Man's Search for Meaning

In this section, the author once again emphasizes his belief that dignity and courage in the face of suffering is one of the ultimate sources of meaning in a person’s life. “This in turn presupposes the human capacity to creatively turn life’s negative aspects into something positive or constructive . . . hence the reason I speak of a tragic optimism, that is, an optimism in the face of tragedy and in view of the human potential that at its best always allows for: 1) turning suffering into human achievement and accomplishment; 2) deriving from guilt the opportunity to change oneself for the better; and 3) deriving from life’s transitoriness an incentive to take responsible action” (137-38).

Frankl’s philosophy and methods lead him to a particular interpretation of the past. He argues that “People tend to see only the stubble fields of transitoriness but overlook and forget the full granaries of the past into which they have brought the harvest of their lives: the deeds done, the loves loved, and last but not least, the sufferings they have gone through with courage and dignity. From this one may see that there is no reason to pity old people. Instead, young people should envy them . . . instead of possibilities in the future, they have the realities in the past—the potentialities they have actualized, the meanings they have fulfilled, the values they have realize—and nothing and nobody can ever remove these assets from the past” (150-51).