Psychology review - Book Report/Review Example

Psychology Book Review The book in review is “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl who is a psychiatrist who talks of his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. The purpose of the text is to aid individuals in finding out the meaning of their lives, and this is by providing them with techniques and perspectives on how to achieve such goals (Frankl 47). Some of the examples provided in the book, coupled with the fact that his professional skills are in the psychology department, offer different methods through which individuals can actually attain personal gratification.

The easy-to-read language offers the reader insight into the ordeal that countless individuals went through in the camp, and how one could have survived despite the harsh and vile conditions. At a time when Jews were losing a fight against the Nazi regime, psychologist Viktor Frankl had to search for a deeper meaning in what they were going through, and what could be done to save their lives. He began to look at life in concentration camps differently. The little things that made life normal for the Jews were taken away forcefully, which meant that their normal actions in life were over (Frankl 53).

Some of those who survived were thrown into concentration camps, and this is where Frankl saw of the different nature that man exhibited. It is in the camp that he also concluded that the search for meaning depends on a man’s resolve on what they wanted at the end of all they were undergoing. Taking a look at the life that most prisoners or inmates go through, it is clear that those who are bigger and more physically capable of handling pain tend to survive. However, this was not the case with the SS concentration camp in which Frankl was held.

Inmates that were less robust survived better in the camp than those with more robust frames. The quest that is present in one’s life is probably one thing that makes individuals strive to achieve certain goals, endure certain situations, and become better individuals (Frankl 69). It is through certain situations that individuals get the ability to find meaning in some of the harsh realities of the world and come out of them better and stronger, as did Viktor Frankl who survived the concentration camp to be what he wanted to be.

The book carves a way in which people can find what they have been missing in their lives. This is because it talks of a way in which people can be better than what they are, if they just found purpose in their lives. This purpose can assist individuals in growing to be better, decent people, and strive to be more than what society expects from them. The author intends for the reader to deduce meaning from the situations that present themselves regularly, and try to make sense of them. It is through this book that people can find the right attitude and tackle everyday situations (Frankl 72).

In conclusion, discovering the meaning behind life and what it holds can be the key to survival, and this is what the author intends for the reader. It is known that life has two species of people; the decent and indecent race. Society cannot exist with either of the two not being present (Frankl 97). It is the impurity of mankind that makes society what it is. Viktor Frankl overcame the injustices he went through and strived to help others overcome.Work CitedFrankl, Viktor E. Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning.

New York: Perseus Books Group, 2000. Print.