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Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy: The Search For Purpose and Meaning

Article (PDF Available) · June 2012 with 18,551 Reads 
Cite this publication

Daniel J Devoe
27.95 · The University of Calgary

Abstract

Equivalent parts biographical and theoretical, this paper provides a discussion of the main historical events and contributions of Viktor Frankl. Frankl's
intellectual development began with a brief immersion in Freud and Alder’s teachings in the early 1920s. He began to formalize the tenets of his theory
and therapy, logotherapy, while assisting unemployed Viennese in the Great Depression. Logotherapy maintains that a human’s principal motivation is
not to search for power or gratification, but to discover the purpose of existence. Various existential ideas are discussed including the notions of a
noölogical dimension and existential frustration. The paper concludes that logotherapy has many applications in the modern medical, psychological,
and business sectors.

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Devoe, D. (2012). "Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy: The Search For Purpose and Meaning." Inquiries
Journal/Student Pulse, 4(07). Retrieved from http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/a?id=660

Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy: The Search For

Purpose and Meaning
By Daniel Devoe
2012, Vol. 4 No. 07
!

Abstract

Equivalent parts biographical and theoretical, this paper provides a discussion of the main historical
events and contributions of Viktor Frankl. Frankl's intellectual development began with a brief
immersion in Freud and Alder’s teachings in the early 1920s. He began to formalize the tenets of his
theory and therapy, logotherapy, while assisting unemployed Viennese in the Great Depression.
Logotherapy maintains that a human’s principal motivation is not to search for power or gratification,
but to discover the purpose of existence. Various existential ideas are discussed including the notions
of a noölogical dimension and existential frustration. The paper concludes that logotherapy has many
applications in the modern medical, psychological, and business sectors.

The search for purpose and meaning in life has become a megatrend of
the 21st Century. One practitioner attributes this trend to a shift in
consciousness, which has permitted humanity to focus on what they
believe really matters in their daily lives (Pattakos, 2009). Dr. Viktor
Emil Frankl (1905-1997), a Viennese psychiatrist and neurologist, is
characterized as the pioneer who promoted the idea that the primary
motivational force in life is to find meaning (Zaiser, 2005). Frankl is
most famous for his best-selling novel Man’s Search for Meaning,
which has sold over 11 million copies in 20 different languages
(Boeree, 2006). The original title of Frankl’s book in German is
Trotzdem Ja Zum Leben Sagen which actually translates in English to
mean “Saying yes to life in spite of everything.” His book outlines his
horrific experiences in the concentration camps and provides a basic introduction to his therapeutic
practice of logotherapy. Frankl was subjected to four different Nazi camps and was dehumanized to a
mere number: 119,104 (Benvenga, 1998). Moreover, Nazis murdered his wife, mother, father, and
unborn child, yet Frankl was able to find a purpose for living in all his sufferings (Frankl, 1959).

Frankl insists that humanities primary concern is not to search for enjoyment, or supremacy, but to
discover the meaning of existence (Ponsaran, 2007). Frankl denies that humans can be reduced to the
Freudian life and death drives but rather promotes the idea that humans have the “freedom of

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response,” even if the situation is calamitous (Cowen, 2005). Philosophers and spiritual leaders
postulate that Frankl’s logotherapy will gain wider acceptance in therapeutic practice because people
are asking more existential questions, for example “what is the meaning of life?” (Pattakos, 2009).
Literally, logotherapy means therapy through meaning, however logotherapy is more than helping
clients find meaning in life (Hoffman, 1995). For example, logotherapy as a psychotherapeutic
technique helps patients with insomnia, impotence, and anxiety (Zaiser, 2005). Undoubtedly, Frankl’s
early life experiences and unimaginable suffering are clearly emulated in his formulation of
logotherapy.

