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Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning
First published 1997 · 240 pages
A profound, quiet exploration of the human soul's innate drive toward purpose, resilience, and the divine.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting in a quiet, sunlit study with a wise mentor who understands the deepest fractures of the human psyche. The pace is steady and deliberate, asking you to pause and reflect as it bridges the gap between clinical psychology and profound spirituality. It carries an earnest, compassionate tone, wrapping complex existential concepts in a deeply humanistic warmth. The mood is highly introspective and reverent, guiding the reader through the shadows of existential dread toward a hopeful, resilient light. It is not a book to be rushed, but rather absorbed. This text will deeply resonate with seekers, philosophers, and anyone yearning to understand the unconscious roots of our drive for ultimate meaning.
- Mood
- contemplative
- introspective
- reverent
- hopeful
- Tone
- earnest
- philosophical
- compassionate
- intellectual
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- existential resilience · the search for purpose · spirituality and psychology · the unconscious mind · meaning in suffering
- The writing
- Academic yet deeply humanistic, blending clinical psychological observation with profound philosophical and spiritual inquiry.
- The arc
- Moves from the heavy weight of existential questioning to a quiet, profound realization of inherent human purpose and spiritual resilience.
- Who it's for
- Seekers of existential truth and readers fascinated by the intersection of clinical psychology, philosophy, and the human spirit.
Content notes
- existential dread
- discussions of suffering
- psychological distress
- references to the Holocaust
About the book
"Viktor Frankl is known to millions of readers as a psychotherapist who has transcended his field in his search for answers to the ultimate questions of life, death, and suffering. Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning explores the sometimes unconscious basis human desire for inspiration or revelation, and illustrates how life can offer profound meaning at every turn."--BOOK JACKET.
"The present text is a revised, updated version of the original Austrian edition, Der Unbewusste Gott, c1948 Viktor E. Frankl; and the English translation, The Unconscious God, c1975 Viktor E. Frankl"--T.p. verso.
Reprint of the ed. published c1997 by Insight Books, New York, and by Perseus Books, Cambridge, Mass.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-186) and index.
Description from Open Library.
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