46. Viktor Frankl and Man’s Search For Meaning, Pt. 1

The Curious Mind

In this episode we introduce Frankl's classic title "Man’s Search For Meaning", the historical background, and the existential aspect in psychotherapy. While existential philosophy has been known since the mid 19th century through thinkers like Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Dostoevsky, the existential aspect has been introduced into psychotherapy only later - most prominently through Viktor Frankl. He was an Austrian Jewish psychoanalyst who had to endure for years the imprisonment in concentration camps, which strenghthened his focus on the meaning of life and its application in psychotherapy, which later came to be known as Logotherapy.

For an outstanding description of the living conditions in Auschwitz see: Hermann Langbein "People in Auschwitz".

And if you wonder about how prisoners in concentration camps dealt with their faith I can recommend the thesis of Flavia Giuffra: “Was God Behind the Barbed Wire? An Inquiry into Jewish Faith and Practice in Auschwitz”

For more information see https://www.gabriel-ellis.com/ and for therapy sessions contact me at [e-mail]