Viktor frankl why to believe in others transcript

In these lectures, Frankl defines the ways in which a person I can't imagine not admiring Frankl, both for his work and for his writing. In these lectures, Frankl defines the ways in which a person can find meaning in life regardless of their abilities or situation, often turning to earlier philosophers to support his points. He then uses his experiences in concentration camps to illustrate the value of a sense of meaning, even in the worst suffering; the concentration camp was the crucible in which his theories were tested and proven.

So why not five stars? Because Frankl was working from an early-twentieth century version of psychology that didn't understand many things that we are now discovering. This is not to say we understand psychology very well--we don't! But we've had time to learn more. Also, Frankl doesn't take into account that he was an extraordinary person who already possessed a strong sense of purpose before he underwent such great suffering.

As a neurodivergent person, I often find Frankl's exhortations more depressing than encouraging because my brain simply doesn't function like his did. Nonetheless, his ideas are quite useful as guideposts for changing how we think about purpose and meaning, even if we can't reach the bar Frankl sets. Jun 01, Patty rated it it was amazing Shelves: holocaust , non-fiction , philosophy , psychology.

I felt full after, my heart grown by sizes, with a palpable sense of hope. Its basic message was that if you have something to live for, you can overcome anything; its home truths felt like voids in me filled. Feb 11, Chloe Bray rated it really liked it. Jun 08, Christy rated it it was amazing. I really appreciated the first lecture in this book as I felt it expounded on his thoughts about what life asks of us that was first presented in his book Man's Search for Meaning. The second lecture was interesting and the third I felt was very similar to Man's Search and it felt repetitive since I just reread the other book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the the introduction and found myself taking many notes from it. A few of my favorites are "How we deal with the tough parts of our lives shows who we I really appreciated the first lecture in this book as I felt it expounded on his thoughts about what life asks of us that was first presented in his book Man's Search for Meaning. A few of my favorites are "How we deal with the tough parts of our lives shows who we really are. Aug 20, Anu rated it really liked it.

A collection of three lectures by Viktor Frankl : on suicide, on dealing with terminal illness and the third a memoir from his concentration camp experience. The lecture on suicide was strong - Frankl argues in multiple ways and with many examples that suicide is futile in any situation.

He seems to have generated results with his teachings as well, given the suicide rate at a university he taught his logotherapy course at, came down to zero for a year. The one on terminal illness was harrowing but well reasoned. The last lecture remains the most moving, given it is his personal tale of being in a concentration camp for two years.

Good read for Frankl fans. May 01, Karen rated it really liked it Shelves: book-challenge-for-l-l. So when I found this book I had to read it. It gave me a new perspective and opened my eyes to the meaningfulness of life in places where I would ve never dreamt of looking before. It's a fascinating read, and I would love to keep coming back to read this book anytime I hit a low in my life. I just wished it was a bit more gripping from a pure reading point of view and not from learning.

Mar 28, Amy Plum rated it it was amazing. Brings context to suffering and sets out the argument for life. Viktor Frankl is a shining example of how life needs to be led, how good can be seen in everyone, how darkness can be overcome and light, love and humanity will alway triumph if we allow them and want them to. He has so much wisdom to share, so much knowledge to impart.

He has so much to teach her despite all he suffered and all of the atrocities he witnessed. He tells us to live our best life, to live our lives to the full so that we do not regret one single moment.

It is a beautiful piece of w Viktor Frankl is a shining example of how life needs to be led, how good can be seen in everyone, how darkness can be overcome and light, love and humanity will alway triumph if we allow them and want them to.

It is a beautiful piece of writing, and I have no doubt the will be equally as popular and as well received as his first. View 1 comment. Jun 27, Catie rated it it was amazing. What task in life is waiting for me? Death gives us a compulsion to do so. Therefore, death forms the background against which our act of being becomes a responsibility. But if I only do it for me, what am I then? And if I do not do it now, then when will I do it? Because belief is not just belief in one's 'own' truth, it is more, much more: belief brings into being that which is believed!

To whom, to which higher authority? And I would like to say about this that the suffering of human beings is incommensurable!

