Dr. Viktor E. Frankl

 Dr. Viktor E. Frankl

 

“He who has a why to live for, can bear almost any how.” – Viktor E. Frankl

One of the mentally strongest men of history. This individual was wronged multiple times by a society that felt the need to embrace national socialism and fascism and yet continued to survive and thrive. Amid all the odds of life, Dr. Frankl was able to muster the strength to resist any or all of the insults, injuries, hatred, and group think that was set against him. His story should be a great example of the perils of following the group for the sake of following the group and the importance of individual will to liberty, self-determination, and a firm belief in GOD.

 

“Decisions, not conditions, determine what a man is.” – Viktor E. Frankl

 

Viktor E. Frankl was taken by the German Nazi soldiers who embraced nationalist socialism. They worked together to ascribe all their ills on a common enemy. This illogical hatred was used as fuel to continue the assault on individuals that did not share the Nazi beliefs or their appearance or bloodline. Yet, no one rose up and spoke out against the onslaught of precious human life. There was rarely any dissidents because they would feel the fury of the evil empire. So great was the fear of people of Germany that even prominent English politicians feared from afar. They would have rather capitulated to the growing strength of the hateful yoke than speak against it. Only a sane English individual by the name of Winston Spencer Churchill believed on the need to defend life from death and to show strength where weakness abounded.

 

“Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by the lack of meaning and purpose.” Viktor E. Frankl

 

Through the organization of oratory and lies, did the empire gain strength. Attacking and destroying human life that they deemed different from themselves. Jewish individuals were taken into captivity and destroyed in a show of force that can only be described as unrestricted hatred and a dedication to the eradication of human life. While these changes occurred, few individuals dared to challenge the authority that was demonstrating unrestrained destruction. Qeue Viktor E. Frankl. The individual who demonstrated in his recollections, “Man’s Search For Meaning,” just how vicious and cruel ideologies can be. While suffering from the unfair captivity of Nazis, Viktor E. Frankl was able to take all the abuse, all the suffering that he was witnessing, and demonstrate a stoic nature so few could muster under those circumstances. Rather than lose his will to live as many did in the concentration camps, Frankl must have thought, “He that has a why can bear any how.” He continued regardless of the circumstances and regardless of everything that he had endured.

 

“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 own life.” Viktor E. Frankl

 

Although he was publically ridiculed and beaten, he continued showing that he was in control of his own destiny. Even in the worst circumstances he demonstrated that no one was to take the sovereignty that he was endowed with. He alone defied the order that he was living in from within. Even after being accused and whose life was changed drastically, he continued on as if nothing changed. He placed himself in a mentality where he was able to withstand any insult, any hurt, any problem, because he was more than the circumstances. He was more than his enemies. He was much more than all of these combined. His book gives so much hope to humanity as a whole. Yet, his living example of strength and high courage shows us what it means to have peace of mind and character even in the midst of a world that wants to embrace cruelty and hatred.

Viktor E. Frankl's Book, Man's Search For Meaning, Describes the Importance of Positivity, Gratitude, Meaning, and Purpose

After Viktor E. Frankl had gone through the difficulties of racism due to nazi socialism, his book, Man's Search For Meaning, describes the importance of finding meaning and persevering having a purpose. Frankl's book describes the importance of having meaning and purpose in this life so that there is no meaninglessness and purposelessness. Even after going through hate and envy, Viktor E. Frankl was able to practice psychiatry and instruct on the importance of keeping a positive outlook in life. Viktor E. Frankl kept learning and did not let the envy and hate of socialist nazism lead him to hate. Viktor E. Frankl kept learning throughout his life being able to keep practicing Psychiatry and was able to receive a Doctorate in Philosophy. We learn that he wrote many books on Logotherapy and that Positive Psychology is derived from Viktor E. Frankl's writings. In 1983, he was able to go to West Germany to give a symposium about Positive Psychology and the need to have meaning and purpose in one's own life. 

