meaning was named one of the ten most influential books in the US.
I don't want to read that book again. I know how inhuman we humans can be. Every day, the news coming out of Ukraine reminds me of the evil that men do. 

If you've never read Man's Search for Meaning, you might enjoy it or, at least, find some enlightenment from reading it. For that matter, you might find meaning in some of the quotes, essays, and books of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. The two men don't see the world in the same light, yet they are both right, in their own ways, about the human race.

Don't ask me about "evolutionary logotherapy." It's only someone's idea of a joke.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Greetings

Your interest in the worlds goings on is Brilliant
But not unsurpassed by your desire to share your stirrings with others.

You would have made an incredible educator in any dimension, but I’m pleased I’ve been invited into the audience.

Best,

LL

Anonymous said...

Good morning!

Amazing post. I am not surprised about you being curious in your life, this has given you the opportunity to investigate the things that happen in this world and share them with us.

I am very happy that I found your link long time ago and started enjoying your blogs.

Thank you!

TA