Review of Logotheraphy and Man's Search for Meaning

Victor Frankl's 1946 Masterpiece

Alongside Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler, Victor Frankl is often considered as one of the greats of psychiatric literature. After publishing Mans Search for Meaning in 1946, he quickly became known as the founder of Logotherapy, often regarded as ‘The Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy’ behind Adler’s Nietzschean doctrine of ‘will to power’ and Freud’s ‘will to pleasure’. Logotherapy was the psychological doctrine that the most powerful driving force in humans is finding a meaning in one’s life, and this principle is explored throughout the book.

The first half of Frankl’s autobiographical book consists of his memoirs of his time spent in a concentration camp, and the lesson’s that he learnt during his torturous experience, also adding how it influenced his creation of Logotherapy. Frankl believed in the principle that “everything can be taken from man but one thing, the last of the human freedom’s – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstance”, so through finding meaning, even our worst atrocities would be to some extent more bearable if we are somehow able to find meaning in them, thereby confirming Friedrich Nietzsche’s famous saying; “that which does not kill you can only make you stronger”.

In the second half of the book, Frankl dives into a more in-depth explanation of Logotherapy, which he described as not only being a method of psychiatric analysis, but also essentially a personal philosophy on living one’s life. Through providing an in-depth explanation of Logotherapy, Frankl makes the important point that despite being the most influential, motivating factors in our lives, our search for meaning is hardly ever complete, since ‘meaning’ is something that can often change depending on our individual circumstances. So the search for meaning isn’t like a race, where once it’s found we feel complete, but is instead comparable to a marathon, i.e. a long continuous process which some may complete, whilst others might end their lives never fully discovering the meaning of their life.

Ultimately, Mans search for Meaning is easily one of the most influential books of the 20^th century, which I seriously recommend for not only people that are seeking a better understanding of psychology, but also those simply wanting a good read!

The Characteristics Of A Person

Leonardo Da-Vinci's Vitruvian Man

Defining a person in philosophical terms is very complicated since various attributes contribute to the general acknowledgement of an individual as a person.  Therefore in order to find out what it means to be a person, we must first analyse and evaluate the key characteristics of personhood and how important they are in the subsequent labelling of an individual as a person.

Various characteristics contribute to the classification of an individual as a person and one of the prime and most obvious ones is ‘being human.’ Since all the people that we know of are humans, it is therefore rational to assume that all persons are humans. However there are certain exceptions to this, for example a dead individual is still technically human however they are not a person anymore although they once were. Other exceptions to this include fertilised egg cells which can be biologically classified as human being but are not people yet, which then gives their mothers the authority to abort them.  Being a human being is necessary to being a person however it’s not sufficient and needs to be combined with other qualities in order to be classed as a person.

Another characteristic that contributes to being classified as a person is the possession of a network of faiths and beliefs. Most animals can be said to have some degree of beliefs, for example a deer hearing a distress call in the forest would be led to believe that its fellow deer’s are in danger of some sort, so acting on this belief might run away to protect itself from this danger. This is an example of a belief since there’s no proof that the other deer is in danger and the noise could have been made by other animals including humans. In order to qualify as a person, a more complex range of interrelated beliefs is necessary, which then gives the animals mental life a more sophisticated level of thinking which can be attributed to personhood. Most living adult humans possess such level of mental ability which could then assist us in their classification as persons.

Autonomy is a feature which differentiates persons from animals since in order to be a person you must have a high level of control over your life and your reaction to certain things, and your actions should not be based primarily on instincts. An example of this is seen in the occasion where fireworks are shot in the air, a bird after hearing the noise would be startled and would react to its survival instincts by flying far away from the noise despite not knowing if it’s in harm by it or not. However a human being after hearing such noise might acknowledge the noise has being loud but would also understand that it doesn’t place them at any danger. This degree of autonomy and reason enables humans to have sufficient control over their own lives, which in my opinion is vital for personhood.

