The Essential Need to Find Meaning
The central thesis forwarded in the book is not that discovering meaning in life is important in a vague, philosophically relevant sort of way, but rather is essential to one’s psychological sense of well-being. The book pursues the theory that the root cause of emotional stress and mental anxiety is the inability to find meaning in one’s life. Without purpose and goal and simple faith that existence is endowed with a fundamental significance, the consequences are concrete and literally experienced.
Meaning Is Key to Survival
The examination of conditions of survival under the most extreme circumstances—life in a Nazi concentration camp—map out a thematic exploration of how the ability to find meaning even under the greatest duress and test of that very possibility becomes one of the defining characteristics separating those who endure and those who succumb. All prisoners in such dehumanizing conditions were subject to the same high level of abominable treatment, but neither did every prisoner survive nor die. Disregarding specific physiological tolerances and the randomness of pure evil being perpetrated upon specific individuals, the author—himself a concentration camp survivor—relates a first-hand, eyewitness testimony to the undeniable fact that those who were able to still retain some semblance of logic and meaning in the misery their lives had become were generally, as a collective group, more likely to stay alive and taste freedom again than those who had completely given up hope and given into nihilist rejection of existence being meaningful.
Logotherapy: How to Fill the Existential Vacuum
Part II of the book is dedicated to propagating the author’s theoretical application of psychological treatment for a condition he terms the “widespread phenomenon of the twentieth century.” The “existential vacuum” is the modern-day absence of awareness and belief in a meaning of life that, according to the author, statistical surveys at the time indicated affected between twenty-five and sixty percent of students. Manifesting itself as profound boredom, this existential dread penetrates much more deeply and ultimately becomes demonstrated in disorders like depression and behavior like addiction and extreme aggression. The author’s counter to this is logotherapy, which seeks essentially to fill discover meaning in a life that is capable of filling that vacuum.
The role of suffering
Frankl argues that suffering is an inevitable part of life, but that it can also be a source of growth and transformation. He says that the most meaningful experiences in life often involve some degree of suffering or sacrifice. He is of the point that suffering can give life meaning by challenging humans to overcome it and find purpose in the face of adversity. He writes,
"What is to give light must endure burning."
In other words, the struggle to find meaning in the midst of suffering can ultimately lead to a greater sense of purpose and fulfillment. Overall Frankl suggests that suffering can be a transformative experience that can ultimately lead to greater meaning and purpose in life. While it is never easy to endure, it can also be an opportunity for growth, development, and positive change.
