Man's Search for Meaning : Book Review



Title: Man's search for meaning
Author: Victor E Frankl
Genre: Non Fiction/Philosophy

This was highly recommended by my Stanford professors and some of the members from my book club. Finally got around to reading it now. 

As humans we are prone to suffering in life. Its up to us as to how we cope up with suffering. 

Psychiatrist Victor Frankl talks about the varying degrees of suffering and the several coping mechanisms that individuals adopt. Having worked in 4 different labour camps including Auschwitz, he pens down his experiences and stories of his patients in these camps. 

Being subjected to brutal and inhuman conditions, prisoners gradually migrate from shock to a state of emotional blunting. It eventually makes them numb to the treatment meted out by the Nazis. Even as death lurks around them like a dark cloud, each one finds their own way to seek that silver lining.

Some find solace through food which compensates for the lack of other physiological needs as explained by Frankl. Some resort to humor while others escape into the past and cling on to old memories. As the relativity of suffering is mentioned, he emphasizes on how suffering enables one to find meaning in life and their purpose of existence.   

Man's search for meaning is a complex read.. It instills a sense of horror while reading about the pain inflicted upon humans during those times. An aspect addressed by author who categorically states that the most of the guards were purely sadists in clinical terms. Frankl also talks about logo therapy where he states that the primary drive is the pursuit of what humans find meaningful.

The book makes one rack their grey cells and resort to some soul searching. It compels one to ponder about the reason behind one's suffering and eventually learn to embrace it as an eradicable part of life. We may not have control over suffering but what we do have control on is our attitude towards it which brings one back to the 90/10 principle. 

Thought provoking and inspiring, Man's search for meaning sends you on that eternal quest to find meaning and significance even during dire straits. 

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