I often make the argument that the arts are a playground for the mind in which one can experience emotions they would never experience otherwise. I make this claim focusing mainly on extreme artistic expressions that purposefully challenge boundaries, expressions so extreme that if they were to pass in actual life the measure of suffering or bliss would be too much for a person to endure.
Yet the events described in Man's Search For Meaning are more extreme than most can possibly imagine. Frankl experienced the Holocaust as a Jewish prisoner held in Auschwitz and other concentration camps. Because of his prior education and professional experience we are given a unique opportunity to find meaning in one of the darkest abysses of human history.
Likely each person who reads this is going to cling to different moments to reflect on after putting the book down. Mine are the following:
When on a hard labor detail Frankl has the realization that the love for his wife is the single thing that gave him pleasure when faced with pain, fatigue, and cold which often brought an end to the people at his side. He knew that all he had to do to provide himself a brief respite was to see her face. Of all the revelations surrounding finding one's own meaning, love appears to be the primary goal of the human being, a goal worth fighting for in order to shore up one's existence as if building a fortress against impending death.
When considering the level of suffering he and his fellow prisoners endured he made it clear that the degree of suffering was largely inconsequential. He described suffering as a diffuse gas that flows through the body. A person who suffers is suffering fully regardless of the extremity of their situation. This gave me pause when reflecting upon past conversations. I'm often one to point out things like "Trump may be an uncomfortable reality, but you're still well-fed and healthy." I'm going to check myself the next time I think that way reflexively.
The description of an old woman nearing the end of her life. Frankl sees her watching an old chestnut tree and asks her why she's looking at it with so much intention. She responds that she'd been in conversation with the tree. When asked if it talked back to her, she responded, "It said to me, I am here-I am here-I am life, eternal life." This passage made me think of extreme emotional suffering as analogous to a a sort of psychedelic experience. Meaning is sometimes a beautiful fantasy constructed when one needs it desperately and the brain is incredible for enabling this function.
The indication that someone had "given up," was especially terrifying for me to try to internalize. At the blow of the morning whistle when the prisoners were expected to report to their work detail, sometimes, they would decide to ignore the whistle, knowing it meant their imminent death. They would roll to one side and not move, laying in their own excrement. They would reach for a cigarette they had stashed on their person. They would smoke it with purpose and then never eat or drink or move voluntarily again. This image of releasing oneself to death as a last gesture of defiance is one that'll stick with me.
And lastly, in the brief description of Logotherapy, a method of psychotherapy I had never heard of before, there's a strategy described of paradoxical intention that seemed so obvious and brilliant upon reading it. It basically states that for any given fear you have, it's only the fear that self-perpetuates, the actual object of the fear is just an arbitrary aspect of reality. All you need to do to overcome a fear is to pursue the fear as if you were trying to accomplish the exact thing you're trying to avoid. For example, a person with a fear of public speaking might be encouraged to intentionally give a ridiculous or exaggerated speech. If the fear is that you're going to look ridiculous, lean into looking ridiculous. Once you test that boundary, any attempt that isn't toward the ridiculous is automatically going to be less ridiculous and you'll know with confidence that though looking ridiculous is possible, it's something you know exactly how to do and how to avoid. There is a truth here I don't think ANYONE talks about and the fact that this is the first time I'm hearing about Logotherapy is disturbing.
To say I recommend this book is an understatement. It is in my eyes essential reading and I regret not having read it much younger.