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Psychological Attitudes towards Human Behavior Psychological attitude towards variety of issues is an important factor determining human behavior in certain life situation. In this research we are going to analyze the book by Victor Frankl called Mans search for meaning in order to find out possible attitudes towards human behavior and how it can be expressed. This book is giving the reader a better idea of the issue and reveals many insights of the topic. It is basically about the author being in several different concentration camps for about five years and his struggle during the time to find reasons to live. He was a psychotherapist from Vienna that survived the Auschwitz. His mother, father, brother, sister and wife, who was pregnant, were all killed by the Nazis.
He felt that he had lost everything, all but one thing, the last of the human freedoms- to choose ones attitude in any given set of circumstances. My position on this book is that fate is why we are here today, our meaning of life. There are two things that determine what happen in our lives. One of the things is fate. Fate is the things that happen in our lives that we cant predict and a lot of times we cant change. Things that happen because of fate can also be bad or good.
The other thing that determined our lives is our choices. We all make many choices everyday. I believe we decide most of the things that happen in our lives. You can always choose to do something or not to do it, and if you are not happy with something in your life, then you can try to change it. In Man Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl was a doctor that helped out all the sick people.
He had many opportunities to escape, but he did not leave. He felt that if he left, then all the sick people would die because he did not stay back to take care of them. No one would be there to help them out. He would then have a guilty conscious. So then he decided not to escape. They have been together through all the horrible things.
Whether he stayed back or not, if they were going to die, then they will die no matter how sick they were. Viktor said that it was fate that made him stay back and help the people, but I believe that fate had given him many chances to leave, but it was his choice to stay back and save the people. He cold not see them laying there that way. Fate is what brought him there to the concentration camp.
We have the ability to decide our own outcome, mentally and physically. With them being in the camp together, they felt like there was nothing left in this world for them, that they were all going to die together. The one thing that kept them going was the hope of getting to see their loved ones again. Love goes very far beyond the person and whether or not that person is actually present or still alive at all, they will always mean a lot to us.
The meaning of life will help us understand the mystery of life. The purpose of our creation is to understand and reach our goals of beliefs, knowledge, spirituality, and to prove our value as human beings. We must use our willpower to reach these goals. We are the most important living creation in this universe, but the most important things is the belief in God. Our happiness with life is the relationship that we have with God.
The meaning of life is wrapped all into our way of living. The world is full of passion and without passion the meaning in life would not exist. The central point of the book was not on the external sufferings of the prisoners and the torments that they had to go through. Rather, the focus was on the psychological reactions of each prisoner to the external sufferings and torments of living an every day life at a concentration camp. The message that is prevalent is that no matter what type of suffering a person endures, as long as they hold onto their faith that everything happens for a reason, they can survive. By believing that everything happens for a reason, individuals are able to weather the storms of their lives with the strength and determination to overcome.
He cites numerous heart-breaking stories about fellow prisoners and their ways of either coping or dealing with the situation or giving up and losing all hope. In this book, Dr. Frankl explains the experience which led to his discovery of logo therapy and partly through that experience came to its central premise that humans most fundamental motive is to find meaning in life. Through his observations and experiences, he noted that there were three phases of the inmates mental reactions to camp life. These were the period following his admission; the period when he is well entrenched in camp routine; and the period following his release and liberation.
Dr. Frankl relates with each of these phases together with his fellow inmates at camp. The author illustrates each phase of the inmates mental reactions and gives various quotations from notable philosophers, poets, and fellow doctors about the meaning of life. According to Dr.
Frankl, the meaning of life varies for each person. Several times at camp he met individuals who had inner struggles to find meaning in their lives. This inner struggle primarily leads to the feeling of frustration because the individual tries to find meaning in his life by aligning it with the goals of society. In other words, it is mans lack of ability to find meaning on a personal level rather than a comparative one that drives him to feel hopeless and distraught. Frankl's logo therapy specifically attempts to restore a sense of meaning to replace feelings of worthlessness and alienation common in people with depression. He achieves this primarily by helping individuals to see that the power of the human spirit is more powerful than any other force on earth.
Since the beginning of time, mankind has searched to find reasons and explanations for the seemingly inexplicable suffering of so many good people. Frankl perceives his theories not as a defense of suffering, but more as a way of validating its existence. I personally agree with Frankl that believing that everything happens for a reason can make even the direst of circumstances seem bearable. Man has always sought to find meaning for his existence and a counselor (therapist) can play a significant role in helping individuals travel down the path of understanding.
According to Frankl, appropriate counseling can remove the obstacles that are preventing individuals from using their capability to overcome torturous circumstances and identifying their will to meaning. This will to meaning is distinctive in that only unique individuals can discover the source of their own unique significance. Counselors can assist these individuals in guiding them towards their natural tendency to find meaning and can also help them to overcome obstacles that are keeping them from exploring the possible answers. Dr. Frankl gives us three different ways wherein we can discover this meaning of life: (1) by creating a work or doing a deed; (2) by experiencing something or encountering someone; and (3) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering. Most people who don't have jobs find that their life has no more meaning.
In a way, this could be true. These people feel that they have no more use in this world. Their feeling of self-worth stems from the fact that they should have a purpose and their purpose is to work and not to be idle. When, for example, a man is laid off from work, a normal reaction would be to feel depressed, think that he is stupid and regard him as a no-good. Being jobless was equated with being useless and being useless was equated with having a meaningless life. We have the choice on how we should live our lives.
God gave us free will in order for us to determine ourselves. When faced with dire circumstances, we can either face it or turn our backs like cowards. We should always remember that life has plenty to offer us but we should never forget that we too have a lot to offer life. Our generation is realistic, for we have to know man as he really is, Frankl writes.
After all, man is that being who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz; however, he is also that being who entered those gas chambers upright, with the Lords Prayer or the Shema Yisrael on his lips. The underlying teaching of Frankl is that no matter what tragedies befall the faithful, as long as they dont let go of their faith, they are reaping lifes greatest rewards. Sometimes I feel that nothing significant ever occurs or that I havent done enough to merit a life that is a fulfilling one. There are times when I do not comprehend the events that are happening in my life. Whenever I have a problem, I feel that God must be punishing me.
I know that things happen for a reason and in a way suffering makes you become a better person because it makes you stronger. Still, life can be unfair. Turn on your television set and you see perfect people with perfect lives. You watch a pop star singing and dancing to the tune of her hit song and you wonder what she has that you dont. Yet after reading Dr. Frankl's book, I would never exchange my life for anyone elses.
I've experienced so many things and nothing can ever compare to what I have learned and what I have been through. My life has not been a perfect one, yet I can truly say with conviction that I have a life and that I am living a happy life. Bibliography: Viktor E. Frankl. Mans Search for Meaning. Conrad Michelson.
Controversies of Human Behavior. From Psychologist Magazine, issue April 2000.
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Research essay sample on Psychological Attitudes Towards Human Behavior
