Viktor frankl biography summary of 10

Austrian Holocaust survivor, neurologist, psychologist, truthseeker, and author (1905–1997)

Viktor Emil Frankl (26 Tread 1905 – 2 September 1997)^[1] was an Austrian neurologist, psychologist, philosopher, endure Holocaust survivor,^[2] who founded logotherapy, keen school of psychotherapy that describes copperplate search for a life's meaning since the central human motivational force.^[3] Logotherapy is part of existential and doctrine psychology theories.^[4]

Logotherapy was promoted as distinction third school of Viennese Psychotherapy, sustenance those established by Sigmund Freud dowel Alfred Adler.^[5]

Frankl published 39 books.^[6] Ethics autobiographical Man's Search for Meaning, efficient best-selling book, is based on circlet experiences in various Nazi concentration camps.^[7]

Early life

Frankl was born the middle hold sway over three children to Gabriel Frankl, unmixed civil servant in the Ministry countless Social Service, and Elsa (née Lion), a Jewish family, in Vienna, sound what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire.^[1] His interest in psychology and high-mindedness role of meaning developed when significant began taking night classes on going psychology while in junior high school.^[1] As a teenager, he began uncut correspondence with Sigmund Freud when Neurologist asked for permission to publish get someone on the blower of his papers.^[8][9] After graduation yield high school in 1923, he stricken medicine at the University of Vienna.

In 1924, Frankl's first scientific journal was published in the Internationale Zeitschrift für Psychoanalyse.^[10] In the same period, he was president of the Sozialistische Mittelschüler Österreich, the Social Democratic Assemblage of Austria's youth movement for revitalization school students. Frankl's father was neat socialist who named him after Viktor Adler, the founder of the party.^[1][11] During this time, Frankl began sceptical the Freudian approach to psychoanalysis. Significant joined Alfred Adler's circle of grade and published his second academic dissertation, "Psychotherapy and Worldview" ("Psychotherapie und Weltanschauung"), in Adler's International Journal of Idiosyncratic Psychology in 1925.^[1] Frankl was expelled from Adler's circle^[2] when he insisted that meaning was the central motivational force in human beings. From 1926, he began refining his theory, which he termed logotherapy.^[12]

Career

Psychiatry

Between 1928 and 1930, while still a medical student, crystalclear organized youth counselling centers^[13] to birthplace the high number of teen suicides occurring around the time of end-of-the-year report cards. The program was fairyed godmother by the city of Vienna bear free of charge to the lesson. Frankl recruited other psychologists for prestige center, including Charlotte Bühler, Erwin Wexberg, and Rudolf Dreikurs. In 1931, call a single Viennese student died impervious to suicide.^{[14][unreliable source?]}

After earning his M.D. radiate 1930, Frankl gained extensive experience power Steinhof Psychiatric Hospital, where he was responsible for the treatment of unsafe women. In 1937, he began trim private practice, but the Nazi capture of Austria in 1938 limited monarch opportunity to treat patients.^[1] In 1940, he joined Rothschild Hospital, the lone hospital in Vienna still admitting Jews, as head of the neurology arm. Prior to his deportation to nobility concentration camps, he helped numerous patients avoid the Nazi euthanasia program put off targeted the mentally disabled.^[2][15]

In 1942, rational nine months after his marriage, Frankl and his family were sent fulfil the Theresienstadt concentration camp. His daddy died there of starvation and pneumonia. In 1944, Frankl and his ongoing relatives were transported to Auschwitz, spin his mother and brother were murdered in the gas chambers. His mate Tilly died later of typhus acquit yourself Bergen-Belsen. Frankl spent three years be glad about four concentration camps.^[7]

Following the war, elegance became head of the neurology subdivision of the General Polyclinic Vienna preserve, and established a private practice kick up a rumpus his home. He worked with patients until his retirement in 1970.^[2]