Timeline of Viktor Frankl

Early Years (1905-1937)

Viktor Emil Frankl was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1905 (Frankl, 1997). In his early years Frankl was
heavily exposed to his ancestral religion Judaism. In fact Frankl learned the Torah so well that
members of the local synagogue tried to recruit him to be a cantor, one who chants the liturgical
portion of a service. However, during his adolescent years Frankl had decided to pursue a career as a
medical professional (Hoffman, 1995). For Frankl, this career aspiration was accompanied by the
rejection of Judaism as he claimed that during puberty he passed through an atheistic phase (Cowen,
2005). In the years to follow, Frankl attended the same Viennese secondary school as had Sigmund
Freud years earlier. This was where Frankl became intrigued by the psychological principles of
Freudian psychoanalysis and began corresponding with Freud (Hoffman, 1995). However, Frankl’s
fascinations soon faded and he departed from Freudianism claiming Freud’s thinking was too
dogmatic and reductionistic to explain the whole of human behaviour (Cowen, 2005). Frankl
particularly disagreed with Freud’s idea that sexual impulses could explain the majority of human
behaviour (Hoffman, 1995).

Thus, Frankl became increasingly interested in Alfred Adler’s individual psychology, which focused
more on environmental and societal factors to explain behaviour (Frankl, 1997). In the late 1920’s
Frankl became a devoted Adlerian publishing and lecturing on the principles of individual psychology
for several years (Hoffman, 1995). In 1925 Frankl published an article in Adler's journal, which
discarded the Freudian perspective that the unconscious was the source of neurosis and promoted
Adler’s interpretation of neurosis as a form of compensation. Ironically, Frankl abandoned Adler’s
inner circle in 1927 claiming that individual psychology endorsed the same sort of psychological
reductionism that Freudianism promoted (Pytell, 2003). It became evident that fragments of Frankl’s
faith were reinstated with his departure from Freud and Adler. He began utilizing theological
terminology such as geist meaning human spirit in German to explain psychological phenomena.
Furthermore, Frankl began to regard the human spirit as the highest faculty of the human being and
more importantly the pursuit of meaning (Cowen, 2005).

Frankl graduated from the University of Vienna’s medical school in 1930 specializing in neurology
and psychiatry (Hoffman, 1995). He was soon promoted to the head of the suicide pavilion at the
General Hospital in Vienna. There he treated over 3,000 women prone to suicide and depression. In
addition, Frankl developed a low-cost counseling private practice for people when the Great
Depression shook Austria’s economic foundations (Frankl, 1997). In his private practice he noticed

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numerous people pursuing therapeutic treatment because of the loss of work. More importantly Frankl
noted that people seemed to be suffering not from loss of employment but from a loss of meaning in
their lives. Frankl prescribed the peculiar treatment of volunteer work to reinstate purpose into
patients’ lives. This treatment proved to be highly efficacious as most of his patients claimed that their
depression had disappeared (Hoffman, 1995).

Annexation of Austria and Concentration Imprisonment (1938-1945)

However, during the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938 Frankl was forced to give up
his private practice. He was relocated to the Rothschild Hospital were his title of doctor was
invalidated and he was given the designation “Jewish specialist,” meaning he could only treat Jewish
patients (Pytell, 2003). Frankl watched in horror as the Nazis enforced the extermination of his Jewish
patients, whom were suffering from brain injury and psychological illness, through the Nazi
euthanasia program (Hoffman, 1995). In desperation he began to falsify medical documents in order
to save mentally ill patients from euthanasia (Boeree, 2006). Thus, the climate in Vienna had become
increasing hostile towards Jews so Frankl sought emigration papers from the United States. Upon
approval he denied his visa, as he had discovered that his elderly parents were to be left behind
(Pytell, 2003). In 1941 Frankl married his first wife, Tilly Grosser who later that year was forced to
have an abortion by the Gestapo to prevent Jewish overpopulation (Viktor Frankl Institute, 2010). In
1942 Frankl, his wife and parents were relocated to the Theresienstadt Ghetto were his father was laid
to rest due to starvation and exhaustion (Pytell, 2003). Frankl’s wife and mother were then murdered
in the gas chambers at Auschwitz (Viktor Frankl Institute, 2010).

