Searching for Meaning

After the success of his book "Man's Search for Meaning" was apparent, Viktor Frankl was actually actually pessimistic about its succeeding so well. He saw it as a reflection of how desperate so many people in the modern world are for meaning in their lives.

Victor Frankl ~ 1905 - 1997

 "If hundreds of thousands of people reach out for a book whose very title promises to deal with the question of a meaning to life, it must be a question that burns under their fingernails."

This thirst for meaning (what he called "the existential vacuum") that Frankl saw in the world led him to publish more books, including "The Will to Meaning," "Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything," and "Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning." All of these books sought to fill a kind of societal abyss with a thriving sense of purpose and direction.

But Frankl wasn't the only psychologist interested in what gives a human being purpose in their lives. An American psychologist by the name of Abraham Maslow also saw a sense of self-purpose was important for the happiness of an individual. He came up with a system called Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to illustrate the levels of happiness and necessities for human live to not only survive, but flourish.

   

While basic needs like food and water are the foundation of human necessities, higher needs like achieving one's potential gives rise to the fulfillment of human experience.

In American society, we tend to confuse material actualization with self-actualization. As stated in the book we read, "Why Grow Up?" The world tells us that cars and financial capital are the mark of someone who has made it. It would be a mistake to place these items in the category of esteem needs as well, since real achievement comes from something more than toys.

We live within the class of our society that has our basic needs covered. When it comes to psychological needs, fewer of our possess both, but a good portion of us are close. However, the problem, Viktor Frankl writes, is that we as a culture are lacking in the highest form: self-actualization.  So, what are we to do with our lives in order to achieve self-actualization?

Here is a great video that helped me when I started asking this question:

*warning: some mild language.

Exurb1a: Meaning is a Jumper you have to Knit Yourself

"Oh by the way, you're sentient meat standing on a living spaceship."

Purpose seems personal. It won't be in bold on any page of Frankl's books. It isn't in the outro of this video. But these are indeed a call to action to anyone who isn't working toward their own self-actualization. 

Sources:

https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/viktor-frankl/

https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html