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Dealing with Suffering using the: Theory of Logotherapy |
Life has meaning under all circumstances |
A closer look at Suffering |
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Dr Viktor Frankl of Vienna (1905 – 1997) is the originator of the psychotherapeutic school of logotherapy. Frankl attended the University of Vienna, where he earned doctorates in medicine and philosophy. Frankl received training in individual psychology from Adler. Some of the basic concepts of logotherapy, such meaning, freedom and responsibility bear the imprint of Adler and Freud1. He was appointed professor of neurology and psychiatry there in 1947.
Frankl was imprisoned for various periods from 1942 until 1945 during World War II in the concentration camps at Auschwitz and Dachau. It was here his theories were put to a severe test and partly through that experience came to the central premise of logotherapy that: “ that humans' most fundamental motive is to find meaning in life”. 2 His experience in the Nazi camps was recorded in Man’s Search for Meaning 3. His personal triumph over unimaginable trauma has been the most compelling testimony of the theory.
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Various schools of thought have dealt with the concept of meaning through the times. One of the most acclaimed philosophers of the 20th Century, Abraham Maslow, states that meaning is experienced by the self-actualised and growth motivated person who delights in using his creative powers for their own constructive sake. A person who can affirm himself and simultaneously transcend himself / herself through peak experiences.
According to Viktor Frankl, meaning can be divided into two levels namely: the present meaning and the ultimate meaning . Dr. Frankl believes that it is more productive to address, specific meaning of the moment, specific meaning of the situation, rather than addressing meaning of life in general terms. Dr. Frankl is of the opinion that it is more productive to address specific meaning of the moment (situation), rather than talking about and discussing meaning in life in general.
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What is actually meant by closer look at suffering? In this mini – essay I will try and give an exposition of the concept of suffering, surrounded and influenced by the phenomenons of life .A closer look would be investigating and giving meaning to suffering – using the logo-therapeutic principle of tragic optimism, a triad that consists of human existence which may be circumscribed by: (1) pain (2) guilt and (3) death. 1
By saying yes to life in spite of everything means that there is a presumption that life potentially is meaningful under all conditions, even those events that are tragic for us. What matters then is to make the best of the situation. Best in Latin means optimum – hence the phrase tragic optimism. It has been submitted that, although suffering is not a prerequisite for meaning in life, it brings out a person’s quest in life. 2
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