LIFE'S PURPOSE

Think ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (39) ◽  
pp. 19-25
Author(s):  
Gregory Bassham

Does life have meaning? Less grandly, does your life have meaning? Viktor Frankl, Holocaust survivor and author of the classic Man's Search for Meaning (1959), thought that the quest for meaning is the strongest drive humans possess. Without a clear sense of meaning, he said, we drift, lose vitality, and frequently fall into apathy, neurosis, and despair. Yet for many people today, sources of meaning are hard to find.

2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-78
Author(s):  
DAVID KISSANE

The Rediscovery of the Human: Basic Texts of Viktor E. Frankl. Translated by Rabbi Dr. Shimon Cowen and Liesl Kosma. Monographs in Judaism and Civilization. Melbourne: Institute for Judaism and Civilization, 2006. ISBN 0-9585933-5-3, 74 pages.Three seminal essays by Viktor Frankl highlight the deep spirituality that he believed to be at the heart of man's search for meaning and purpose in this world. Humanity returns consciously or unconsciously to this universal spirituality in its quest for a fulfilling existence.


Author(s):  
Susan Ella George

First, we consider the “spiritual search” that many have found to be foundational to humanity. Religion is foundational to humanity across the world. To some extent, sociology is a “secular panacea” for what classical philosophy called “The religious quest.” The religious, and nonreligious quest is a search for meaning most commonly understood in religious contexts as a search for “god.” In the last decade of the 20th century, a number of authors have recognized that technology is being used for a “spiritual quest.” Increasingly, this is being expressed through the Internet and World Wide Web. The “search beyond Google” represents this human quest for meaning. Even though organised religion may be declining, the religious quest is not necessarily abating. Technology, along with some “alternative” religious expressions, is supporting the present day search.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-20
Author(s):  
Helen Blier ◽  
Graham Stanton

Maxine Greene’s aesthetic pedagogy speaks to the sense of purposelessness felt by many young people today. Greene’s pedagogy cultivates the moral life defined as a sense of ‘wide-awakeness in the world’ through promoting the work of the imagination through engagement with the creative arts. Imagination creates community by being a precondition of empathy. Greene’s philosophy calls religious educators to create dialogic spaces of mutual concern. Theological engagement with Greene asks how the quest for meaning making is not simply a pedagogical version of sin. Charles Taylor’s analysis of authenticity identifies the ethical core in the pursuit of meaning-making. Greene’s challenge to Christian theology to give young people freedom in their spiritual choices is answered with David Bentley Hart’s notion of Christian persuasion as ‘the martyr’s gift’. Youth ministries pursue the kingdom vision of shalom in hope grounded in the resurrection of Christ.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agustinus Dewantara

“Gotong-Royong” (mutual assistance of Indonesia) According to Sukarno in Max Scheler’s Axiology Perspective aims to find analytically the objective meaning of the principle of gotong-royong in the perspective of axiology. Axiology selected as an object to be formal because this research focused on “gotong-royong” as a typical value of Indonesia. This theme is expected to contribute to the life of the Indonesian people today who seem to live in a crisis of mutual cooperation in various fields. Sukarno summarizes Pancasila in a single value, namely the "gotong-royong" or he describes as Ekasila. The essence of Pancasila finds a great challenge today.The research in this dissertation is a qualitative study philosophy. The research model used a qualitative research by conducting a literature study. Hermeneutics is then used to search for meaning in this study. Methodical elements used in this study are: verstehen, historical analysis, analytic language, and heuristics. Sukarno's speech will be studied by following the hermeneutics of Dilthey. The results of the analysis of Dilthey then will be the material that will discussed from the standpoint of axiological objectivism of Max Scheler.The meaning of “gotong-royong” of Soekarno found in this research is to work together, help each other, shoulder to shoulder, cooperation, deliberation, and mutual respect as a nation. The “gotong-royong” was not the result of subjective feelings of Sukarno. The value of gotong-royong is exist without speech of Soekarno, and attached to Indonesian. Pancasila is not created by Sukarno or the founding fathers. Sukarno, in the language of Scheler, precisely found the values of Pancasila and gotong-royong that has lived a long time in the Earth Indonesia. Gotong-royong as a value, in this line of thought Scheler fixed and objective. The practice of gotong-royong appears in the shared ethos..


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-113
Author(s):  
Cleia ZANATTA ◽  
Luís Antônio Monteiro CAMPOS ◽  
Patricia Damiana da Silva COELHO

The purpose of this article is to propose a reflection on the importance of the meaning of life for the elderly person. It is known that the phenomenon of aging gains visibility worldwide and points to numerous challenges, especially for some 30 million elderly people in Brazil, according to IBGE statistics. At this stage of life recognizing the potential, beyond stereotypes about aging contributes to minimizing the possible challenges. Through the review of the literature on research in the field of aging it is observed that a significant number of these elderly people are concentrated in the losses and declines that occurred in this stage. However, it becomes possible to broaden the understanding of this phase of life by considering the concepts of Logotherapy. According to Viktor Frankl, the man, endowed with his noetic dimension, driven by the search for meaning in life, walks in search of the values of creation, experience and attitude. As a sense-seeker, the elderly person becomes capable of finding, in his existential walk one for which to live, which enables him to continue drawing meaning in the adverse situations of life. Being able to focus on achievements along the way, the challenges faced, and the experiences recognized as valuable, can help make the stage of aging meaningful. Values can continue as paths that point to meaning, and such a possibility should not be wasted on the road of life. With hope and accumulated wisdom, the elderly person is able to respond to what life calls in a committed and meaningful way. Palavras-chave : Elderly; Logotherapy; Meaning.