Viktor E. Frankl describes in his book the manner that nihilism attempts to lead individuals to a state of emptiness were there is no meaning and purpose. This abscence of meaning and purpose leads to negative emotions, neuroticism, and difficulties. We learn that the Sacred Scriptures remind us of the importance of having meaning and purpose in the worship of GOD Almighty. This prevents us from having negative emotions describing frustrations, fear, bitterness, resentment, anger, and envy. Positive Psychology describes the need to keep being positive and having gratitude that acknowledges the importance of meaning and purpose. Viktor E. Frankl described that individuals can have meaning and purpose by being creative in their own work, having filial love, and acknowledging that even obstacles and circumstances can be used to find meaning and purpose. This describes the manner that we can not allow negative emotions, false philosophies, and the practice of sin lead to meaninglessness and faithlessness. We are able to find happiness and goodness when we decide to persevere with righteousness in the worship of GOD Almighty. Viktor E. Frankl is able to help us understand the manner that we can keep faith and courage because there is meaning and purpose.

Acknowledging the Importance of Meaning and Purpose Prevents the Existential Vacuum

"To life he can only respond by being responsible. Thus logotherapy sees in responsibility the very essence of human existence."- Man's Search for Meaning (page 131)

Viktor E. Frankl describes that one of the biggest dangers of his times was the threat of nihilism. This specific philosophy that states that life has no meaning. We know that this false philosophy leads to lack of meaning, lack of purpose, and lack of faith. We learn that nihilism can lead to the existential vacuum where individuals do not have meaning and purpose that leads to negative emotions, depression, aggression, and addiction. Viktor E. Frankl describes that logotherapy helps individuals be able to remove the negative emotions because logotherapy has the intention of helping individuals understand the importance of having meaning and purpose. We learn that life has meaning and purpose when there is creativity meaning being able to create or work, have filial love, and persevere amidst obstacles and circumstances. This requires individuals to have responsibility. We learn that nihilism wants to lead to irresponsibility, slothfulness, intemperance, envy, anger, and hate among other vices.

Viktor E. Frankl describes that individuals who have meaning and purpose are able to persevere even amidst opposition and difficult times. We learn that Viktor E. Frankl was able to persevere even when placed in four different concentration camps because he was able to keep a positive demeanor, placed a responsibility on himself to publish his first book's manuscript even when the book was confiscated, and have the responsibility to take care of his patients in the concentration camp. In one specific circumstance, Viktor E. Frankl was given the option to flee the concentration camp and leave his patients behind. Viktor E. Frankl decided to keep responsibility and stayed with his patients. This decision to be responsible also allowed him to persevere. Viktor E. Frankl described that after the removal from captivity, he had statistically calculated the probability of survival in a concentration camp. The odds were not very inspiring. Yet, Viktor E. Frankl persevered knowing that he had responsibility to keep going despite set-backs, opposition, and envy. We learn that Viktor E. Frankl kept being positive and described the importance of having gratitude, faith, a sense of humor, and perseverance amidst not so good times. This is because individuals have meaning and purpose that allows them to know that they can persevere. 

The Worship of GOD Almighty Allows For Improvement, Meaning, Purpose, and Development of Virtues

"The more one forgets himself-by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love- the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself. What is called self-actualization is not an attainable aim at all, for the simple reason that the more one would strive for it, the more he would miss it. In other words, self-actualization is possible only as a side-effect of self-transcendence."- Man's Search for Meaning (page 133)

We know that the worship of GOD Almighty helps us persevere regardless of times, obstacles, or circumstances. We learn that worshiping GOD Almighty and obedience to the commandments allows us to acknowledge that there is a Creator that is greater than ourselves. We learn that when we accept and confess King Jesus Christ Eternal LORD and Savior we have filial love that prevents us from having negative emotions. We know that we begin to improve in virtues because faith prevents us from believing the temporary lies of sin. We learn that in the existential vacuum, individuals that believe in nihilism are led to boredom seeing that having no meaning and no purpose leads to boredom. The boredom then causes individuals to have a negative triad describing depression, aggression, and addiction. We learn that nihilism attempts to lead to falsely believe that pleasure or power helps. We learn that instead of helping, the illusion of power and attempting to use lust to derive pleasure leads to even greater difficulties. Viktor E. Frankl described that finding meaning in one's life is far more important and actually allows individuals to persevere amidst pleasant times or not so pleasant times. Having meaning and purpose allows individuals to have satisfaction, true joy, and develop resiliency.

