Man's Search for Meaning (1946) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Characters/People edit see section history

• Victor Frankl: The main character in the book as well as the author. He is a survivor of the Holocaust and a psychologist.
• James C. Crumbaugh: Add a description of this character.
• Freud: A psychologist from whose ideas Frankl has derived his own.
• Meier
• Viktor E. Frankl: Psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor; created "logotherapy"

Quotes edit see section history

• “for the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour”

• “He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How”

• “Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now”

• “Man has both potentialities within himself; which one is actualized depends on decisions but not on conditions”

• “therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated”

• “This tale is not concerned with the great horrors, which have already been described often enough, but with a multitude of small torments. Jamieon Davis.”

• “for the war gave us the war of nerves and it gave us the concentration camp.Jamieon Davis.”

• “Suffering in and of itself is meaningless; we give our suffering meaning by the way in which we respond to it.”

• “Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation. You cannot control what happens to you in life, but you can always control what you will feel and do about what happens to you”

• “The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity -- even under the most difficult circumstances -- to add a deeper meaning to his life.”

• “Life is like being at the dentist. You always think that the worst is still to come, and yet it is over already.”

• “It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.”

• “I called to the Lord from my narrow prison and he answered me in the freedom of space.”

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• everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.

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• Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.

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• Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation. You cannot control what happens to you in life, but you can always control what you will feel and do about what happens to you.

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• Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it.

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• 'Don't aim at success-the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself.

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• 'Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now!'

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• Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved. It finds its deepest meaning in his spiritual being, his inner self. Whether or not he is actually present, whether or not he is still alive at all, ceases somehow to be of importance.

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• Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure, as Freud believed, or a quest for power, as Alfred Adler taught, but a quest for meaning. The greatest task for any person is to find meaning in his or her life. Frankl saw three possible sources for meaning: in work (doing something significant), in love (caring for another person), and in courage during difficult times. Suffering in and of itself is meaningless; we give our suffering meaning by the way in which we respond to it.

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• When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer, he will have to accept his suffering as his task; his single and unique task. He will have to acknowledge the fact that even in suffering he is unique and alone in the universe. No one can relieve him of his suffering or suffer in his place. His unique opportunity lies in the way in which he bears his burden.

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• Frankl approvingly quotes the words of Nietzsche: 'He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How.'

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Organizations edit see section history

• The Nazi's: Add a description of this organization.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Leadership Passages: The Personal and Professional Transitions That Make or Break a Leader, and followed by True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership (J-B Warren Bennis Series).

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Viktor Emil Frankl (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 150.195

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Add a note to help parents select a book for a child.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Religion & Spirituality › Authors, A-Z › ( F ) › Frankl, Viktor E.
• Books › Health, Mind & Body › Psychology & Counseling › Counseling
• Books › Health, Mind & Body › Psychology & Counseling › Social Psychology & Interactions
• Books › Biographies & Memoirs › Historical › Holocaust
• Books › Biographies & Memoirs › Ethnic & National › Jewish
• Books › Religion & Spirituality › New Age
• Books › Biographies & Memoirs › Memoirs