Viktor E.Frankl
1946
Viktor Frankl was in a handful of concentration camps in Nazi occupied Europe. As a psychiatrist, Frankl made observations, suggestions, and was able to detatch himself from the horrible suffering of the camps.
Reading this was like reading Gulag Archipelago or Death March.: utterly heartbreaking and not at all inspiring. I doubt the authors of any of these two books intended for their works to be inspiring. They are some of the most damning works concerning the development of systematic fucked-upness that humans so frequently exhibit.
Frankl explores the conditions of the camps and the psychological toll of such an existence. Ultimately, he argues that if a person has a reason to live, he can endure almost any condition. But if that "why" is not satisfied, then survivability of extreme conditions is unlikely. I am reminded of stories of individuals, lost in the woods, desert, or mountains, who should not have survived, but simply refused to die.
The power of the mind over the functions of the body are pretty well-understood. We understand that mental stimulus, whether real or perceived, can be a large determining factor in healing and endurance. Mind over matter is more than just a pithless phrase.
Viktor Frankl was in a handful of concentration camps in Nazi occupied Europe. As a psychiatrist, Frankl made observations, suggestions, and was able to detatch himself from the horrible suffering of the camps.
Reading this was like reading Gulag Archipelago or Death March.: utterly heartbreaking and not at all inspiring. I doubt the authors of any of these two books intended for their works to be inspiring. They are some of the most damning works concerning the development of systematic fucked-upness that humans so frequently exhibit.
Frankl explores the conditions of the camps and the psychological toll of such an existence. Ultimately, he argues that if a person has a reason to live, he can endure almost any condition. But if that "why" is not satisfied, then survivability of extreme conditions is unlikely. I am reminded of stories of individuals, lost in the woods, desert, or mountains, who should not have survived, but simply refused to die.
The power of the mind over the functions of the body are pretty well-understood. We understand that mental stimulus, whether real or perceived, can be a large determining factor in healing and endurance. Mind over matter is more than just a pithless phrase.
Man's Search isn't long, and while some parts of it seem incoherent, non-relevant, or repetitive, it is worth a reader's time. Frankl's logotherapy seems, to me at least, to be a rather dated and axiomatic way of looking at things. Some of his clinical examples from the second half of the book seem awfully convenient. I'm not saying he lied, I'm just suggesting that telling a man who is unhappy with his occupation to change jobs isn't exactly groundbreaking.
Like I said, it's worth the reader's time, but I would venture to guess that if the holocaust was not a centerpiece, this book would not have enjoyed the success it has. It's interesting, but transplant the narrative to any other human-caused disaster with equal or greater amounts of suffering (is there such a scale?), and I doubt as many people would've picked it up.
3/5 monkies.
3/5 monkies.
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