In last week’s post I referred to this book so I figured I might as well follow up on that and give you the summary of a book that has sold tens of millions of copies and is listed as one of the most influential books of all time. The book is an account of how everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner - and psycho-therapist Viktor Frankl-
Frankl was 37 years old during the second world war where he and all his family were taken prisoners in the Nazi concentration camps. He spent a total of 3 years in 4 different camps during which he lost his father, brother, mother, and wife -which he only found out after getting out.
The book is broken up into two parts: part one is the stories and observations from the concentration camps, and part two are his learnings and the philosophy he came up with as a result of those observations. I’ll try to combine both in my summary but I would still recommend you read the book itself to get better overall understanding of the context in which he concluded his philosophy.
Lesson one: Attitude 🤨
Living in the camps amongst other prisoners for years, Frankl observed the different ways in which people make sense of and react to their situation. Most of them had everything taken from them; their families, friends, jobs, possessions, health, yet each person handled their situation differently.
He argued that man is not simply a product and result of his environment, but that there was still the liberty and freedom of reacting to the situations surrounding them and that was shown sometimes in small heroic moments even through the terrible psychological and physical conditions. The simple act of comforting others, or giving away a last piece of bread to someone even when it was scarce. They may seem small, but these acts proved that even in the most dire conditions, some people chose to suppress their own battles and be of service and value to others around them.
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Frankl said there was always a choice to make. Every day and hour each prisoner had to make a decision whether they submit to, or persevere through, the powers that threatened to rob them from their inner freedom and make them become simply a product of their circumstances; another hopeless apathetic prisoner.
In the final analysis it becomes clear that the sort of person the prisoner became was the result of an inner decision, and not the result of camp influences alone. Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him—mentally and spiritually.
Lesson two: Purpose 💎
You often hear people using the term ‘find your why’, referring to the true purpose you are doing something and the sacrifices you are willing to do for it.
As mentioned in last week’s post, life isn’t about simply finding the most happiness possible without going through some hardship, but about finding what is worth fighting and sacrificing for, to make your effort worthwhile.
“What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.”
In the camps, it seemed most of the prisoners that lived longer and persevered through the struggles were ones that spoke of a grand purpose that they need to return to. Whether it was a loved one, a child sheltered in a distant country who was waiting for them, a career they were passionate about that needed their contribution, or a cause they strongly believed in. Whatever it was, they felt they had a reason to push through.
“The prisoner who had lost faith in the future – his future – was doomed. With his loss of belief in the future he also lost his spiritual hold; he let himself decline and become subject to mental and physical decay.”
While working in a camp hospital, Frankl noticed that numbers of death would go up between Christmas and New Year’s of 1944. He said many prisoners had a naive hope that they would be liberated by the holidays, and when it was clear that that wasn’t going to happen, they lost the little hope they were clinging to, and had no power left to resist or survive.
In the words of Nietzsche:
“He who has a ‘why’ to live for can bear almost any ‘how’.”
Lesson three: Logotherapy 🎯
Frankl became known for what came to be the Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy -after Freud’s and Adler’s- Logotherapy; which refers to the notion that man’s main concern is fulfilling a meaning in life and actualizing values.
He argues that rather that people asking what the meaning of life is, each person should ask themselves what the meaning and purpose of their own life is, as it’s individual to the person and only you can find that meaning once you find your purpose(s).
Logotherapy refers to three main pathways to finding meaning in life:
Through work: especially work that is creative and aligned with a greater purpose than one’s self. He argues that if you feel there’s a uniqueness that distinguishes your work and that you have a responsibility towards it, then that can generate enough magnitude to give your life meaning.
Through love: which often manifests in acts of service for others and in helping that person actualize their true potential as only when you love someone can you truly see all their traits and features, and potential they might not be aware of themselves.
Through suffering: since there’s no doubt that suffering is part of the human experience. We might find meaning in life in hopeless situations and when facing fate that cannot be changed, for even in those situations, the potential of transforming tragedy into triumph and turning a negative experience into a positive one can be seen as an achievement.
“If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an eradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death, human life cannot be complete.”
More on the philosophical side the past couple of weeks. As always, any thoughts or feedback are always welcome and appreciated!
Have a great week.
Very deeply expressed.. It really widens both mind and thought. Great job Haya 👏