Man's Search for Meaning

Frankl first defines logotherapy: “Logos is a Greek word which denotes ‘meaning.’ Logotherapy, or, as it has been called by some authors, ‘The Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy,’ focuses on the meaning of human existence as well as man’s search for such a meaning. According to logotherapy, this striving to find a meaning in one’s life is the primary motivational force in man.” (98-99).

The first two Viennese Schools of Psychotherapy are very well known: The first was founded by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Freud developed his theories of human psychology based on the human desire to experience pleasure and avoid pain. Later, Alfred Adler (1870-1937) offered a revision of Freud’s ideas by positing that man was motivated, not by individual pleasure seeking, but rather by a quest for power in the social sphere.

Frankl established logotherapy to reflect his belief that what truly motivates mankind is the search for meaning. Frankl observed his own reactions to camp life and those of his fellow prisoners and determined that there was something beyond the desire for either pleasure or power that kept them going. For Frankl, man finds meaning in human love, in achievement and accomplishment, and in dignity in the face of the suffering that is inevitable in every human lifetime.