However, the average person today is in fact being driven to flee responsibility. What is driving him to this flight is the fear of having to accept collective guilt.

Every single moment contains thousands of possibilities--and I can only choose one of them to actualize it. Mar 17, Matthew Torgersen rated it it was amazing. His survival and resolve throughout and after his concentration camp confinements are incredible. Regarding meaning Envision yourself in triumph and be worthy of your sufferings Every moment matters, every moment is an opportunity to choose, every moment is real life. May 07, Bookalodeon rated it it was amazing.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It breaks down the reasons behind pessimism and looks at things through a lens many may not have looked through before. Yet another incredible read from Frankl! Sep 19, Chip rated it it was amazing. I wouldn't even begin to attempt to compare the two, but it was from a sense of questioning why things are the way they are today that brought me to this book.

I quickly discovered this is not a speedy read. It is dense with meaning, a lot of it implied in the context of his examples, even as the author spells out what he's saying. Also keep in mind that Viktor Frankl was a practicing psychiatrist which confuses me as to why he isn't called "Dr Frankl"?

This book was adapted from the transcript of a series of public "talks" more like a lecture than a seminar that presume a certain level of education among the audience.

It is a challenging read for most of us, but well worth it. As soon as I finished this book I wanted to re-read it, especially the first third, through the lens of what I had just read in the final third.

I didn't really grasp the structure behind what he was trying to say until the last third, and I feel like I missed something early. Did Dr Frankl answer my pandemic-related questions? No, but that isn't his fault, the circumstances of his story are different in many ways from today's. What he brought forward, however, are many ways in which today's circumstances are the same as they were in the hell he survived, and I find that frightening.

Even so, his message is literally "say 'yes' to life, no matter what. I'm left feeling like a lot of people aren't saying "yes to life. My questions centered around how to deal with these people, and how did Dr Frankl deal with them in his time? He helped them say "yes to life. All I can do is motor on with my life and, when given the opportunity, try to get everyone else I can to also "say yes to life.

You get them to see that they want to live, you get them to "say yes to life" and the rest will take care of itself. I'm an optomist, and I have no trouble saying 'yes' to life, but holy cow we've got a lot of work to do. Jan 15, Stefanie rated it it was amazing. What a mistake making 9th graders read that book. Pretty much all of it was lost on me other than how horrific the concentration camps were and that it was an example of the theme "man's inhumanity to man.

After reading Yes to Life, I should probably reread Man's Search for Meaning sometime as I am certain it will actually say something to me other than what was required for a 5-paragraph essay. Yes to Life is a series of three lectures Frankl gave less than a year after his release from the camps. This is the first time they have been translated into English. While we could quibble with some of the ways he discusses mental processes and psychology--we have learned a lot since the s--his premise remains fundamentally true.

It is up to each of us to find the meaning in our lives and it is that meaning that keeps us going, even in the darkest times, even when we are suffering and it seems the suffering might not ever end.

Frankl suggests that people commit suicide because they no longer see their lives have meaning and he is likely right about that as he did a lot of work in suicide prevention in his lifetime. He also says that no one but the individual can say whether a life has meaning.

Therefore, no doctor or anyone for that matter, can say about a mentally handicapped person that their life has no meaning and is worthless. There is a doctor in Oregon I heard a story about on public radio who decided a woman with severe mental handicaps who had a bad case of COVID was not worthy of the extra care she needed to get better. He determined that she was a waste of space, refused her care, and as a result, she died.

It has sold millions of copies worldwide. Now, over twenty years later, the book's ethos -- its emphasis on meaning, the value of suffering, and responsibility to something greater than the self -- seems to be at odds with our culture, which is more interested in the pursuit of individual happiness than in the search for meaning.

One must have a reason to 'be happy. According to Gallup , the happiness levels of Americans are at a four-year high -- as is, it seems, the number of best-selling books with the word "happiness" in their titles. At this writing, Gallup also reports that nearly 60 percent all Americans today feel happy, without a lot of stress or worry. On the other hand, according to the Center for Disease Control , about 4 out of 10 Americans have not discovered a satisfying life purpose.

