PERSONOLOGY – PYC4804 Chapter 14
The existential theory of Viktor Frankl
Background
Human beings are primarily motivated by a will to a meaning
The view of the person underlying the theory
Humans have been given the freedom to:
Be able to exercise responsibility
Live a life beyond mere animal existence
Live on a dimension of meaning in realizing timeless values as these emanate from a
divine dimension
Live highly personalized lives
The freedom to be responsible
Human person is a spiritual being – a being that has freedom and responsibility
The person is not a highly developed animal shaped by the forces of heredity and
environments
Has been given the freedom to be responsible
Free will holds person responsible for choices – have to bear the consequences
Freedom to choose = noogenic dimension (identifies us as human beings)
A level of being beyond animal existence
Human person needs to find a reason to live
True fulfillment is hardly possible without a sense of purpose (spiritual direction) in life
Issue for the human person is not the struggle to survive but the struggle to find and
experience meaning in life
According to Frankl meaning = opportunity
Every situation of life contains a unique challenge to live our lives purposefully, with
meaning
Frankl is against the reductionist of psychoanalysts and learning theorists
Psychological and social aspects of human life are natural aspects of existence – do not
radically distinguish humans from animals
Unlike the animal, we have the freedom to rise above the condition in being able to
think and also do something about them
We want to live our lives purposefully – for a good cause
The transhuman dimension
Meaning is not something we create or invent – meaning is found
Means that meaning something that exists in an objective sense
Page 1 of 7
, PERSONOLOGY – PYC4804 Chapter 14
Conscience is the vehicle through which we detect meaning: the one right thing to do in
any particular situation or moment in life
To have a conscience means that we are able to discern higher values and meanings,
grasp their significance and freely embrace them
It is our link to the transhuman dimension, our ability to hear the voice of the
transcendent
It is man / woman of faith that can in spite of all say ‘yes’ to the meaning of life under all
conditions and circumstances
A highly personalized (personally accountable) way of being
Must find and experience life’s meaning in our own way
Something is meaningful only if it is personally experienced as such
Religion is genuine only where it is existential, where we are not somehow driven to it,
but commit ourselves to it by freely choosing to be religious
Life holds meaning under all circumstances and that meaning can be experienced by
anyone at anytime and anywhere
The structure of the personality
The three dimension of the personality
Three levels or dimensions of existence:
o Physical – the human person could be described as ‘nothing but a complex
biochemical mechanism powered by combustion system which energizes
computers with prodigious storage facilities for retaining encoded information’
o Psychological – person has needs and drives
o Spiritual – unique to us as human beings
If human behavior is viewed from sub-human (non-spiritual) level of being, the uniquely
human or spiritual aspects of human existence will either be missed or seen in distortion
We are open systems, i.e., open towards ourselves (we can think about change
ourselves) and toward the world (we can think about and change our world)
Behavioristic – human behavior is seen as shaped by the influences of the environment
Psychoanalytic – the human being is seen animalistically – determined drives and
instincts
We have a body and a psyche, but as essentially spiritual beings, we are free to direct
our behavior: we can use body and soul (psyche) to achieve ends that we ourselves have
determined
The spiritual core of the personality
Is the personal ground of being
The human personality has a spiritual core
Genetic make-up, nor our environment that shape our personalities
Page 2 of 7
The existential theory of Viktor Frankl
Background
Human beings are primarily motivated by a will to a meaning
The view of the person underlying the theory
Humans have been given the freedom to:
Be able to exercise responsibility
Live a life beyond mere animal existence
Live on a dimension of meaning in realizing timeless values as these emanate from a
divine dimension
Live highly personalized lives
The freedom to be responsible
Human person is a spiritual being – a being that has freedom and responsibility
The person is not a highly developed animal shaped by the forces of heredity and
environments
Has been given the freedom to be responsible
Free will holds person responsible for choices – have to bear the consequences
Freedom to choose = noogenic dimension (identifies us as human beings)
A level of being beyond animal existence
Human person needs to find a reason to live
True fulfillment is hardly possible without a sense of purpose (spiritual direction) in life
Issue for the human person is not the struggle to survive but the struggle to find and
experience meaning in life
According to Frankl meaning = opportunity
Every situation of life contains a unique challenge to live our lives purposefully, with
meaning
Frankl is against the reductionist of psychoanalysts and learning theorists
Psychological and social aspects of human life are natural aspects of existence – do not
radically distinguish humans from animals
Unlike the animal, we have the freedom to rise above the condition in being able to
think and also do something about them
We want to live our lives purposefully – for a good cause
The transhuman dimension
Meaning is not something we create or invent – meaning is found
Means that meaning something that exists in an objective sense
Page 1 of 7
, PERSONOLOGY – PYC4804 Chapter 14
Conscience is the vehicle through which we detect meaning: the one right thing to do in
any particular situation or moment in life
To have a conscience means that we are able to discern higher values and meanings,
grasp their significance and freely embrace them
It is our link to the transhuman dimension, our ability to hear the voice of the
transcendent
It is man / woman of faith that can in spite of all say ‘yes’ to the meaning of life under all
conditions and circumstances
A highly personalized (personally accountable) way of being
Must find and experience life’s meaning in our own way
Something is meaningful only if it is personally experienced as such
Religion is genuine only where it is existential, where we are not somehow driven to it,
but commit ourselves to it by freely choosing to be religious
Life holds meaning under all circumstances and that meaning can be experienced by
anyone at anytime and anywhere
The structure of the personality
The three dimension of the personality
Three levels or dimensions of existence:
o Physical – the human person could be described as ‘nothing but a complex
biochemical mechanism powered by combustion system which energizes
computers with prodigious storage facilities for retaining encoded information’
o Psychological – person has needs and drives
o Spiritual – unique to us as human beings
If human behavior is viewed from sub-human (non-spiritual) level of being, the uniquely
human or spiritual aspects of human existence will either be missed or seen in distortion
We are open systems, i.e., open towards ourselves (we can think about change
ourselves) and toward the world (we can think about and change our world)
Behavioristic – human behavior is seen as shaped by the influences of the environment
Psychoanalytic – the human being is seen animalistically – determined drives and
instincts
We have a body and a psyche, but as essentially spiritual beings, we are free to direct
our behavior: we can use body and soul (psyche) to achieve ends that we ourselves have
determined
The spiritual core of the personality
Is the personal ground of being
The human personality has a spiritual core
Genetic make-up, nor our environment that shape our personalities
Page 2 of 7
