Book
Frankl VE. Man’s Search for Meaning. Boston: Beacon Press; 1959. (Original German edition: …trotzdem Ja zum Leben sagen, 1946)
Why we cite it
Holocaust memoir and introduction to logotherapy. Part One recounts Frankl’s experiences in concentration camps, illustrating how prisoners who maintained a sense of meaning and purpose showed greater resilience. Part Two outlines logotherapy’s theoretical framework. Relevant to the project through its argument that humans retain the freedom to choose their attitude even when external circumstances cannot be changed. Referenced in companion 314 for agency within constraints.
About the author
Viktor E. Frankl (MD, University of Vienna 1930; PhD in Philosophy, University of Vienna 1948) was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist. Head of the Neurology Department at the Vienna Polyclinic Hospital for 25 years (1946–1971). Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of Vienna. Founded logotherapy — the “Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy” after Freud (will to pleasure) and Adler (will to power) — centered on the “will to meaning.” Survived four concentration camps (Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, Kaufering III, Kaufering VI/Türkheim) from September 1942 to April 1945. His first wife Tilly died at Bergen-Belsen. Authored 39 books in 48+ languages. Man’s Search for Meaning has sold over 16 million copies and was named one of the ten most influential books in America (1991 Library of Congress survey).
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