Introduction and Historical Overview of Viktor E. Frankl’s Logotherapy and Existential Analysis
FACULTY: Maria Marshall, PhD (profile) and Edward Marshall, MD, PhD (profile)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course acquaints with the rationale, tenets, and principles of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis (LTEA) as a non-deterministic and “open psychology.” It illustrates the development of LTEA’s principles in their historical context and the life of its founder, Dr. Viktor Frankl. The course offers a glimpse of trends, social attitudes, scientific theories, and/or psychological models that are incompatible with the holistic model of LTEA because of their reductionistic or deterministic view of the person. Students are invited to ponder inspirational content from Frankl’s most well-known book “Man’s Search for Meaning.”
It introduces the Three Pillars of Logotherapy: (1) Freedom of Will; (2) The Will to Meaning; and (3) Meaning in Life. These principles introduce students to the anthropological, psychotherapeutic, and philosophical basis of LTEA. Examples illustrate the significance of these fundamental principles in clinical practice. These principles are further illustrated in Frankl’s book, “Yes to Life, In Spite of Everything.” The content of this book was written in 1946, shortly after Frankl’s liberation from the concentration camps. It emphasizes that people can say “yes” to life in all circumstances; (1) in the face of suffering and death, (2) despite suffering from mental or physical illness, or (3) blows of fate. The concept of “meaning” is explained in this course.