Viktor Emil Frankl (1905–1997) was A Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist and philosopherknown as the founder Meaning therapyIt is a form of existential analysis that focuses on… The search for meaning as a basic driver of human life.
His experience as a prisoner in several Nazi concentration camps, including AuschwitzHis thinking was deeply shaped and expressed in his most influential work, Man’s Search for Meaning.
In contrast to Freud’s psychoanalysis, which emphasizes pleasure, and Adler’s individual psychology, which emphasizes force, Frankl argued that The main motivation of human beings is to find a meaningful purpose in life.
The “will to meaning,” for Frankl, is a search that goes beyond happy moments because it becomes more acute when life becomes unbearable. “Meaning is something we must discover throughout our lives, by choice How to respond to the circumstances we face“, he said in a video posted on the @donfilosofo TikTok account.
Frankl developed his philosophy between Death, hunger and humiliation in concentration camps. There notice how Those who were able to understand their suffering survived with greater integrity From those who saw it as something ridiculous.
It should be noted that according to this perspective, the meaning of life is not always in great achievements, but also in… Simple actionssuch as caring for others, accepting suffering courageously, or performing I work with passion. Therefore his thought is an invitation to Self-transcendenceTo look beyond ego and immediate pain.
From his experience, he extracted three basic ways to find meaning in life: the first, through job and Creation. It doesn’t matter if it’s drawing, writing, teaching or building. The important thing is to commit to something beyond yourself.
The second way is love and Human relations. Love, in this sense, is not just an emotion, but a profound act of recognition. Frankl emphasized that “love allows us to see the potential of others and ourselves.”
The third basic method is suffering As a means of growth. Although he did not romanticize pain, he did advocate that if it cannot be avoided, there is always the freedom to choose how to confront it. “Suffering can be a an opportunity To achieve a higher level of personal growth.
For Frankl, meaning is neither universal nor fixed. It changes over time, depending on conditionsbut it’s always there, waiting to be found. His message resonates powerfully in a world saturated with noise, rush, and external demands: “Even if life is full of difficulties, there is always something greater to live for.”.
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