Forty percent either do not think their lives have a clear sense of purpose or are neutral about whether their lives have purpose. Nearly a quarter of Americans feel neutral or do not have a strong sense of what makes their lives meaningful. Research has shown that having purpose and meaning in life increases overall well-being and life satisfaction, improves mental and physical health, enhances resiliency, enhances self-esteem, and decreases the chances of depression. On top of that, the single-minded pursuit of happiness is ironically leaving people less happy, according to recent research.

This is why some researchers are cautioning against the pursuit of mere happiness. Examining their self-reported attitudes toward meaning, happiness, and many other variables -- like stress levels, spending patterns, and having children -- over a month-long period, the researchers found that a meaningful life and happy life overlap in certain ways, but are ultimately very different.

Leading a happy life, the psychologists found, is associated with being a "taker" while leading a meaningful life corresponds with being a "giver. How do the happy life and the meaningful life differ?

Happiness, they found, is about feeling good. Specifically, the researchers found that people who are happy tend to think that life is easy, they are in good physical health, and they are able to buy the things that they need and want. While not having enough money decreases how happy and meaningful you consider your life to be, it has a much greater impact on happiness.

The happy life is also defined by a lack of stress or worry. Most importantly from a social perspective, the pursuit of happiness is associated with selfish behavior -- being, as mentioned, a "taker" rather than a "giver. If you have a need or a desire -- like hunger -- you satisfy it, and that makes you happy.

People become happy, in other words, when they get what they want. Humans, then, are not the only ones who can feel happy. Animals have needs and drives, too, and when those drives are satisfied, animals also feel happy, the researchers point out. In other words, meaning transcends the self while happiness is all about giving the self what it wants. People who have high meaning in their lives are more likely to help others in need. What sets human beings apart from animals is not the pursuit of happiness, which occurs all across the natural world, but the pursuit of meaning, which is unique to humans, according to Roy Baumeister, the lead researcher of the study and author, with John Tierney, of the recent book Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength.

Baumeister, a social psychologists at Florida State University, was named an ISI highly cited scientific researcher in The study participants reported deriving meaning from giving a part of themselves away to others and making a sacrifice on behalf of the overall group. In the words of Martin E. Seligman, one of the leading psychological scientists alive today, in the meaningful life "you use your highest strengths and talents to belong to and serve something you believe is larger than the self.

One day, meeting his chief on the street, as he extended his hand in greeting, he noticed that he was perspiring more than usual. The next time he was in a similar situation he expected to perspire again, and this anticipatory anxiety precipitated excessive sweating. It was a vicious circle … We advised our patient, in the event that his anticipatory anxiety should recur, to resolve deliberately to show the people whom he confronted at the time just how much he could really sweat.

After suffering from his phobia for four years, he was quickly able, after only one session, to free himself of it for good.

Frankl, Another technique is that of dereflection, whereby the therapist diverts the patients away from their problems towards something else meaningful in the world.

Perhaps the most commonly known use of this is for sexual dysfunction, since the more one thinks about potency during the sexual act, the less likely one is able to achieve it. She considers herself as being confused and asks for help. Leave this to us doctors. We will steer and pilot you through the crisis. What counts is not what lurks in the depths, but what waits in the future, waits to be actualized by you…. Whatever the pathological process underlying your psychological affliction may be, we will cure you.

Ignore them until we make you get rid of them. Imagine, there are about a dozen great things, works which wait to be created by Anna, and there is no one who could achieve and accomplish it but Anna. No one could replace her in this assignment. Patient: Doctor, I believe in what you say. It is a message which makes me happy. A major source of meaning is through the value of all that we create, achieve and accomplish.

Frankl argued that we always have the freedom to find meaning through meaningful attitudes even in apparently meaningless situations. For example, an elderly, depressed patient who could not overcome the loss of his wife was helped by the following conversation with Frankl:. Frankl, Victor Meaning Only when the emotions work in terms of values can the individual feel pure joy Frankl , p.

Individuality Frankl is careful to state that he does not have a one-size-fits all answer to the meaning of life.