Over the next three years, Frankl was subjected to the horrible conditions of the concentration camps.
During his imprisonment in the concentration camps Frankl dug ditches, set up a suicide prevention
program, and volunteered at the typhus ward (Frankl, 1959). To avoid losing hope and to instill
meaning in his life, Frankl would often begin reconstructing his book manuscripts on slips of paper
stolen from the camp office and sneak outside to give pretend lectures on the psychological conditions
of people subjected to the camps (Boeree, 2006). It has been noted that in Frankl’s camp writings it
was evident he had already put the horrific experiences of the camp behind him because he wrote it in
the third person and in past tense. Later in his career he described his camp writings as his spiritual
child, which aided him in avoiding delirium (Pytell, 2003).

Post Concentration Camp (1945-1997)

Shortly after being liberated from the camps in 1945 Frankl published his best selling book Man’s
Search for Meaning (Viktor Frankl Institute, 2010). This book describes his experiences in the
concentration camps and promotes his theory of logotherapy (Frankl, 1959). Early in 1947 Frankl
married Eleonore Schwindt and by December their daughter Gabriele was born. In 1948 Frankl was
promoted to Associate Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of Vienna were he
remained for several years. In the postwar years Frankl authored over 38 books on psychology and his
camp experiences. His last two books are Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning and Viktor Frankl -
Recollections both were published in 1997. Viktor Frankl died from heart failure on September 2,
1997 (Viktor Frankl Institute, 2010).

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Logotherapy

Logotherapy is often subsumed under the headings of humanistic psychology and existential
psychology (Ponsaran, 2007). Furthermore, logotherapy is referred to as the Third Viennese School of
Psychotherapy (Hatt, 1965). Adler promoted the will to power, Freud stressed the pleasure principle
and Frankl the will to meaning (Boeree, 2006). Originally logotherapy was called height psychology
in response to the Freudian concept of depth psychology. Depth psychology focused on insights from
the natural and unconscious processes within a person, but height psychology promoted the idea that
people could transcend these natural processes (Pytell, 2003). Logotherapy is different from
psychoanalysis in that its methods are less retrospective and less introspective (Frankl, 1959).
Logotherapy focuses on the future aspects of a patient’s life, more specifically the meaning that one
intends to fulfill (Boeree, 2006). Logos is the Greek word, which denotes meaning. Hence,
logotherapy focuses on a person’s search for meaning. This search for meaning in one’s life is
postulated as the primary motivational force (Frankl, 1959). Frankl clarifies that this search for
meaning does not have any relation to spirituality or religion, but strictly relates to finding purpose in
one’s life or tasks (Somani, 2009). Moreover, logotherapists do not prescribe meaning to a patient but
rather describe the process of how meaning is obtained in hopes of providing the patient with a sense
of fulfillment (Thorne & Henley 2005). Thus, logotherapy regards its assignment as that of assisting a
patient to find meaning in life (Frankl, 1959).

Discovering Meaning

Logotherapy is composed of three basic principles. The first basic principle is that life has meaning in
all circumstances, even despondent ones. The second principle is that the main motivational force is
the desire to find meaning in life. Lastly, the third basic principle states that humanity has the freedom
of attitudinal choice, even in situations of unchangeable affliction (Frankl, 1959). Thus, Frankl
purports that people can discover meaning through creative, experiential, and attitudinal values (Hatt,
1965). Creative values consist of achievement of tasks such as painting a picture or tending a
flowerbed (Boeree, 2006). Experiential values consist of encountering another human, such as a loved
one, or by experiencing the world through a state of receptivity such as appreciating natural beauty
(Hatt, 1965). Attitudinal values speak of the potential to make meaningful choices in situations of
suffering and adversity (Gelman & Gallo, 2009). Frankl contends that everything can be taken away
from a person but the freedom to choose one’s attitude (Frankl, 1959). He stressed that people should
not suffer unnecessarily in order find meaning but that meaning was possible when suffering is
inevitable. For example, a person subjected to an incurable disease or placed in a concentration camp
can still discover meaning even though his or her situation seems dire (Hatt, 1965). Moreover, tragic
optimism means that people are capable of optimism in spite of the tragic triad. Frankl believes that all
humans will be subjected to the tragic triad, which consists of guilt, death, and unavoidable suffering
(Ponsaran, 2007).

