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Viktor Frankl: Life has Meaning, Choices, and Responsibilities.

Viktor Frankl, a medical doctor, neurologist, and psychiatrist had his life path devastated when he, his wife of a few months, and all his family were arrested in 1942, by the Nazis. As with other Jewish citizens of Vienna, Austria, Frankl and his family went to concentration camps, lived separated from one another, and most of his family died in the camps. Viktor survived through horrendous conditions in three different concentration camps. (Frankl, 2006).

Before Viktor Frankl was separated from all that he loved, by the Nazis, he had already developed many theories about how people think, cope, adjust, and survive. He had written articles as a young man that drew the attention of famous psychologists of his time, Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler, but over time, Viktor Frankl came to see that his approach to life was different than the psychologists he had admired. They saw life experiences as elements for review and analysis, focusing frequently on finding a basis for blame for any life difficulties.

Frankl saw life experiences as opportunities that could lead a person to find meaning in life. In the years before Viktor was taken to a concentration camp, he had even thought suffering could illuminate and lead one to a healthy perspective on life (Frankl, 2006). While he was a concentration camp prisoner, Viktor certainly had opportunities to test his theories on thinking, coping, adjusting, surviving, and suffering.

The Nazis had not yet invaded Vienna when Viktor finished writing a book about his theories on life, choices people make, and responsibilities common to humanity. It was just after he finished writing the book, that the Nazis came into Vienna and arrested him and thousands of other Jewish individuals and families. A few days after his arrest, separated from his family, and everything familiar, Viktor Frankl’s still had his book. He had managed to carry it with him, but the Nazis found and destroyed it.

Rather than give up hope and purpose, Viktor decided to rewrite his book, first just in his mind, then on scraps of material. The project of recomposing his book and the constant thought of surviving to see his wife again formed the foundation of ideas that kept Frankl alive. He had food for his mind and soul even though he had little food for his body (Durbin, 1986).

Viktor Frankl’s autobiography (2000b) presents recollections from Gordon Allport, an American psychologist who specialized in studying human personalities. Allport believed that Viktor’s theory and therapy provided the “most significant psychological movement of our day,” (p. 66). Why? Because Viktor Frankl’s theories are based on meaning. Viktor Frankl emphasized that all life has meaning and purpose, even the unpleasant and awful contributes to building meaning in a person’s life.

In practicing the use of Frankl’s theories, one learns to find something positive even in the most frightening and disturbing life experiences. Suffering, in Frankl’s view, stands as a difficult experience to move through, just as one might determine to complete a problematic or unpleasant job. The process of giving birth is fraught with dangers, pain, and unpleasantness—but how great is the purpose for and the meaning of the physical suffering that carries the mother through the experience?

Frankl believed people search for meaning as a primary motivation for living. The desire to live a life of meaning and with purpose encounters frustration by:

(1) physical challenges ranging from discomfort to threats to survival;

(2) lack of knowledge or ways to find the answers to what is life’s purpose, how one has a life purpose, and what ways can build a meaningful life;

(3) trying to accumulate evidence for meaning in one’s personal existence. Evidence comes through experiences, evaluation, relationships, achievements, and references.

What kind of evidence? A teacher, who was asked to write a reference for a student simply wrote, “If this student was put onto a barren desert island, flowers would grow.” The student saw this statement from the admired trusted teacher and believed the words. They had the power of evidence from a non-biased evaluator. Throughout the remaining decades of life, that student sought to live up to the positive view the teacher had proclaimed. To the student, that teacher’s statement was evidence that the student could have a life of meaning and help improve the world.

In Frankl’s view of finding meaning in life, it is not the individual who should be asking; Where can I find meaning for my life? It is life asking the person, How will you use life to make a life of meaning?

Taking the responsibility for making meaning of all life’s experiences is a great and awesome challenge. Frankl (2006) declared, “Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now!” (p. 109). The challenge to face includes life’s finite nature and the numerous opportunities to change one's life through options, value judgments, interpretation, reflections, and taking responsibility for one’s choices.

