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1-Page Summary of Man’s Search for Meaning

Overall Summary

Man’s Search For Meaning is a non-fiction book about Viktor Frankl’s experience in Nazi concentration camps and his psychotherapeutic technique called logotherapy. In the book, he does not give details of his time in the camps; instead, he focuses on how daily struggles affected mental states. He uses examples from camp life to explain his theories.

Frankl says that the average prisoner passes through three mental stages: shock when he first arrives, apathy after he gets used to life in camp, and disillusionment once he is liberated. Frankl discusses how most prisoners become apathetic toward their situation and why it’s important to avoid this.

The core of Frankl’s philosophy is that man has a desire to find meaning in his life. If he finds that meaning, he can survive anything. Frankl found the meaning in his suffering by deciding to use it as an opportunity to make himself better and help others who were going through similar experiences. Instead of becoming apathetic and accepting his fate, he chose to embrace his suffering, according to Frankl. While circumstances affect one’s destiny, man always has freedom over how they respond or react towards those situations.

Frankl says that there are three ways to find meaning in life: through work, through love, and through suffering. Frankl kept his will to live—or the desire to have a meaningful life—alive by thinking about the work he wanted to do after leaving Auschwitz. He also found hope in his wife’s image, which helped him get through some of his most difficult times.

Man’s search for meaning is a major theme in Frankl’s work. He argues that we must find the purpose of our existence and live it daily, rather than trying to understand why we exist or what life is about. The meaning of life is not something that can be understood; instead, each person must define his own mission and then carry it out with responsibility.

The second section of the book, “Logotherapy in a Nutshell,” is devoted to explaining Frankl’s ideas about logotherapy. He argues that human beings are driven by their will to meaning and purpose. If they can’t find these things in life, they’ll develop mental problems. Logotherapy seeks to help people overcome those anxieties and fears by using paradoxical intention—trying to bring about what you fear most in order for it not to happen. Ultimately, logotherapy aims at helping its patients develop goals—whether getting rid of a phobia or surviving a horrible situation—and finding ways to accomplish them meaningfully.

Frankl ends his book by saying that humans are capable of doing evil, and yet they also have the ability to do good. He believes no individual is inherently evil, but rather than we choose how we act in every situation. Frankl concludes with a postscript reaffirming his belief in tragic optimism—the idea that it’s possible to say “yes” even when everything seems hopeless.

Preface to the 1992 Edition

People often ask Frankl about the success of his book. He says that it’s because people want to find meaning in their lives.

Frankl wrote the first section of Man’s Search for Meaning in nine days, intending it to be published anonymously. He says that he wasn’t looking for fame; he simply wanted to demonstrate that life could be meaningful even in terrible situations like a Nazi concentration camp. Frankl didn’t intend for his book to be particularly successful, and often tells his students not to strive for success because it’s not a goal in itself.

Frankl also explains why he did not leave Austria. He had the opportunity to do so, but his family would have been taken to concentration camps if he left, and his work was more important than that.