To illustrate how Frankl’s view, with its insistence on self-transcendence, diametrically opposes those of Freud and Adler when it comes to this basic issue, I will borrow from some illustrations in another book of Frankl’s, The Will to Meaning. In his diagrams, which I have combined and added to, we have the basic directions of his thought:
FIGURE 1
At the lower left-hand of the illustration, I have added the “self” as a help toward understanding where we ourselves fit into the picture. Notice the solid line arrows give the basic direction of Frankl’s thought, while the broken line arrows indicate the faulty paths. The pursuit of happiness, understood particularly in terms of Freud’s
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pleasure-principle, fails to lead to any lasting fulfillment. The arrow of Adler’s “Will-to-Power” starts off in the right direction but falls back on the self — particularly in the more recent interpretations of this term.
As I have indicated by the direction of the arrows in the diagram, the flow of energy must be consistently clockwise. If we make the mistake of trying to move around the diagram counter-clockwise we shall not only miss the central point of our whole discussion of Frankl and his thought, but we shall find ourselves also misunderstanding and, what is worse, misleading ourselves on what we imagine is the path of faith.
Meaning and Transcendence
In his introduction to one of his earlier books, Frankl wrote:
Man lives in three dimensions; the somatic, the mental, and the spiritual. The spiritual dimension cannot be ignored, for it is what makes us human.
(The Doctor and the Soul: From Psychotherapy to Logotherapy).
As we shall see, there is really nothing new in this statement. True meaning or purpose, if it is to be worthy of our capacity for full human existence, has to be found in a form that surpasses whatever level of existence that we now enjoy or suffer. Frankl used the word Logos (the ancient Greek term for the guiding reason or intelligence that directs the universe) for this meaning or purpose in life. It is this something that is greater than ourselves which alone can fully call forth our capacity to become fully what we are capable of.
If Freud’s approach to happiness or self-fulfillment is flawed, it is not just because it is defective psychologically speaking; it is even more lacking as a philosophy of life. It
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simply underestimates human capacity and needs. At its root the Freudian philosophy of life is primarily concerned with what the ancient philosophers called the somatic or bodily level of existence, reducing the meaning of human existence to the satisfaction of needs which, although they have their psychological aspects, are, at root, physical in nature.
Adler’s approach is, as we said, more on target, being concerned with the human need to be a self-determined person in one’s own right. Adler’s “will-to-power,” translated as “self-actualization” by his American disciple, Carl R. Rogers (see On Becoming a Person), points to the human need to become more rather than simply to have or enjoy more. But it too falls short. It focuses on what is more properly psychological or the “mental” dimension in human nature, but is this enough? For Frankl, obviously not.
Here Frankl, again adapting the language of the ancient philosophers, saw something more to human nature than simply the body (soma) and soul or mind (psyche or nous) . We also possess the pneuma or “spirit.” And it is this spiritual dimension that alone makes us fully human.
But here we must interject a crucial theological point. Basing himself on the ancient Hebrew concept that it is God’s spirit or breath (the Ruach Yahweh) that alone brings things to life, St. Paul tells us that it is our pneuma, the human “spirit”, that reaches out to God’s Pneuma, the Holy Spirit, and which alone can bring us to our full destiny as “children of God” (see Rom. 8:16). In other words, the three levels or dimensions of human existence are not by any means complete. On the spiritual level, in particular, we are not whole or complete persons. Our “spirit” by itself exists more as a capacity or potentiality than as an actuality or finished product.
Or if we were to rephrase St. Paul in modern scientific terms, we might say that while the evolution of life has brought us beyond the merely biological stage of existence
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to the psychological level, we remain unsatisfied and we, whether as individuals or as a species, not only are still in the process of trying to become merely more human, but even, to some extent, depending on how you look at it, superhuman. In any case, we are trying to evolve beyond what we presently are. Culture, religion, science, technology, and even the current craze for self-fulfillment all point in this direction.
The implications of this point of view are tremendous. Whether viewed in theological, philosophical, or even simply psychological terms, it means that the purpose or meaning of human existence must point to something beyond ourselves. This self-surpassing quality or effort is what generally we call self-transcendence. By it we mean the challenge to reach beyond ourselves, to desire more than we have, and in the process to become more than what we are.
Yet how can we surpass ourselves? At the same time that we sense this longing for transcendence, we fear that not only does our biological death seem to spell our individual psychological death as individuals, but on top of that most indications are that all human life, along with our planet, the solar system, and even the universe, will eventually come to a dead end. Does this spell the end of human evolution or of existence itself? Thus in terms of the human desire for self-transcendence the question is: Is there anything, or anyone beside ourselves, on which we can place our hopes? Or to put it another way: How can there be self-transcendence without there being a transcendent meaning beyond that which we make up in our own minds?
This is the issue that ultimately confronts all questions about meaning and our hopes for fulfillment. Is there an “ultimate” or lasting meaning to our existence — or to all existence? The only answer to that question, according to Frankl, is to be found in “faith” which is “trust in ultimate meaning” — which I take to be another way of saying that God exists.
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Questions for Reflection and Discussion
1. Think of an example where “faith” of some sort made all the difference in achieving some goal. Can you recount something similar that has happened in your own life or in the life of someone you know?
2. What do you think of Frankl’s criticism of the search for happiness? Can you think of examples where “the pursuit of happiness” didn’t work, especially from your own life?
3. What would be your idea of “meaning” in your own life? How would this fulfillment differ from mere “pleasure”? Would fulfillment be the same as “self-actualization” — yes or no? If not, how?
4. In what way are faith and “ultimate meaning” bound up with each other? Need such a faith be “religious”?
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Chapter 2: The Meaning of Faith
“Faith is the state of being ultimately concerned. . . If it lays claim to ultimacy it demands total surrender of him who accepts this claim, and it promises total fulfillment.” ( Paul Tillich, The Dynamics of Faith)
Those brought up with a more traditional Christian outlook on faith may have been surprised a bit by Frankl’s description of faith as “trust in ultimate meaning,” just as many may feel somewhat uneasy with theologian