Introduction to Logotherapy

Please watch the video below.

Introduction to Logotherapy Script

Ok so, what is Logotherapy? And why do I think it’s worthwhile to talk about it. First off, I think it’s worthwhile because it addresses some of the most glaring and yet least talked about problems that affect us in our modern age. The specific issue addressed by Logotherapy is meaning. Like, what’s the meaning of life? What’s the point? (to which I think it gives a decent answer.) Though compared to other schools of therapy this idea of meaning is somewhat broad and vague, not really the stuff that scientists tend to enjoy working with namely because it varies so much from person to person. It’s hard to really define and put laws to like the science-minded tend to like to do. In fact, this issue of meaning, covered by Logotherapy has traditionally been the domain of priests, poets, and philosophers. Also, this module is a great companion to the series on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, namely the fifth part of the psychological flexibility skill set, which is values. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go back and check it out. Super helpful stuff.  

So, how can we conceptualize this issue of meaning? What’s an example?  We all can all agree that we do stuff, right? Sometimes when we do a thing we barely think about it. Other times it’s this seemingly huge experience for us. Why? Because the things that we do vary in levels of meaning. Take going to the DMV for example. What does that mean for me? Well, being that I’m thirty five and have been driving for a while, the experience of going to the DMV is annoying and dull, perhaps a bit depressing even. But, when I was going to the DMV for the first time, say, to take my driver’s test as a teenager, it was a highly meaningful experience. That is because the DMV takes on a different meaning for the young aspiring driver than some thirty five year old dude. It’s the same building, same long lines and fees for everyone who enters. But, for, say sixteen-year-old me, the DMV was experienced as a source of deep, and desperately wanted freedom to move about while now it’s just something I dread and try to get out of.

But that’s just one example of a single thing we can do and experience meaning from. Something Frankl calls the meaning of the moment. And honestly, a lot of these moments might seem boring and kind of dull. Unimportant really. Though, these seemingly stupid boring moments combine to form our life. And life is important, right? So how can something so important be made up of what seems to be mostly dull and meaningful moments? Is there meaning to be had by combining ALL the things we do? Is there a sense of rhythm and purpose, or is it just a bunch of chaotic unrelated happenings?

Viktor  Frankl, founder of Logotherapy, posits as humans we have an ingrained will-to-meaning, to have our experiences aligned not just with our basic instinctual drives, but also, with our specifically human desire to have the things we do mean something, to serve some sort of transcendently effective purpose that can only be verified on very personal and intuitive level, meaning we have to feel it. This isn’t a math problem, it’s more like appreciating a work of art that we are creating. Having this, Frankl posits, doesn’t just make us feel good, but can keep us alive. But in order to achieve this grand personal vision and sense of harmony, we need to change the way we look at and interact with the small component parts of our life, fully interacting with those fleeting, seemingly dull moments with the same gravity we attribute to our life as a whole. A deathbed mentality if you will.

Of course, all of this sounds great, but it comes with a price and that price is responsibility. This idea of us being ultimately responsible for their own sources of meaning is one of the central tenets of Logotherapy, and not only that, but these source of meaning almost always have profound demands, but it is within those demands that we find our meaning. And, just so we’re fully confused here, those demands and meanings are unique for every individual, meaning…no one can find or express them but YOU.  Consider this quote from Frankl, in regard to this what’s the meaning of life question we often ask. “I doubt whether a doctor can answer this question in general terms. For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment. To put the question in general terms would be comparable to the question posed to a chess champion: “Tell me, Master, what is the best move in the world?” There simply is no such thing as the best or even a good move apart from a particular situation in a game and the particular personality of one’s opponent. The same holds for human existence. One should not search for an abstract meaning of life. Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life to carry out a concrete assignment which demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated. Thus, everyone’s task is as unique as is his specific opportunity to implement it.” “Man should not ask what he may expect from life, but should rather understand that life expects something from him. It may also be put this way…man should not ask, what is the meaning of my life? But should realize that he himself is the one being questioned. Life is putting its problems to him, and it is up to him to respond to these questions by being responsible; he can only answer to life by answering for his own life.”  So, according to Logotherapy, we as humans have this distinct drive toward a feeling we call meaning. Just doing stuff isn’t enough for us, we need it to matter in some way that only we can personally experience and deem worthy and not only that, that feeling matters to the point that Viktor Frankl thought it had actual survival value. Basically, people will kill themselves or engage in very harmful behaviors when they can’t find meaning in what they do, or think they never will. Think about it:  History is full of many who have achieved at really high levels, gaining wealth and status, only to find the things they thought they wanted to be totally empty and…meaningless. Logotherapy aims to help us avoid this tragic fate, or if we’re in it, to get out of it and move toward a more meaningful existence, one where we’re not feeling (bad guitar chord) but instead more like, nice guitar chord. The following modules will be an indepth look into Viktor Frankl’s life work he called Logotherapy.