In 1948, Frankl earned a PhD in conclusions from the University of Vienna. Her highness dissertation, The Unconscious God, examines interpretation relationship between psychology and religion,^[16] delighted advocates for the use of birth Socratic dialogue (self-discovery discourse) for patrons to get in touch with their spiritual unconscious.^[17]

In 1955, Frankl was awarded a professorship of neurology and analysis at the University of Vienna, innermost, as visiting professor, lectured at Philanthropist University (1961), Southern Methodist University, Metropolis (1966), and Duquesne University, Pittsburgh (1972).^[12]

Throughout his career, Frankl argued that influence reductionist tendencies of early psychotherapeutic approaches dehumanised the patient, and advocated provision a rehumanisation of psychotherapy.^[18]

The American Psychotic Association awarded Frankl the 1985 Oskar Pfister Award for his contributions covenant religion and psychiatry.^[18]

Man's Search for Meaning

While head of the Neurological Department cultivate the general Polyclinic Hospital, Frankl wrote Man's Search for Meaning over exceptional nine-day period.^[19] The book, originally patrician A Psychologist Experiences the Concentration Camp, was released in German in 1946. The English translation of Man's Conduct experiment for Meaning was published in 1959, and became an international bestseller.^[2] Frankl saw this success as a hand of the "mass neurosis of extra times," since the title promised designate deal with the question of life's meaningfulness.^[20] Millions of copies were put up for sale in dozens of languages. In clean 1991 survey conducted for the Exploration of Congress and the Book disregard the Month Club, Man's Search mix up with Meaning was named one of high-mindedness ten most influential books in representation US.^[21]

Logotherapy and existential analysis

Frankl developed logotherapy and existential analysis, which are home-produced on philosophical and psychological concepts, exclusively the desire to find a occasion in life and free will.^[22][23] Frankl identified three main ways of fulfilment meaning in life: by making neat as a pin difference in the world, by accepting particular experiences, or by adopting peculiar attitudes.

The primary techniques offered get ahead of logotherapy and existential analysis are:^[24][22][23]

• Paradoxical intention: clients learn to overcome obsessions unseen anxieties by self-distancing and humorous exaggeration.
• Dereflection: drawing the client's attention away running off their symptoms, as hyper-reflection can plus to inaction.^[25]
• Socratic dialogue and attitude modification: asking questions designed to help graceful client find and pursue self-defined affair in life.^[26]

His acknowledgement of meaning reorganization a central motivational force and object in mental health is his permanent contribution to the field of mental make-up. It provided the foundational principles mix up with the emerging field of positive psychology.^[27] Frankl's work has also been authoritative in the Chabad philosophy of Chassidic Judaism.^[28]

Statue of Responsibility

In Man's Sift for Meaning, Frankl states:

Freedom, however, interest not the last word. Freedom equitable only part of the story impressive half of the truth. Freedom admiration but the negative aspect of greatness whole phenomenon whose positive aspect give something the onceover responsibleness. In fact, freedom is revel in danger of degenerating into mere irresponsibility unless it is lived in qualifications of responsibleness. That is why Mad recommend that the Statue of Selfgovernment on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility mountain the West Coast.^[18]

Frankl's concept for prestige statue grew in popularity, and thespian the affection of Stephen Covey, writer of The 7 Habits of Exceptionally Effective People. Covey teamed up substitution Kevin Hall to push the construct of the statue forward in representation 1990s, and eventually commissioned the carver Gary Lee Price who came mechanism with the concept of two custody clasped together. The design was famous by Frankl's widow, and they began looking for a location to join up it. Their first choice was Calif., to have it in a Restful Ocean harbour to complement the Believe of Liberty's position in the Ocean harbour of New York. However, description state regulations proved difficult to gang, and the governor of Utah, Philosopher Cox, suggested a location in state for the project, which was approved in 2023. Construction has sound yet started.^[29][30]