Frankl notes that meaning in life differs from person to person and from situation to situation. Hence
he asserts that there is not a general meaning in life for all of humanity but rather an idiosyncratic
meaning that varies at any given moment (Frankl, 1959). Frankl points to the self-transcendence of
human existence, which implies that each person can find purpose and meaning by being directed
toward something or someone other than the self. His concept of self-transcendence is associated with

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the idea of the super-meaning (Hatt, 1965). The super-meaning refers to an ultimate meaning that
exceeds the intellectual capacity of humanity. Philosophers often promote the idea that people need to
endure the meaninglessness of life but Frankl suggests that humans instead are faced with the inability
to understand the unlimited nature of meaningfulness, which is the super-meaning (Frankl, 1959).

Existential Frustration!

A person’s will to meaning can become frustrated. Frankl coined the term existential frustration to
explain this phenomenon of misdirected meaning. Existential frustration can occur from prolonged
periods of boredom and apathy (Zaiser, 2005). Frankl utilizes the metaphor of an existential vacuum
to explain frustrated meaning. Meaninglessness is a hole, which creates a vacuum that must be filled.
Since it is a vacuum, things quickly try to fill the void of meaninglessness. However, most attempts to
fill this sense of emptiness are merely temporary as the hole is filled with superficial things (Boeree,
2006). Furthermore, Frankl believed that common maladaptive behaviours such as depression,
aggression, and addiction were caused by a misdirected sense of meaning (Thorne & Henley 2005).
He noted that every generation has its own has its own set of maladaptive behaviours, which he
coined as the collective neurosis (Frankl, 1959).

The Noölogical Dimension

The term noölogical is derived from the Greek word noös denoting mind or spirit. Specifically, the
noölogical dimension refers to anything pertaining to only the human dimension or humanities quest
for meaning. The noölogical dimension is considered to be the realm of human consciousness,
responsibility, and is the locus of freedom (Hatt, 1965). Frankl claimed that animals consist of only
the biological and psychological dimensions because they are unable to harness the power of self-
transcendence. Hence, Frankl asserts that the psychological is reserved for instinctual behaviours.
Moreover, since humans are the only species capable of self-transcending they exist in the realms of
the biological, psychological, and noölogical dimensions (Hatt, 1965). !

Existential frustration can result in noögenic neuroses. Noögenic neuroses originate not in the
psychological but rather in the noölogical dimension. Noögenic neuroses do not emerge from conflicts
between drives and instincts but rather from existential problems. Among such problems is the
frustration of the will to meaning. Frankl observes noögenic neuroses when he noticed patients who
experienced purposelessness responding with behaviors that were detrimental to themselves, others,
and society. However, Frankl stresses that a person’s concerns and anguish over the meaninglessness
of life is an existential distress and not necessarily a mental disease. Furthermore, he asserts that
people do not need to seek homeostasis in life but rather what Frankl termed as noö-dynamics. Noö-
dynamics refers to accepting existential tension. For example, in a polar situation of tension, one pole
is represented by a meaning that is to be fulfilled by a person and the other pole by the person who has
already fulfilled it. Therefore, meaning arrives from inner tension rather than inner equilibrium
(Frankl, 1959).

Treatment of Neurosis

Frankl contends that there are two forms of neurotic pathogens, hyper-intention and hyper-reflection.