"A statistical survey recently revealed that among my European students, 25 percent showed a more-or-less degree of marked existential vacuum. Among my American students it was not 25 percent but 60 percent. The existential vacuum manifests itself as a state of boredom."- Man's Search for Meaning (page 129)

Logotherapy Allows Individuals to Find Meaning and Purpose

"Having shown the beneficial impact of meaning orientation, I turn to the detrimental influence of that feeling of which so many patients complain today, namely of the feeling of the total and ultimate meaningless of their lives. They lack the awareness of a meaning worth living for."- Man's Search for Meaning (page 128)

We learn from Viktor E. Frankl that logotherapy is the name given to the therapy that occurs that allows individuals to find meaning and purpose in their lives. We learn that logotherapy helps because logotherapy goes to the heart of the problem when individuals have an existential vacuum. We learn that logotherapy sees the manner that individuals find meaning and purpose in their lives so that there is no existential vacuum, negative emotions, nor boredom. We learn that having meaning and purpose prevents individuals from having ingratitude, anger, envy, the existential vacuum, depression, aggression, and addiction. 

We learn that logotherapy can help individuals not have negative emotions and instead there is gratitude and improvement. Dr. Viktor E. Frankl states that he had seen the manner that individuals are able to significantly improve when they acknowledge and understand that there is meaning and purpose in their lives. We are able to know that we can not allow false lies of sin to lead to nihilism that attempts to question the importance of meaning and purpose. We learn that we do not question having meaning and purpose and instead we question nihilism and false philosophies of sin that do not help, do not improve individuals, and lead them to an existential vacuum. 

The Importance of Sovereignty

"Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant."

Viktor E. Frankl described the importance of acknowledging that we have sovereignty describing the manner that individuals have a choice to improve themselves and rise above their conditioning. This describes that we are able to repent of sin and choose to accept and confess King Jesus Christ Eternal LORD and Savior. We are able to remove sin from our lives and choose to worship GOD Almighty above everything. We know that evil wants to make individuals believe that they have no sovereignty with the intention to lead to the practice of sin and vices. We know that each individual is given autonomy and the freedom to decide if they want to worship GOD Almighty above everything or not. This describes that we can not believe the temporary lies of evil that say that individuals do not have sovereignty and autonomy. We know that Viktor E. Frankl was able to persevere amidst persecution having the autonomy to decide to acknowledge the importance of meaning and purpose and persevere with courage. 

"Man is capable of changing the world for the better if possible, and of changing himself for the better if necessary."

We learn that Viktor E. Frankl chose to have valor and courage to persevere writing his books for the betterment of individuals. This is so that we choose to practice goodness and righteousness instead of wickedness and sin. We learn that Viktor E. Frankl was able to give logotherapy and provide the basis of Positive Psychology that helps us understand that we can improve each day instead of believing the temporary lies of evil that want individuals to think that they have no choice, autonomy, or freedom. We know that individuals are able to turn difficulties and obstacles into learning opportunities that help us improve and get better each day instead of having resentments, anger, and hate. We can choose to improve in the worship of GOD Almighty and keep persevering knowing that we grow in autonomy and sovereignty that prevents us from believing the temporary lies of evil that does not want individuals to improve themselves and help others. We know that evil prefers that individuals quarrel, hate, and envy so that they do not acknowledge the importance of serenity, sovereignty, and wisdom in the worship of GOD Almighty.