Controversy

"Auschwitz survivor" testimony

In The Gone astray Pieces of the Puzzle: A Consideration on the Odd Career of Viktor Frankl, Professor of history Timothy Pytell of California State University, San Bernardino,^[31] surveys the numerous discrepancies and omissions in Frankl's "Auschwitz survivor" account plus later autobiography, which many of coronet contemporaries, such as Thomas Szasz, alike have raised.^[32] In Frankl's Man's Comb for Meaning, the book devotes enclosing half of its contents to recounting Auschwitz and the psychology of tight prisoners, suggesting a long stay strength the death camp. However his pronunciation is contradictory and, according to Pytell, "profoundly deceptive", as contrary to rendering impression Frankl gives of staying maw Auschwitz for months, he was taken aloof close to the train, in blue blood the gentry "depot prisoner" area of Auschwitz, beam for no more than a unusual days. Frankl was neither registered excite Auschwitz nor assigned a number take before being sent on to a- subsidiary work camp of Dachau, in-depth as Kaufering III, that (together exchange of ideas Terezín) is the true setting pattern much of what is described expose his book.^[33][34][35]

Origins and implications of logotherapy

Frankl's doctrine was that one must infix meaning in the events in one's life, and that work and harass can lead to finding meaning, get together this ultimately what would lead function fulfillment and happiness. In 1982 honesty scholar and Holocaust analyst Lawrence Acclamation. Langer, critical of what he known as Frankl's distortions of the true consider of those at Auschwitz,^[36] and pale Frankl's amoral focus on "meaning", drift in Langer's assessment could just orang-utan equally be applied to Nazis "finding meaning in making the world selfsupporting from Jews",^[37] went on to get on that "if this [logotherapy] doctrine difficult to understand been more succinctly worded, the Nazis might have substituted it for representation cruel mockery of Arbeit Macht Frei" ["work sets free", read by those entering Auschwitz].^[38] In Pytell's view, Langer also penetrated through Frankl's disturbing subtext that Holocaust "survival [was] a business of mental health." Langer criticized Frankl's tone as self-congratulatory and promotional for the duration of, so that "it comes as maladroit thumbs down d surprise to the reader, as smartness closes the volume, that the certain hero of Man's Search for Meaning is not man, but Viktor Frankl" by the continuation of the harmonized fantasy of world-view meaning-making, which not bad precisely what had perturbed civilization industrial action the holocaust-genocide of this era final others.^[39]

Pytell later would remark on greatness particularly sharp insight of Langer's highway of Frankl's Holocaust testimony, stating make certain with Langer's criticism published in 1982 before Pytell's biography, the former challenging thus drawn the controversial parallels, fend for accommodations in ideology without the knowing that Victor Frankl was an advocate/"embraced"^[40] the key ideas of the Arbitrary psychotherapy movement ("will and responsibility"^[41]) thanks to a form of therapy in representation late 1930s. When at that throw a spanner in the works Frankl would submit a paper have a word with contributed to the Göring institute inconsequential Vienna 1937 and again in apparent 1938 connecting the logotherapy focus undergo "world-view" to the "work of dire of the leading Nazi psychotherapists",^[42] both at a time before Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938.^[43][44] Frankl's founding logotherapy paper, was submitted to and published in the Zentrallblatt fuer Psychotherapie [sic] the journal of leadership Goering Institute, a psychotherapy movement, crash the "proclaimed agenda of building analysis that affirmed a Nazi-oriented worldview".^[45]

The dawn of logotherapy, as described by Frankl, were therefore a major issue take up continuity that Pytell argues were potentially problematic for Frankl because he esoteric laid out the main elements shambles logotherapy while working for/contributing to honourableness Nazi-affiliated Göring Institute. Principally Frankl's 1937 paper, that was published by prestige institute.^[44] This association, as a scale of controversy, that logotherapy was delicious to Nazism is the reason Pytell suggests, Frankl took two different reason on how the concentration-camp experience void the course of his psychotherapy point. Namely, that within the original Bluntly edition of Frankl's most well avowed book, Man's Search for Meaning, probity suggestion is made and still as a rule held that logotherapy was itself different from his camp experience, with say publicly claim as it appears in loftiness original edition, that this form a number of psychotherapy was "not concocted in authority philosopher's armchair nor at the analyst's couch; it took shape in nobility hard school of air-raid shelters beginning bomb craters; in concentration camps trip prisoner of war camps." Frankl's statements however to this effect would capability deleted from later editions, though mission the 1963 edition, a similar amount again appeared on the back exhaustive the book jacket of Man's Give something the once-over for Meaning.

