Looking for a full, FREE Man's Search for Meaning summary?
You're in the right place!
Here's what you'll find on this page...
One-Sentence Summary
Man's Search for Meaning is a gruelling, yet deeply liberating insight into the why behind each of our whats and hows - by holocaust survivor, psychologist and founder of logotherapy, Viktor Frankl. (165 pages)
Note: This Man's Search for Meaning summary is part of an ongoing project to summarise the Best Biographies and Best Self Help Books of all time.
Man's Search for Meaning Review
This short, moving and life-changing book was written by Jewish-Austrian neurologist / psychiatrist and holocaust survivor Victor Frankl.
The book’s brutal and honest first hand accounts of life and loss in a concentration camp (worth reading in and of itself) are a vehicle for Frankl’s wider theories and deep insights into man’s search for meaning. These theories were his life work (even before his transportation to Auschwitz) and are at the core of Logotherapy (logos = meaning), a major school of modern psychotherapy.
Man's Search for Meaning Summary
The Meaning of Life
“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
The essence of Frankl’s theory is as simple as it is universal and runs as follows:
Man’s primary motivational force is the striving for meaning in one’s life.
A frustrated will to meaning leads to an existential vacuum that is the mass neurosis of the present time.
This existential vacuum can be described as a private and personal form of nihilism and manifests itself primarily in states of boredom and anxiety.
But there is no objective or general meaning to life. We cannot strive for meaning as we cannot strive for success or happiness.
Instead, meaning (Why) ensues primarily from active purpose (a What) which can be a thing (a work or deed) or a person (love or responsibility).
However, life also questions us constantly with a passive stream of Whats (including unavoidable suffering) to which we must respond and from which meaning can also ensue.
In this case, a strong individualistic sense of self, of Who we are, becomes the Why for how we respond to those Whats.
No matter what external limitations we face, we are always free to choose Who we are and how we respond.
This allows us to tap into an unassailable source of inner freedom and personal value.
A Story About Fate
A short story from the book about fate that enjoyed I so much I thought it worth preserving/sharing:
“A rich and mighty Persian once walked in his garden with one of his servants. The servant cried that he had just encountered Death, who had threatened him.
He begged his master to give him his fastest horse so that he could make haste and flee to Teheran, which he could reach that same evening. The master consented and the servant galloped off on the horse.
On returning to his house the master himself met Death, and questioned him, “Why did you terrify and threaten my servant?” “I did not threaten him; I only showed surprise in still finding him here when I planned to meet him tonight in Teheran,” said Death.”
Man's Search for Meaning Contents
Man’s Search for Meaning is a short book with only three chapters/parts…
- PART ONE: Experiences in a Concentration Camp
- PART TWO: Logotherapy in a Nutshell
- POSTSCRIPT 1984: The Case for a Tragic Optimism
Best Man's Search for Meaning Quotes
These Man's Search for Meaning quotes come from The Art of Living's ever-growing central library of thoughts, anecdotes, notes, and inspirational quotes.
"The existential vacuum manifests itself mainly in a state of boredom."
- Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning"An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behaviour."
- Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning"The most painful part of beatings is the insult which they imply."
- Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning"To suffer unnecessarily is masochistic rather than heroic."
- Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for MeaningMan's Search for Meaning PDF Summary
Want to save this Man's Search for Meaning summary for later?
Click the link below to get this whole summary as a handy FREE PDF...
Get the latest FREE Man's Search for Meaning PDF Summary →
Note: Direct link to PDF. No email required.
Read More: 5 Books Like Man's Search for Meaning
Enjoyed this Man's Search for Meaning summary? You might enjoy the rest of the books on these lists of the Best Biographies and Best Self Help Books of all time.
And in the meantime...
Here are 5 top books like Man's Search for Meaning...
Wish There Was a Faster/Easier Way?
Whenever you’re ready, here are four ways I can help you be more productive, find more balance and live life more on purpose…
- Curious? Discover how productive you really are… Take this free, 2-minute assessment to unlock your PQ and discover the top 25 habits you need to get big things done. Take the 2-minute quiz →
- Overwhelmed? Get a free chapter of my book… Let me show you how to beat procrastination, permanently, with this free sneak peek inside TAoL’s ultimate productivity primer. Download your free chapter →
- Stuck? Grab a 90-Day TRACKTION Planner… Get the tool thousands trust to help them take control of their time, master their habits and hit goals in every part of their lives. Order your 90-day planner →
- Burned out? Join the TRACKTION Community… Take the 6-week masterclass, get weekly group coaching, find accountability partners and connect with like-minded self-starters. Get started FREE →
I founded TAoL to discover and share the best wisdom on how to live long and prosper. Before that I studied Psychology, Philosophy & Physiology at Oxford and consulted at McKinsey. Still curious? Learn more or take my FREE productivity quiz.
