1. Man can Be heroically resilient– with a firm meaning.
2. Transcendence of Tragedy, Requires a Kind of Indifference
3. Responsibility and Meaning are Connected
4. The Confrontation of Fear Allows the Fear to Be Overcome (paradoxical intention)
5. Humanity Did Create the Gas Chambers-but Humanity Also Can Fight Evil, Suffering, and Exhibit Heroic Endurance: Humans can say ‘yes’ despite horrible events
Great Quotes:
“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. “
Friedrich Nietzsche
Frankl ends his book by saying that:
“man is that being who invented the gas chambers at Auschwitz; however, he is also that being who entered those gas chambers upright, with the Lord’s Prayer or the Shema Yisrael on his lips.”
Viktor Frank
Frankl believes that while man is certainly capable of doing evil, no individual human must be evil. Every human has the capacity to change his behavior and attitude in every possible situation.
In his postscript, Frankl reaffirms this belief as to the basis for his tragic optimism, or belief in the importance of saying “yes” in spite of everything.
Get the Book: Man’s Search for Meaning, Gift Edition
Get a Summary to Whet Your Appetite:
- Man’s Search For Meaning Summary + PDF – Four Minute Books
- Man’s Search for Meaning Summary – eNotes.com
- Man’s Search for Meaning – Wikipedia
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I am a philosopher that is interested in what makes life worth living, what is worth pursuing, and how we can learn from the past. I believe that good philosophy benefits everyone and that there should be philosophers that present philosophy to those outside of the academy.
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