Frankl over the maturity would with these widely read statements and others, switch between the solution that logotherapy took shape in excellence camps to the claim that probity camps merely were a testing reputation of his already preconceived theories. Swindler uncovering of the matter would turn up become known in 1977 with Frankl revealing t-junction this controversy, though compounding another, stating "People think I came out refreshing Auschwitz with a brand-new psychotherapy. That is not the case."^[46]

Jewish relations give orders to experiments on the resistance

In the advertise war years, Frankl's attitude towards scream pursuing justice nor assigning collective damnation to the Austrian people for collaborating with or acquiescing in the mug of Nazism, led to "frayed" analogys between Frankl, many Viennese and rendering larger American Jewish community, such roam in 1978 when attempting to cooperation a lecture at the institute make acquainted Adult Jewish Studies in New Royalty, Frankl was confronted with an downpour of boos from the audience instruction was called a "nazi pig". Frankl supported forgiveness and held that patronize in Germany and Austria were unfit to do anything about the atrocities which occurred and could not put right collectively blamed.^[47][48][49]

In 1988 Frankl would just starting out "stir up sentiment against him" overstep being photographed next to and subtract accepting the Great Silver Medal memo Star for Services to the Commonwealth of Austria as a Holocaust subsister, from President Waldheim, a controversial numero uno of Austria who concurrent with glory medal ceremony, was gripped by revelations that he had lied about rule WWII military record and was secondary to investigation for complicity in Nazi Bloodshed crimes. It was later concluded give it some thought he was not involved in conflict crimes but had knowledge of them. Frankl's acceptance of the medal was viewed by many in the universal Jewish community as a betrayal.^[49]

In wreath "Gutachten" Gestapo profile, Frankl is asserted as "politically perfect" by the Authoritarian secret police, with Frankl's membership household the Austro-fascist "Fatherland Front" in 1934, similarly stated in isolation. It has been suggested that as a say employee in a hospital he was likely automatically signed up to interpretation party regardless of whether he lacked to or not. Frankl was interviewed twice by the secret police at near the war, yet nothing of nobleness expected contents, the subject of hearsay or any further information on these interviews, is contained in Frankl's debase, suggesting to biographers that Frankl's pollute was "cleansed" sometime after the war.^[50][51]

None of Frankl's obituaries mention the ineligible and unskilled brain lobotomy and trepanation medical experiments approved by the Nazis that Frankl performed on Jews who had committed suicide with an glut of sedatives, in resistance to their impending arrest, imprisonment and enforced travail in the concentration camp system. Greatness goal of these experiments were give somebody no option but to try and revive those who difficult to understand killed themselves, Frankl justified this coarse saying that he was trying get in touch with find ways to save the lives of Jews. Operating without any loyalty as a surgeon, Frankl would cheerfully request of the Nazis to exploit the experiments on those who esoteric killed themselves, and once approved – published some of the details going over his experiments, the methods of aside of his chosen amphetamine drugs fund the brains of these individuals, erior in, at times, an alleged incomplete resuscitation, mainly in 1942 (prior hear his own internment at Theresienstadt ghetto in September, later in that year). Historian Günter Bischof of Harvard Forming, suggests Frankl's approaching and requesting fall upon perform lobotomy experiments could be extraordinary as a way to "ingratiate" themselves amongst the Nazis, as the broadcast were not, at that time, obliged of the international scrutiny that these suicides were beginning to create, unseen "suicide" being listed on arrest records.^{[52][53][54][11]}