Discovering meaning happens as one lives life fully, by moving through varied experiences, and by love. Ultimately, Frankl saw that full awareness of life must include love. If a person interacts to have relationships by sharing, giving, feeling, and experiencing love, the person will probably also experience suffering, because of their own circumstances or suffering over concern for a loved one. For Frankl (2006) love was not a feeling that automatically accompanied sex or a desire focused on sexual experiences. Many psychologists of his day later made a connection between love and sex.

For Frankl, love existed as a primary part of life. Suffering allows people to see and experience “the uniquely human potential at its best, which is to transform a personal tragedy into triumph…when we are no longer able to change a situation…we are challenged to change ourselves” (Frankl, 2006, p. 112). Suffering, Frankl (2000b) explained in his autobiography, occurs as people confront an unchangeable fate and must choose the attitude they will take toward that fate. If they are to find meaning from the suffering, they will choose to seek a way to turn their suffering into a triumph of spirit over fate.

Wicks, (2003) a counselor for people overcoming trauma, found that people had to look within. Individuals have to find a way to illuminate the darkness of pain and suffering. Meditation, learning, reflection, prayer, and active choices to help others can lead people through great adversity. People can find a meaning in life that transforms even extreme misery into a path to peace and appreciation of items often overlooked.

Learning a second language, through schooling rather than immersion or in a home environment, is a difficult task for many people, and specific strategies are needed to advance language learning. Once students have considered the power their own attitudes and choices have to advance their success in learning, they can begin to look for the strategies that will help them to apply all their skills to learning a language. Students who are introduced to Frankl’s theory for responsibility, choices, and one’s attitude toward all that life may bring can help them to make positive choices. Students of even young ages can take responsibility for their own learning, and they can also learn to see a struggle as an experience they must go through to become better and stronger.

Yang and Gai (2010) studied 89 communication strategies for learning English in China. They found that learning English connects to achievement strategies that are not frequently practiced in a communicative context. Underdevelopment of conversational and cooperative strategies in learning English affects a student’s confidence so students are reluctant to speak lest they make a mistake. Frankl would tell students to welcome any opportunity to practice speaking conversational English because even if they make mistakes, they will learn and improve. Mistakes are a phase to pass through to develop greater meaning and purpose in one’s life. Just as babies learn to walk by many tries and through many falls, one must embrace making mistakes as a natural part of learning.

Culturally, Chinese students do not use body gestures to a great extent and are inhibited to try adding body gestures to language learning. This is a psychological barrier and a difference in the mode of thinking. Pattakos (2008) found that Frankl’s theories encourage individuals to let go of old ways of thinking and to have a new sense of freedom in life, work, and learning. Building a positive attitude in language learners requires encouraging learning situations, varied approaches to teaching, and determining strategies to build competence.

Viktor Frankl found that people became free from anxieties as they faced their fears and moved toward their fears. Students need an introduction to Viktor Frankl through his story: a young bright learner, a hard-working student, a new doctor, a newlywed, a prisoner of the Nazis, a human skeleton freed from the concentration camps at the end of World War II, a person who lost all the family members closest to him, a man who went back to pick up the pieces of his life determined to also help others have a better life. Then students can examine what Frankl had to say about fear. Many students are afraid of failure in language study, and they are fearful of sounding foolish.

In The Will to Meaning, (1988) Frankl encourages individuals to overcome their anxiety and the effects of fear by embracing their fear, moving towards it, and actually aiming to do what they fear.

For example:

If students feared sounding foolish, they could work to memorize and recite silly children’s rhymes or alliterative sentences that are meant to sound funny. Silly songs also offer a method for relaxing fears while engaging in the language and music tunes of a culture.
If students feared not being able to speak clearly, they could practice shouting the new words and sentences they want to master.
If students fear using gestures to help communicate, they should try to always use a gesture or series of gestures that fit the message they want to communicate.
If a student fears making writing mistakes with words that are homonyms, they can practice on their own, with a friend, or with a group writing sentences with homonyms and then saying them while looking at the paper so they are feeding their visual, auditory, and cognitive learning abilities. In elementary classes where I have used this approach, groups of children end up laughing and delighted, and in a fun competition over sentences, they create with homonyms.
- He heard a herd of elephants.
- They’re all arriving there when their flight is no longer delayed.
- How are you at raising ewes that will have wool we can use?
- He went by the house as he shouted, “Bye!,” on his way to buy some groceries.
- I have two friends who are too argumentative to be in the same room with one another.
- Of course, the hide of a horse is coarse, but the horse is not hoarse.
- Which girl was in a witch costume on Halloween?
- If I had better sight, I would go to the site of the controversy and cite the law to the citizens.

