I have only ever skirted around the fringes of psychology with Lewin, Maslow, Kotter et al., so reading Frankl required some frequent mini-research projects to catch up. Much food for thought, but I thought I was reading Man's Search for Meaning, but this is an updated work that combines a few of his other works. The concept of "existential vacuum" resonates, especially in the context of modern times. If humans are no longer driven by instincts or traditions, we no longer know what we must do or should do. This means humans do not even know what they wish to do. In concluding, Frankl offers his definition of religion, "paralleling" Einstein's and Wittgenstein's. This was very useful, but I find myself in Wittgenstein's camp, and so down the well I go. ( )

Existential

Viktor Frankl is known to millions as the author of "Man's Search for Meaning", his harrowing Holocaust memoir. In this book, he goes more deeply into the ways of thinking that enabled him to survive imprisonment in a concentration camp and to find meaning in life in spite of all the odds. Here, he expands upon his groundbreaking ideas and searches for answers about life, death, faith and suffering. Believing that there is much more to our existence than meets the eye, he says: 'No one will be able to make us believe that man is a sublimated animal once we can show that within him there is a repressed angel.' In "Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning", Frankl explores our sometimes unconscious desire for inspiration or revelation. He explains how we can create meaning for ourselves and, ultimately, he reveals how life has more to offer us than we could ever imagine. ( )