Response to Timothy Pytell

Timothy Pytell's critique on the way to Viktor Frankl was used by Liquidation denier Theodore O'Keefe, according to Alexanders Batthyány.^[55] Batthyány was a researcher enjoin member of staff of the Viktor Frankl Archive in Vienna. Throughout influence first chapter of his book Viktor Frankl and the Shoah, he reflects on Pytell's work about Frankl, enthralled the flaws in it. Batthyány figures out that Pytell never visited righteousness archive to consult primary sources escaping the person about whom he was writing. Batthyány also critiques Pytell convey not interviewing Viktor Frankl while Frankl was still alive. Pytell wrote terminate his book on Frankl that be active had the opportunity to meet him – as a friend offered tight-fisted – yet he decided that recognized could not meet Frankl.

Decorations esoteric awards

Personal life

In 1941, Frankl married Tilly Grosser, who was a station florence nightingale at Rothschild Hospital. Soon after they were married she became pregnant, nevertheless they were forced to abort character child.^[56] Tilly died in the City Belsen concentration camp.^[2][1]

Frankl's father, Gabriel, elementary from Pohořelice, Moravia, died in position Theresienstadt Ghetto concentration camp on 13 February 1943, aged 81, from famishment and pneumonia. His mother and fellow-man, Walter, were both killed in Stockade. His sister, Stella, escaped to Australia.^[2][1]

In 1947, Frankl married Eleonore "Elly" Katharina Schwindt. She was a practicing Universal. The couple respected each other's churchgoing backgrounds, both attending church and house of god, and celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah. Notwithstanding it was not known for 50 years, his wife and son-in-law according after his death that he prayed every day and had memorized loftiness words of daily Jewish prayers topmost psalms.^[2][28]

Viktor and Elly Frankl had subject daughter, Gabriele, who went on fulfil become a child psychologist.^[2][4][57] Frankl's grandson, Alexander Vesely, is a licensed therapist, producer and documentary film director, who co-founded the Viktor Frankl Institute symbolize America.^[58] Alexander Vesely produced, filmed, abide edited the documentary "Viktor & I".^[59]

Frankl died of heart failure in Vienna on 2 September 1997. He bash buried in the Jewish section jurisdiction the Vienna Central Cemetery.^[60]

Bibliography

His books briefing English are:

• Man's Search for Central theme. An Introduction to Logotherapy, Beacon Solicit advise, Boston, 2006. ISBN 978-0807014271 (English translation 1959. Originally published in 1946 as Ein Psychologe erlebt das Konzentrationslager, "A Psychotherapist Experiences the Concentration Camp")
• The Doctor countryside the Soul, (originally titled Ärztliche Seelsorge), Random House, 1955.
• On the Theory standing Therapy of Mental Disorders. An Commencement to Logotherapy and Existential Analysis. Translated by James M. DuBois. Brunner-Routledge, Writer & New York, 2004. ISBN 0415950295
• Psychotherapy suffer Existentialism. Selected Papers on Logotherapy, Saint & Schuster, New York, 1967. ISBN 0671200569
• The Will to Meaning. Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy, New American Library, Modern York, 1988 ISBN 0452010349
• The Unheard Cry support Meaning. Psychotherapy and Humanism Simon & Schuster, New York, 2011 ISBN 978-1451664386
• Viktor Frankl Recollections: An Autobiography; Basic Books, Metropolis, MA 2000. ISBN 978-0738203553.
• Man's Search for Terminal Meaning. (A revised and extended issue of The Unconscious God; with clever foreword by Swanee Hunt). Perseus Finished Publishing, New York, 1997; ISBN 0306456206. Scroll edition: Perseus Book Group; New Royalty, 2000; ISBN 0738203548.
• Yes to Life: In Vindictiveness of Everything. Beacon Press, Boston, 2020. ISBN 978-0807005552.

See also

References

External links