Every language has homonyms, and English has thousands of them, both auditory and visual homonyms. Students should be able to have some fun with language while conquering fears.

ENTER thoughtfully into new practices.

Teachers who want to help students overcome fears and have positive attitudes toward learning and language work can help students build an awareness of self-efficacy, choices, and the importance of attitudes. In The Doctor and the Soul, (1986) Viktor Frankl explained the planless days of many people. Individuals arise and follow a routine that seems predetermined. They are not fully cognizant of the present because they are waiting for or thinking about something else.

Frankl (1986) also explained the fatalistic attitude that considers trying to change anything a futile effort. Another poor choice includes the attitude of following the group, letting collective thinking guide one in making any semblance of a decision. There is also the attitude of fanaticism, taking an extreme view. None of these attitudes will build the responsibility and decision-making power Frankl encouraged people to have. Students can learn to look at the views of authors, speakers, and leaders and to analyze printed work or speeches for signs of positive and constructive thinking and attitudes.

What will build that perseverant attitude of hope is not just heredity or environment. For Frankl, what builds strength in having purpose and meaning is unique to any individual; it is decision making. The teacher should always have clear plans and objectives for lessons. Some teachers choose to write the lesson objectives in an easily viewed classroom location if students are able to read.

Other teachers regularly tell their students why they are engaging in a certain task or activity. If students understand that teachers have a plan and a purpose, and if that plan and purpose connect to something important to the student, there will be better participation in the class. A solid ground plan for daily lessons, weekly lessons, and semesters of lessons establish a foundation for trust and commitment on the part of the students.

Interconnections between elements of body, mind, and spirit make impressions on students through role models, stories, and experiences. Interconnections between disciplines of study should also be overtly shared so that students will not think of learning a language as an isolated class activity, but as a thrilling activity that can affect their lives, goals, and everything they might study or do. Analysis and reflection are skills to develop for any learning activity so that students will see the choices made, evaluate the energy they have or could put into the work, and estimate how their efforts will help them to reach their goals.

Goals for learning any subject or life lesson evolve over time, Francois and Zonana (2009) found that students are often overwhelmed by vast amounts of material in one lesson. To help students master material and skills, Francois and Zonana suggested:

Create mini-lessons on just one point or skill
Build on previous lessons.
Give opportunities to practice the skill.
Measure and review progress made.
Be short enough not to bore students.
Use student-friendly language.
Analyze language patterns.
Have time for reflection in the curriculum.

SHOW students models of applications.

Students can follow the teacher in drawing a psychological model of their core potential areas. Frankl provides analysis and various model drawings in Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning, (2000a). The original illustration in Figure 7.1, reveals Frankl’s estimation found spirituality essential to a person’s core, a recognition of right and wrong, and a longing for fairness, justice, acceptance, love, and meaning.

For Viktor Frankl, the elements swirling into various alignments within an individual include the psyche, which embraces all psychological elements; the somatic that touches aspects of the physical; the conscious sense of responsibility that helps one to face and learn from choices, and the spirit that can sustain and renew a person. An individual’s spirituality, in Frankl’s view, touches every other aspect of the person.

Students old enough to understand the elements of Frankl’s analysis of human existence can create vocabulary lists, phrases, and sentences to accompany each of the elements of an individual: somatic, psychological, and conscious choices, attached to concepts of responsibility, and spirit. Somatic will require students to understand that term connects to the body and the idea that movement and motion affect one’s psychological well-being and ability to learn.

