Undergraduate /
"journey into philosophy" - Common App ..Viktor Frankl [NEW]
this is what i have so far, but I'm stuck, i don't really know where to take it
any ideas/comment/edits will help
My journey into philosophy began after receiving a gift from by uncle, a Buddhist monk. When I turned eleven he gave me a copy if Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. Since the first time I read the book, the way I experience my life has changed. With every reading of the book I am recommitted to changing the way I think, to look at my life in terms of what my purpose is, and in my pain, find the why for which I struggle and the why for which I must persist. In handing me the book my uncle was challenging me to look deeper into myself and find my purpose in every aspect of my life.
In Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl gives an overview of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. However, instead of focusing on the cruelty and inhumanity suffered by the prisoners, Frankl focuses on the psychological responses of the prisoners to the dehumanization in the camps in order to explain his concept of logotherapy. Logotherapy is a type of existentialist analysis that focuses on a will to meaning, founded on the belief that striving to find a meaning in one's life is the primary driving force in humans.
Frankl's main goal in writing Man's Search for Meaning was to convey to the reader through a concrete example that life holds a potential meaning under any condition, even the most miserable ones. Frankl's idea is a simplistic yet powerful concept, each person is the master of his own fate and must hold himself responsible for his own destiny. While he can not control the action of those around him and will not always control every situation, his strength lies in the way he empowers meaning from each situation and each struggle.
An aspect of Frankl's view is that meaning is always changing and, as human are perpetually making choices and reorienting themselves within the world, the meaning of life is inherently transitory. What matters is not the overall abstract concept of the meaning of life, but the meaning of a person's life at a particular moment. Each person must strive to find what drives them to action and to success. At this moment, writing this essay, I am driven by my desire to further my education. At other times, like in diving, I am driven by my desire to be the best, I push myself forward through the frigid practices in order to progress personally as an athlete.
Frankl conveys a definite contrasts between the prisoners that surrendered to the suffering and succumbed to death, and the prisoners that triumphed over the pain. The difference for the prisoners between life and death lay in their mindset. Survivors had some meaning or purpose to propel them forward, while the ones that died had simply given up hope; the body cannot endure without the mind. Frankl concludes by quoting Nietzsche, "he who has a why to live for can bear almost any how." Without being aware that a purpose exists, humans do not search for their reason to be and commit metaphoric suicide with their lives.
In previous eras, tradition, religion, and other community structures conferred a sense of meaning in life, clarifying the direction and purpose of individuals. Because these structure have eroded, individuals must assume the responsibility to seek meaning themselves. When humans are unaware of their driving forces and go through life unaware of why they continue their rote action, they fall subject to the "existential vacuum," a pervasive pattern of existential frustration, where one experiences one's life as being empty and meaningless. Meaning is harder to define in the modern world of clones, in a society that promotes conformity, totalitarianism, and aphrodesia, values that are essentially passive and unsatisfying. This in turn contributes to the continual rise in social and mental maladies like depression, aggression, and addiction.
The first step in avoiding the vacuum is defining the self. In applying for college I am asked to define and describe myself to a governing board of complete strangers. I initially struggled with who I was and how I was different from the other millions of applicants applying to college. I fought against the vacuum, determined to know my own self. I began by taking a pencil and a piece of paper and making a list of things I liked and of adjectives that describe. I soon began writing prolifically and was unable to stop at ant given word limit. Applying for college has been a self actualizing journey and has given me a better sense of who I am, what my goal are in life, and what I want to become. I know my journey is far from over, but I am thoroughly excited to be on the brink of self discovery and to continue my journey in college.