2013 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabetta Cerboni ◽  
Maria Adelaide Ricciotti ◽  
Antonella Galiano ◽  
Adriana Turriziani

Per Cure Palliative si intende l’insieme degli interventi terapeutici, diagnostici e assistenziali rivolti sia alla persona malata, sia al suo nucleo familiare, finalizzati alla cura attiva e totale dei pazienti la cui malattia di base, caratterizzata da un’inarrestabile evoluzione e da una prognosi infausta, non risponde più a trattamenti specifici. La Legge n. 38 del 15 marzo 2010 tutela il diritto del cittadino ad accedere alle Cure Palliative e alla terapia del dolore nel nostro Paese. Come specificato nell’art.1 della Legge 38/2010 è tutelato e garantito, in particolare, il diritto all’accesso alle Cure Palliative e alla terapia del dolore da parte del malato, al fine di assicurare il rispetto della dignità e dell’autonomia della persona umana, il bisogno di salute, l’equità nell’accesso all’assistenza, la qualità delle cure e la loro appropriatezza. L’approccio delle Cure Palliative è finalizzato non solo al controllo dei sintomi, ma soprattutto alla difesa e al recupero della migliore qualità di vita possibile attuando interventi mirati a coinvolgere anche la sfera psicologica, sociale e spirituale. La natura stessa di tale disciplina impone che l’attenzione venga rivolta alla persona nella sua totalità più che alla sola malattia. In tale contesto si inserisce il bisogno di significato, inteso come ricerca del senso della propria vita, che è universale e che, nella condizione di malattia cronica evolutiva assume un’importanza peculiare, andando di pari passo con la ricerca del senso della sofferenza. La ricerca di significato nella maggior parte dei casi non viene tracciata nella comune pratica clinica. La Logoterapia, fondata da Viktor Frankl, è un orientamento psicoterapeutico volto ad aiutare l’uomo a ritrovare il senso della vita. Obiettivo della logoterapia e del logocounseling è quello di cercare di ridare una speranza di vita, un motivo di vita a chi a causa di un evento critico ha paura di aver perso la propria identità. Il nostro contributo si propone di esaminare alcuni aspetti della ricerca di significato, in particolare: la “neurochimica” del significato come aspetto della psico-neuro-endocrino-immunologia, le conversazioni di fine vita come strumento di accesso alla logoterapia, il sofferto percorso di ricerca di significato affrontato nel Libro di Giobbe. ---------- Palliative Care are all therapeutic interventions, diagnostic and care services, aimed at both the sick person and to the family, for the active and total treatment of patients whose underlying disease, characterized by a relentless progress and a poor prognosis, does not respond to specific treatments. The Law n. 38 of 15 March 2010 protects the right of Italian citizens to have access to Palliative Care and pain management. As specified in Article 1 of Law 38/2010 it is protected and guaranteed, in particular, access to Palliative Care and pain therapy for the patient, in order to ensure the respect of human dignity and the autonomy of the human person, the need for health, equity in access to care, the quality of care and their appropriateness. The approach of Palliative Care is aimed not only at controlling the symptoms, but also the defense and recovery of the best possible quality of life by implementing targeted interventions which involve also the psychological, social and spiritual dimension of life. The nature of this discipline requires that the attention must be paid to the person rather than the disease itself. In this contest, there is the need for meaning, understood as a search for meaning of life, which is universal and that, in the condition of rapid evolution illnesses assumes a special importance including the search for the meaning of suffering. Despite its importance, the search for meaning in most cases is not examined in common clinical practice. Logotherapy, founded by Viktor Frankl, is a psychotherapeutic approach aimed at helping man to rediscover the meaning of life. The aim of logotherapy and logocounseling is to try to restore hope of life to those who are afraid of losing their identity because of a critical event. The purpose of our contribution is to examine some aspects of the search for meaning, in particular: the “neurochemistry” of meaning as an aspect of psycho-neuro-endocrino-immunology, the end of life conversations as means of access to logotherapy, the suffered search for meaning addressed in the Book of Job.


2021 ◽  
pp. 000486742110628
Author(s):  
Gordon Parker

In his authoritative and extraordinarily influential book Man’s Search for Meaning, psychiatrist Viktor Frankl proposed that any individual’s life task is to find meaning, that meaning cannot be obtained without suffering, and that suffering allows meaning to be identified. He also articulated his therapeutic model—logotherapy, the so-called third Viennese school of psychotherapy. This article contemplates why logotherapy currently has seemingly little salience and suggests that the most likely reasons reflect some components being taken over by other therapies and by tenets of positive psychology articulated in recent decades.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Jissmon K. J.

The meaninglessness of existential philosophy was celebrated and was at its peak until the formulation of the psychotherapic theories by Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor, Viktor Emil Frankl.  Frankl introduced new psychoanalytic and psychotherapic terms into the realm of studies related to the complexities of human mind. It was in his seminal work, Man’s Search for Meaning (1946), that Frankl introduced the idea of Logotherapy, as a clinical as well as a psychological term. Frankl with his notion of logotherapy refuted the nihilistic aspects of existentialism and certain like philosophies.” Here, the protagonist, Cheryl Strayed, in Vallee’s Wild (2014) sets out for a journey to find out about herself and the ultimate meaning of her life. Cheryl, during her journey, leaves all of her material possessions and familial relations behind. Here, one may tend to see her  as an “existential “one but in a more wider sense, she is not celebrating the meaninglessness, rather she strives hard to find a meaning in her life to live on. This paper opens a new outlook towards this movie, especially towards the character of Cheryl Strayed.


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