Younger students, unable to understand words and terms based on Frankl’s ideas, should have encouragement to draw and color a picture that shows their brain, body, energy, and love. Encouraging students of all ages to think about their actions, make good choices and know they can use their energy and spirit to develop positive and kind illustrations. Helping students reach high goals and positive strategies create an ongoing challenge for all teachers.

TEACH students to understand how they learn.

In Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning, (2000a) Frankl explained that if a person wants to overcome problems and frustrations, he or she needs to understand motivations, choices, and learning processes. Teachers can help students to see the variety of motivations that can influence choices. In analyzing the self and the actions or issues that affect the self, a person has to practice detachment skills to perceive and analyze without bias. Helping students recognize what they know, and how their knowledge has influenced their understanding and actions is crucial. Helping students to see that choices made for one part of life affect other parts of life emerges as thoughtful scaffolding to building stronger thinking skills.

Where Can a Person Find Meaning No Matter Their Circumstances?

For fulfillment, Frankl intellectually and experientially found that hope and meaning depend on self-transcendence, looking past one’s own needs to meet the needs of others. From an early age, students can comprehend what it means to help another person or group of people. In the early 21st century, there have been many unusual disasters from tsunamis to fires to earthquakes. Students can participate in actions to help people survive and overcome suffering. If teachers desire to help their students find and feel the power of living a meaningful life, they can help students to find meaning. A teacher cannot just tell students a meaning that could suit the student’s life. Frankl (2000a) said, “Meaning must be found and cannot be given…what is good will be defined as that which fosters the fulfillment of a being” (p. 112- 113).

Opening a higher awareness of the spirit, and the somatic, psychological, and conscious choices a person can make is a motivational responsibility for teachers. Which choices do students make each day? Which choices are based on spirit, perceptions, previous choices, or physical needs? Teachers can discuss choices, from the small and practical to lifelong goals, and show students the power of language to communicate.

Frankl (1978) claimed, “language is always pointing to something beyond itself…it is always self-transcendent” (p. 89). Language teachers can strengthen students to think and act in ways that build self-transcendent purpose and provide meaning. Teachers have many opportunities in a day to bring transcendent values and actions into focus for students. Learning processes need to recognize, analyze, and celebrate what unites humanity. In Frankl’s estimation, what unites people is a search for meaning and the ongoing adventure of finding life’s meaning through choices, responsibilities, and transcendent goals.

Examples for Teaching Meaning, Choices, and Responsibility

Heather

Because Heather has noticed many of her students speak more freely with some slight costume, like a mask or hat, she has created a project to develop thinking, writing, art, and speaking. Students create a partial mask to cover the forehead, eyes, and nose and one side of the mask is a frightening face, the other a kind or encouraging face. The scary face represents fears and negative thoughts, and the kind encouraging face represents hope, effort, and positive self-talk.

Students work in groups to create an outline for a script where a person their age faces a challenging situation and has to decide how to overcome the challenges. Students can take the outline and adlib as they choose one person from their group to act as the fearful person, one to use the scary side of a mask and be the negative influence, and one to use the happy side of the mask to represent a positive influence, and another group member or two can be friends who also come by to try to help the central character overcome the fear or difficulty they face.

Students are allowed one class period to practice working with their script in class, but any other practices the students must arrange before or after school. There is a set date when students need to present their skit to the class. If the scripts cover a wide variety of challenges or fears, Heather uses that to help the students discuss the many challenges people face in life. If the scripts seem to emphasize the same fear, Heather uses discussion time to have students look for perspective, interpretation, and detail differences in the presentations. Overall Heather has seen an enthusiastic response to this project. Students enjoy working together and their skills of planning, writing, revising, collaborating, and speaking grow through the work on the project.

Hua Xin

Vocabulary knowledge and application stand as a primary emphasis for Hua Xin’s school’s priorities. Hua Xin has read about Frankl’s life and theories and wants her students to think about the choice of choosing to focus on what is positive or what is negative. Hua Xin hangs large pieces of paper in the classroom. One has the title, Positives; the other has the title Negatives. Students bring words in each day for a week and carefully print the words on the appropriate paper banner, Positives or Negatives.