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Hyper-intention is described as a forced intention that makes an outcome impossible (Boeree, 2006).
Frankl gives the example of a woman trying to demonstrate her ability to experience an orgasm but by
hyper-intending she will be unable to succeed (Frankl, 1959). Hyper-reflection on the other hand is a
form of excessive attention to oneself. Hyper-reflection incapacitates a person ability to achieve their
goal because their focus has shifted from the goal to themselves making the desired outcome less
likely (Boeree, 2006). Furthermore, Frankl refers to anticipatory anxiety, which is defined as fearing
an outcome so much that it makes that outcome more likely (Frankl, 1959). The logotherapeutic
technique used to help patients with anticipatory anxiety was coined as paradoxical intention (Hatt,
1965). Paradoxical intention is an approach that guides a patient to intend that which they fear. This
treatment has been shown to break neurotic cycles brought on by anticipatory anxiety and hyper-
intention. For example, a patient who has a fear of insomnia (anticipatory anxiety) will try hard
(hyper-intend) to fall asleep, which incapacitates the patient’s ability to sleep. A logotherapist would
propose the paradoxical intention of trying not to fall asleep, which would be followed by sleep
(Frankl, 1959). The success of paradoxical intention is called dereflection meaning attention and
reflection has now been refocused to the proper object (Ponsaran, 2007). It should be noted that
Frankl did not claim paradoxical intention to be a panacea but rather a unique tool that has been
shown to be efficacious in treating phobias and obsessive compulsions (Frankl, 1959).

Pan-determinism

Frankl criticized psychologists’ obsession with pan-determinism. Pan-determinism is the view that
humans are instinctual and do not have the capacity to make choices in any condition. Frankl believes
that people are not entirely conditioned and determined but that people can determine themselves
(Ponsaran, 2007). He purports that people are self-determining because they do not just exist but
choose what their existence will be. Thus, Frankl calls for psychiatry and psychology to be re-
humanized. Far too often these fields interpret the human mind and behaviour as purely mechanistic.
Furthermore, this mechanomorphism leads to impersonal and mechanical therapeutic techniques.
Thus, Frankl pleads with psychiatrists to stop viewing humans as diseases and machinery but to see
the person behind the disease (Frankl, 1959).

Logotherapy Today

Logotherapy has many applications in the modern medical, psychological, and business sectors.
Several studies reveal the benefits of using logotherapy in these environments. One such study sought
to evaluate the effects of a logotherapy program for adolescents with terminal cancer. The study
revealed that logotherapy is effective in improving meaning in life and quality of life of late
adolescents with terminal cancer. Furthermore, the studied revealed that logotherapy can be used a
preventive measure to ensure adolescents experience minimal existential distress (Kang, Shim, Jeon,
& Koh, 2009).

Combat-related Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and alcoholism have been known for
debilitating areas of psychosocial functioning. One study utilized the logotherapeutic treatments of
paradoxical intention and dereflection on veterans suffering from PTSD. The study revealed that
veterans who had demophobia and avoided the topic of war altogether were able to share their war
stories to crowds after receiving logotherapy (Southwick, Gilmartin, McDonough, & Morrissey,

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2006). A similar study sought to evaluate the efficacy of utilizing logotherapy as a treatment option in
alcoholic recovery group settings. The results demonstrated that groups receiving logotherapy as a
treatment presented an increase in purpose in life and a decrease in suicidal ideation and alcoholism
when compared to controls (Crumbaugh, & Carr 1979).

Recently, businesses and business mangers have started to use logotherapy to introduce meaning into
the work environment. Employees are often frustrated with the mundane and repetitious activities of
work. However, logotherapy helps managers build team players by enabling individuals to see how
they add value through the tasks they perform. Thus, business mangers are utilizing this meaning
driven therapy to improve productivity and optimism in the working environment (Somani, 2009). For
example, one study observed job satisfaction amongst nurses in Quebec. Nurses have been noted for
having a highly stressful job that is emotionally demanding. Researchers discovered that job
satisfaction and quality of life in nurses increased as a result of logotherapy as opposed to the control
group (Fillion, Duval, Dumont, Gagnon, Tremblay, Bairati, & Breitbart, 2009).

