What Viktor Frankl thinks about agency

@viktor-frankl · 31 positions · 0 changes of mind

Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (1905 to 1997) and Holocaust survivor who founded logotherapy, a school of psychotherapy that treats the search for meaning as the central human motivation.

Everything they publish, on ppll ↗

Viktor Frankl did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

6 dated positions, c. 1962–1992 to c. 1950–1997, in their own words. Our reading of what Viktor Frankl has said — not written or endorsed by them.

1. c. 1950–1997

   Our readingFaith in God is a decision, not a drive

   Their wordsYet I am not driven to faith in God or to God himself; I must decide for or against him. Religiosity is ego-like, or it is nothing at all.

   ↗Ten Theses about the Person (Salzburg lecture of 1950, as later published; tr. Franz Vesely and David Nolland)viktorfrankl.org 7th of 8 in this piece

3. c. 1946–1992

   Our readingEverything can be taken from a person except the freedom to choose their attitude in any circumstances

   Their wordseverything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.

   ↗Man's Search for Meaning (Beacon Press, 2006 edition; Part One tr. Ilse Lasch)books.google.com All 21 from this book

5. c. 1946–1992

   Our readingEven in a concentration camp a person can decide what becomes of them mentally and spiritually

   Their wordsFundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him - mentally and spiritually. He may retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp.

   ↗Man's Search for Meaning (Beacon Press, 2006 edition; Part One tr. Ilse Lasch)books.google.com All 21 from this book

7. c. 1946–1992

   Our readingLife ultimately means taking responsibility for answering its problems and fulfilling the tasks it sets each person

   Their wordsLife ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.

   ↗Man's Search for Meaning (Beacon Press, 2006 edition; Part One tr. Ilse Lasch)books.google.com All 21 from this book

9. c. 1962–1992

   Our readingPeople are not fully determined by conditions; they decide whether to give in to them or stand up to them

   Their wordsMan is not fully conditioned and determined but rather determines himself whether he gives in to conditions or stands up to them. In other words, man is ultimately self-determining.

   ↗Man's Search for Meaning (Beacon Press, 2006 edition; Part One tr. Ilse Lasch)books.google.com All 21 from this book

11. c. 1962–1992

    Our readingFreedom is in danger of degenerating into arbitrariness unless it is lived responsibly

    Their wordsIn fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness. That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.

    ↗Man's Search for Meaning (Beacon Press, 2006 edition; Part One tr. Ilse Lasch)books.google.com All 21 from this book