Throughout the week the students try to use the words in writing and speaking. They also watch for these words in print, songs, television, or videos. When they see or hear the words they report it to the class. Hua Xin has found most students like her to leave the paper banners of Positives and Negatives up for longer than the week that emphasizes these two contrasts. They often continue to tell her about the words or other positives or negatives that occur in daily usage. Hua Xin believes she sees more interest in vocabulary, greater comprehension, and more use of a variety of words to express positive and negative ideas and feelings when her class does this project.

She also has the students keep a list of synonyms and antonyms in their notebooks for the school year.

Hernando

In class times of practical skills and goals, Hernando has students name things they think people fear. As practice for speaking with others and using interview techniques, students create a survey about fears. Hernando then has students work as teams to collect answers to the survey from 50 people who fall within an age category, so team 1 gathers answers from people age 10 or younger. Team 2 gathers answers from people between 11 and 20. Team 3: ages 21 and 30, Team 4: ages 31-40, Team 5: ages 41-50, Team 6: ages 51-60. Team 7: ages 61-70. Team 8:anyone age 81 or older.

The class makes a chart of answers, then changes it into a different kind of graph and learns how to write about statistics and the results of surveys. Hernando has them categorize and compare the fears and then has them choose any category of fears and write an essay with suggestions for overcoming the fear. Students are allowed to cite references for advice in their essays, and Hernando encourages them to ask people about successful ways to overcome fears. Finally, in a reflective journal writing experience, Hernando asks students what this project has revealed to them about overcoming their own fears.

Harry

Because Harry sees middle school students as young people in need of energetic opportunities, Harry has them create encouraging cheers. He gives them vocabulary words to use in their cheers and encourages them to make rhyming cheers or cheers with motions. Students work in groups to create, practice, and then present the cheers. Once this project is completed, Harry has groups take turns presenting their encouraging cheers throughout the school year. If a group wants to develop other encouraging cheers with new and varied vocabulary words, Harry gives them extra credit.

Anytime the class environment seems sleepy or lagging, the students know Harry may call on them to present a cheer. This adds a sense of surprise and fun as they get to use loud voices and often motions in saying the cheers together. Some of Harry's students have gone beyond cheers to creating raps they can recite to the class.

Sometimes when the class does a service project with a local group, for instance in traveling to do a presentation for the senior center, Harry has them do the whole set of cheers and raps for the senior citizens. The students are applauded, and Harry feels this encourages them to think about finding ways to make people feel better. Harry is glad to have his students think creatively and to have them motivate themselves and others through upbeat behaviors. Harry wants students to understand they can make a choice each day for their attitude and approach to facing life’s difficulties.

References

Durbin, P. G. (1986). A tribute to Viktor Frankl. Retrieved from http://infinityinst.com/

articles/trib_vik_frankl.html.

Francois, C., & Zonana, E. (2009). Catching up on conventions: Grammar

lessons for Middle school writers. Portsmouth NH: Heinemann.

Frankl, V. E. (1978). The unheard cry for meaning: Psychotherapy and

humanism. New York, NY: Touchstone.

Frankl, V. E. (1986). The doctor and the soul: From psychotherapy to

logotherapy. New York, NY: Vintage Books.

Frankl, V. E. (1988). The will to meaning: Foundations and applications of

logotherapy. New York, NY: Penguin Books.

Frankl, V. E. (2000a). Man’s search for ultimate meaning. New York, NY: Perseus.

Frankl, V. E. (2000b). Recollections: An autobiography. New York, NY: Perseus.

Frankl, V. E. (2006). Man’s search for meaning. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

Pattakos, A. (2008). Prisoners of our thoughts: Viktor Frankl’s principles for

discovering meaning in life and work. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler

Publishers.

Wicks, R.J. (2003). Riding the dragon: Ten lessons for inner strength in

challenging times. Notre Dame, IN: Sorin Books.

Yang, Dong, and Gai, Fang-peng. (2010). Chinese learners Communication

strategies research: A case study at Shangdong Jiaotong University.

Cross Cultural Communication, 6 (1) 56-81.

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