The Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist and philosopher Viktor Frankl spent time in several concentration camps. Nazis during World War II, a harrowing experience that profoundly influenced his life and work.
He believed that the search for meaning is the main driver of human behavioreven in suffering, and it was precisely this that prompted him to develop the logotherapya form of existential psychotherapy that focuses on the idea that life has meaning in all circumstances.
Impact of the Holocaust on Viktor Frankl
Born in Vienna in 1905, Frankl developed an early interest in psychology and medicine. He studied neurology and psychiatryand his academic focus focused on the search for the meaning of human existence.
Frankl was imprisoned in four Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz.from 1942 to 1945. He survived, but his family did not. In the midst of immense suffering, Frankl observed that those who could find meaning or purpose were more likely to survive. His reflections during this period formed the basis of his later work in the fields of psychology and philosophy.
Phrases about the life of Viktor Frankl
Frankl’s views on psychotherapy and his emphasis on the search for meaning have influenced various fields beyond psychology, such as education or personal development.
We have collected 16 quotes from Viktor Frankl that remind us that the meaning of life cannot be foundbut is created through our choices, attitudes and responses to life’s challenges.
8. «Life is not primarily a search for pleasure, as Freud believed, or a search for power, as Alfred Adler taught, but a search for meaning.»
This phrase reflects the central philosophy of the logotherapy by Viktor Frankl and that we see in other phrases in this selection: that the main motivation of human beings is the search for meaning in life.
9. “Everything can be taken from a man except one thing, the last of human freedoms: to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own path.”
A phrase that sums up the essence of resilience and personal freedomeven in the face of extreme suffering.
10. «Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. And in our response lies our freedom and our ability to grow.»
We have the power and ability to choose and master our reactions.even when external circumstances are beyond our control.
11. “Even when it is not completely achievable, we become better by pursuing a higher goal.”
The effort to achieve a goal cultivates personal growth and a sense of accomplishmentand it makes us better people, regardless of whether we achieve it or not.
12. «Don’t aim for success. The more you aim for it and make it a goal, the more you will miss it.»
According to Viktor Frankl, «success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; «it must occur, and it only does so as an unintended side effect of one’s dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the byproduct of giving oneself to another person.»
13. «The more one forgets about oneself – giving oneself to a cause to serve or another person to love – the more human one is.»
Viktor Frankl believed that We find fulfillment and humanity when we transcend self-centeredness and we dedicate ourselves to something bigger than ourselves.
14. «No one has the right to do evil, even if they have suffered an atrocious injustice.»
Frankl reminds us of the importance of maintain moral integrity and personal responsibilityeven in the face of suffering or injustice.
15. «If there is meaning in life, then there must be meaning in suffering.»
Suffering is an inevitable part of lifebut it can also be a source of meaning and personal growth.
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