Man's Search for Meaning

Why I Picked It Up / How It Read

I picked up this book because it was mentioned a few times in book club discussions, and I'm usually curious to check out anti-nihilist views. Also, I got it as a gift :)

The first half of the book was heavy with all the stories, but the second half was interesting with the brief overview of Logotherapy and its arguments, of which I remain skeptical.

What I Took Away

• First and foremost, it's impressive to survive the conditions of the camps with your dignity and sanity! Nothing of what I'm going to say takes away from my admiration of the man.
• I do agree with him that the existential debt of not finding meaning in life can be very heavy and depressing, and I do agree that each individual needs to search and find their own life meaning.
• But as much as I admire the creativity of ways he come up with to help others find meaning, I can't help but feel skeptical about the applicability of his "your responsibility towards the universe shapes the meaning of your life" credo.
• The idea that, in extreme distress, you should fight to live to fulfill your responsibility and not for the hope that things will get better has a bitter cruelty in it. Like if I'm stripped of all hope and in a miserable state, and the entire human race either betrayed me or can't help me, why should I feel responsible toward humanity at this point? Why should I feel like I owe anyone anything?!
• I understand that it's a psychiatrist job to push away the hopelessness, but the idea that in extreme distress, you still have to think of the possibility that things can get better sooner or later, does not take into account the rules of probability. Like yes, if you're in a very bad situation, things can get better, but how probable is this possibility? Just saying, oh, live so you're alive to see the day that things get better is just creating false hope! It can be cruel!
• Granted, the space was not enough to cover Logotherapy in details, but the few arguments presented didn't stand for me. Like arguing for the free will because otherwise euthanasia can be justified is not really an argument.
• The multiple stories where he cured patients from depression, anxiety, or compulsive behavior in just one or two sessions are almost silly and comical. I don't want to say I didn't believe them, but I didn't care for them!