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Anyone interested in the psychology of survivors will likely find "Man's search for meaning" by Viktor Frankl - a psychiatrist and survivor himself an enlihgten

by fsloth 8y ago

Anyone interested in the psychology of survivors will likely find "Man's search for meaning" by Viktor Frankl - a psychiatrist and survivor himself an enlihgtening read. What makes man go on, and when will he/she just give up?

yesenadam 8y ago
Naturally I also thought of this powerful book, that I read almost 30 years ago. He found that the people that survived the camps were those that had something to live for, whose lives retained some meaning, some value, and that that was more significant than any other factor. ...And I just read his (pretty disturbing) wikipedia page. I hadn't heard any of the 'Controversy' stuff before, of which there is a lot, too much to summarize here. No wonder he's not better-known these days. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl
- fsloth 8y ago
  Thanks. It seems part of that critique rose out of infighting in the jewish community - Frankl did not want to seek persecution and hence was labeled a traitor to the cause? It sounds like he was treated like a willfull collaborator. Without more information I can actually relate to both sides of the argument. A person has a only one life. I can totally understand if one wants to just forget and move on. Regarding logotherapy - lots of people have survived great loss by chasing a higher goal. For example Enrico Fermi dove into physics at a young age after he had lost his beloved brother. Logotherapy is not philosophy, it's a treatment. It's intellectually dishonest to compare it to a political ideology. As diagnozed with severe depression recently I can't really fault the idea of trying to find meaning in those pieces of your life that you have left. The medical experimentation part sound nasty, though. I have no idea what to make of that. I suppose none of the above changes my view on the subject. The book is a self help book and like all in it's genre should be read with a pinch of salt and not like some deep philosophical guide to life. It's one medicine to deal with personal loss and tragedy. People are really different in terms of what works for them. The story in the book is still moving one. The fact that Mr. Frankl uses it to also advertize his professional services is fairly obvious, though.
rv-de 8y ago
the book is particularly interesting for the descriptions of the cruel social dynamics among the camp prisoners. that is an aspect a not Jewish German could never write about without facing serious allegations.
thatoneuser 8y ago
That's exactly what my mind turned to when thinking about this paradox. Perhaps a determined will can lead to longer life?
unmole 8y ago
Man's Search for Meaning is survivorship bias taken to the absolute extreme. It's meant to serve as advertising for Frankl's Logotherapy ideas which I believe are actively harmful. Do take a look at the links posted in other comments.

by fsloth 8y ago

yesenadam 8y ago

Naturally I also thought of this powerful book, that I read almost 30 years ago. He found that the people that survived the camps were those that had something to live for, whose lives retained some meaning, some value, and that that was more significant than any other factor. ...And I just read his (pretty disturbing) wikipedia page. I hadn't heard any of the 'Controversy' stuff before, of which there is a lot, too much to summarize here. No wonder he's not better-known these days. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl

fsloth 8y ago
Thanks. It seems part of that critique rose out of infighting in the jewish community - Frankl did not want to seek persecution and hence was labeled a traitor to the cause? It sounds like he was treated like a willfull collaborator. Without more information I can actually relate to both sides of the argument. A person has a only one life. I can totally understand if one wants to just forget and move on. Regarding logotherapy - lots of people have survived great loss by chasing a higher goal. For example Enrico Fermi dove into physics at a young age after he had lost his beloved brother. Logotherapy is not philosophy, it's a treatment. It's intellectually dishonest to compare it to a political ideology. As diagnozed with severe depression recently I can't really fault the idea of trying to find meaning in those pieces of your life that you have left. The medical experimentation part sound nasty, though. I have no idea what to make of that. I suppose none of the above changes my view on the subject. The book is a self help book and like all in it's genre should be read with a pinch of salt and not like some deep philosophical guide to life. It's one medicine to deal with personal loss and tragedy. People are really different in terms of what works for them. The story in the book is still moving one. The fact that Mr. Frankl uses it to also advertize his professional services is fairly obvious, though.

rv-de 8y ago

the book is particularly interesting for the descriptions of the cruel social dynamics among the camp prisoners. that is an aspect a not Jewish German could never write about without facing serious allegations.

thatoneuser 8y ago

That's exactly what my mind turned to when thinking about this paradox. Perhaps a determined will can lead to longer life?

unmole 8y ago

Man's Search for Meaning is survivorship bias taken to the absolute extreme. It's meant to serve as advertising for Frankl's Logotherapy ideas which I believe are actively harmful. Do take a look at the links posted in other comments.