Moreover, Individuality and personality is a crucial element which separates humans from other animals. Our ability to develop our own unique personalities is imperative to the classification as a person since this enables us to differentiate ourselves from everyone else around us. I believe that the human propensity to be able to develop individual personalities for themselves is just as common as it is for a spider to spin webs. The ability to be an individual is just as engraved in human nature as it is for a dog to bark. However, having a personality alone is not sufficient enough to gain personhood since many animals including chimps and dogs have clearly defined personalities however they aren’t persons since they often lack most of the other necessary characteristics of personhood.

On top of that, one aspect of personhood is also the ability to understand aesthetic and ethical values. This is often not seen in animals since they are unable to appreciate certain concepts such as morality or what is right and wrong. This aspect is however seen disproportionally in humans and they are able to fluently understand the idea of right and wrong and the concepts of beauty to such an extent that it would be right to grant them personhood. However although this ability is one that is often seen in persons, I don’t believe that its necessary for being a person since there are several other ways to be a person without actually having this ability. So although it’s a frequent tendency for persons to hold this ability, it’s not wholly necessary in the branding of personhood.

The ability to communicate is another element which most persons seem to have; this skill is displayed most eloquently by humans since they have the ability to communicate using language. However other animals have developed sophisticated communication methods, for example dolphins and chimps are able to communicate with each other rather elaborately. This is a vital element of personhood, but in hindsight the human ability to communicate far surpasses any other animal that it would be right to grant any human with sophisticated communicating and speaking skills, personhood. Nevertheless, the future possibility of androids who could possibly demonstrate highly complex communicating skills similar to humans poses a problem since they might lack some of the other qualities of personhood such as logic and reasoning but still present eloquent speaking skills. So therefore although being able to communicate is a frankly important aspect of personhood, it still isn’t sufficient for personhood.

Being able to reflect on your own past experiences and feelings as well as appreciating other people’s one’s is a very complex yet vital characteristic of personhood. The level of complexity required in order to perform this task is so high that the only animals that we believe can do this are humans, which therefore makes it likely that most humans are in fact persons. Part of being reflective doesn’t just include remembering your past experiences and feelings but you will also need to be able to imagine having different ones and this involves a high level of self awareness. This skill makes humans able to learn more effectively since the process of learning requires an adequate amount of reflection in order to be effective. I believe that this is a necessary skill which would constitute a vital part of personhood.

Being creative is yet another characteristic of a person. Creativity requires an intricate level of imagination which cannot be imagined in animals but can be seen vividly in humans. Creativity does not just include being able to produce things such as art since even elephants have been known to command an adequate skill for painting. However although they might have clearly produced creative pieces of art, however there is dispute as to whether or not that art constitutes any sense of meaning or perhaps even emotions which could have inspired it. This would normally require a great deal of self awareness which is normally seen in humans and rarely seen at a similarly complex level in other humans. For this reasons I believe that being creative is an important attribute in the definition of a person.

In conclusion, I believe that to define a person is a very complicated and ambiguous task since various aspects constitutes a person. However it’s clear that all persons that we know of are humans but that does not necessarily mean that all humans are persons since some humans might lack certain vital attributes of personhood. In occasions such as this I recommend the Cartesian dualist approach to this, since although the physical requirements of being a human being is necessary, the human being must also have a working human mind in order to be classified as a person. Essentially both matter and mind ultimately contribute to the classification of a person, since a working human mind normally has all the characteristics of a person which are listed above. So I believe that it’s fair to conclude that all humans with a working mind are persons.

By Ola Sanni

The Pursuit Of Intelligence

Intelligence is a gift, a privilege. Many teenagers feel like they are not blessed with this remarkable trait and even fewer live to see it fulfilled to its true potential.

