REFLECTIONS FROM A DIPLOMATE LOGOTHERAPY STUDENT
Written by Henry D. Mason
Scholars, mostly theorists, have noted that in the pursuit of knowledge there is nothing as practical as a good theory.3,4 Theory takes one from the pragmatic world of apparent haphazard events (e.g., falling apples) to a sound conceptual argument (e.g., the law of gravity). Similarly, Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy serves as a heoretical orientation that organizes the apparent haphazard events of life into a meaningful whole.
Frankl argues that life has unconditional Meaning.2 However, when humans are confronted by, amongst others, profoundly traumatic crises, the meaning of life is often questioned.8 Traumatic crises such as the 9-11 terrorist attack in the USA, the 2004 tsunami that struck the islands of Indonesia and other parts of Asia, as well as the 2011 tsunami and earthquake that hit Japan, have confronted humanity with death tolls and suffering unheard of for many a generation. In the aftermath of the aforementioned crises, proponents of logotherapy draw on the work of Frankl to organize the events into a meaningful whole; they are confronted by the question: Is life really unconditionally meaningfu ?