Conclusion

Carol Rogers once stated that Frankl’s work is the most outstanding contribution to psychology in the
last 50 years (Frankl, 1997). Frankl’s early life experiences with Adler and Freud helped him develop
the more optimistic psychological practice of logotherapy. Frankl challenged Freudian theory by
asserting that the search for meaning is the primary intrinsic motivation of humanity. He believed
humans were more than mechanical parts driven by instinctual drives and promoted the idea that
people could find meaning even in the worst conditions known to humanity. His horrific experiences
in the Nazi concentration camps greatly influenced his theory of meaning. Frankl realized that
although he was reduced to mere skeleton, the Nazis could not take one thing away from him: his
freedom to choose his attitude. Logotherapy gracefully integrates ideas from religion, psychology and
philosophy. In addition, Frankl’s logotherapy contributed many neologisms to the psychological
literature including many terms surrounding the noölogical dimension. Moreover, Frankl helped
develop effective logotherapeutic treatments such as paradoxical intention. Logotherapy has stood the
test of time as it has many applications in the modern world. Viktor Frankl is a hero, a man who
survived the onslaught of the tragic triad, lost everything, but decided to say yes to life in spite of
everything.!

References

Benvenga, N. (1998). Frankl, Newman and the meaning of suffering. Journal of Religion & Health,
37(1), 63-66.

Boeree, C. G. (1998). Personality theories: Viktor Frankl . Retrieved from http://webspace.ship.edu

/cgboer/frankl.html

Cowen, S. D. (2005). Viktor Frankl: person, philosopher and therapist. Journal of Judaism &
Civilization, 7(56), 1-22.

Crumbaugh, J., & Carr, G. (1979). Treatment of alcoholics with logotherapy. The International

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Journal of Addictions, 14(6), 847-853.

Fillion, L., Duval, S., Dumont, S., Gagnon, P., Tremblay, I., Bairati, I., & Breitbart, W. (2009). Impact
of a meaning-centered intervention on job satisfaction and on quality of life among palliative care
nurses. Psycho-Oncology, 18(12), 1300-1310.

Frankl, V. (1959). Man’s search for meaning. New York: Random House.

Frankl, V. (1955). The doctor and the soul. New York: Random House.

Frankl, V. (1997). Viktor Frankl recollections: An autobiography. New York: Plenum.

Gelman, M., & Gallo, J. (2009). Finding meaning in life at midlife and beyond: Wisdom and spirit
from logotherapy. Journal of Judaism & Civilization, 8(59), 91-93.

Hatt, H. (1965). Existential analysis and logotherapy: The contribution of Viktor E Frankl. Encounter,
26(3), 330-339.

Hoffman, E. (1995). Victor Frankl at ninety: A voice for life. America, 172(9), 17-22.

Kang, K., Shim, J., Jeon, D., & Koh, M. (2009). The effects of logotherapy on meaning in life and
quality of life of late adolescents with terminal cancer. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing, 39(6),
759-768.

Pattakos, A. (2009). Search for meaning. Personal Excellence, 14(3), 5-6.

Ponsaran, A. G. (2007). The philosophical foundations of Viktor Frankl's logotherapy. Philippiniana

Sacra, 42(125), 339-354.

Pytell, T. (2003). Redeeming the unredeemable: Auschwitz and man's search for meaning. Holocaust
and Genocide Studies, 17, 89-113.

Somani, S. (2009). In search of meaning. PM Network, 23(11), 25.

Southwick, S., Gilmartin, R., McDonough, P., & Morrissey, P. (2006). Logotherapy as an adjunctive
treatment for chronic combat-related PTSD: A meaning-based intervention. American Journal of
Psychotherapy, 60(2), 161-174.

Thorne, B. M., & Henley, T. B. (2005). Connections in the history and systems of psychology (3rd
ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Viktor Frankl Institute. (2010). Life and work chronology [Data file]. Retrieved from
http://www.viktorfrankl.org/e/chronology.html

Zaiser, R. (2005). Working on the noetic dimension of man: Philosophical practice, logotherapy, and
existential analysis. Philosophical Practice: Journal of the American Philosophical Practitioners
Association, 1(2), 83-88.

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