This essay will focus on the application of intelligence or knowledge, rather than merely studying and memorising. I see too many schoolboys who spend their life reading and studying, failing to see that real genius is only earned by using the knowledge you possess in a unique and inventive way. Acclaimed genius’s such as Einstein, Mozart and Shakespeare did not waste their intelligence, preferring to spend hours dedicated to perfecting their craft and experimenting with their available resources. They practically invented their own ‘knowledge’, and should be an inspiration to anybody hoping to make it intellectually.

There is a well-known phrase which states:

It is not who you are underneath, but what you do, that defines you.

In the context of fulfilling the capabilities of intelligence, this quote is correct. In its most simple form, I believe intelligence can be fulfilled by doing exactly what I am doing at this very moment, writing about the things that inspire you into deep thought. Mental thoughts are the healthiest hobby that a person can practise. Plato once believed that thoughts or non-material abstracts (ideas) are the most definite, complete and incredible entity in our universe, and this simple belief formed the basis to his ‘Theory of Forms’. After careful consideration, I am inclined to agree.

Famous scientists such as Einstein and Newton were both well educated in their respective academic disciplines, understanding as well as recognising the facts that form the basis of their subjects. This understanding, as well as perseverance and motivation, led them to take these ideas to the next level, for the benefit of mankind. Without their dedication and thoughts, our world would most likely be significantly less developed than it is today.

Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets have captured the inspiration of millions of people around the globe. If he had not had the motivation to sit down and write all of his 38 plays, the world of literature would be infinitely times worse off.
We can now pose the following question: How many geniuses have passed through their life without realising that with dedication, they could help to benefit the human race? My answer is; everybody that has ever lived or breathed.

This seems contradictory to my earlier comment that states that intelligence is a gift. Both statements still stand, and complement each other perfectly. Intelligence is the gift given to you by yourself, your soul or conscience. It is the ability to look past the petty issues that plague our existence and lifestyles in today’s society, and the ability to want to know more. Intelligence stems directly from a desire to know everything, or as much as possibly feasible. This trait is present in every human brain, yet is hardly ever recognised or fully understood. It is always existent, and never disappears, silently begging its owner to allow it to fly freely. Literally speaking, this gift cannot be referred to as an emotion, or a physical property. It is merely a form of passion or a trait, that helps keep the human brain at just that, human.

Too many people say that intelligence is naturally occurring, me personally still being a teenager respectfully disagree. There are different forms of intellect, and the underlying common factor is desire. A desire to know has been evident in humans since the dawn of civilisation. Why else would we be so focused on answering science’s fundamental questions of the universe? Answering questions such as ‘Why can we think?’ and ‘When did the Universe begin?’ would most likely not benefit our lifestyles directly, but simply add another part of the puzzle to our brains.

If everybody opened their minds, our race would be answering the questions to these fundamental questions quickly, and with conclusive evidence. While our minds and their capabilities are technically limited, the passion in our soul is not. It is my belief that everybody has the capability to benefit mankind in an intellectual and creative way, but among other factors, our school systems continue to take the wonder out of learning and turn it into a chore. Teens no longer want to continue studying as adults, for the added burden of paying bills and working in dead-end jobs has contributed to removing the motivation required. My personal concerns about the mistakes of mankind, especially in the area of politics, will be covered in depth in another essay. But I can safely say that it is our own actions that are limiting this desire for intelligence, and the creative freedom that it brings.

Most people in school after witnessing an apparently very bright pupil would probably just account the pupils brightness to him being ‘smart’, but the thing about being smart in school is that it’s not just an attribute you simply have due to your acquired personality or attributes but it is actually something in which you must work towards, They don’t seem to realise that you actually get smart by working hard and studying intensively, very rarely its due to natural occurring common sense.

Intelligence is not just a sought after trait, but a fragment of the soul, the underlying desire for knowledge and understanding, which is present in us all. With a little motivation, perseverance and dedication, we can all help to achieve knowledge in areas currently unknown to our race. The future of our planet and species is not in our own hands, but our minds.

Ola