Start With Viktor Frankl

Any meaning-related reading list does well to begin with Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl’s 1946 classic tale of turning concentration camp survival into a deeper understanding of how meaning is essential for humans to survive and thrive.

Dr. Frankl was a psychiatrist and neurologist who survived four concentration camps including Auschwitz, and tells a compelling story of how his deep personal connection with meaning and purpose became a critical factor that enabled him to survive horrific circumstances against long odds.

After World War II he used the psychological understanding he gained during his internment to develop the third Viennese school of psychoanalysis, which he called Logotherapy, or meaning-based therapy. Logotherapy is based on the concept that humankind’s drive toward meaning is the central human motivating force. Dr. Sigmund Freud’s first Viennese school of psychoanalysis posits that the central human drive is toward pleasure and away from pain. Dr. Alfred Adler’s second Viennese school posits that our central drive is toward greater power. Frankl makes a compelling case that our drive toward meaning is prominent.

So how can we build more meaning into our lives? Frankl posits that there are four ways. First, we can find meaning in our relationships. Second, in achievements and accomplishments. Third, in experiences. And fourth, by enduring unavoidable suffering in a dignified manner.