Man’s Search for Meaning

Unlike the neuroses dealt with in psychoanalytical practice, noögenic neuroses come from existential issues and problems with the will to meaning. Frankl says that the only treatment for these issues is logotherapy, which deals with “the specifically human dimension.”

One of Frankl’s patients was an American diplomat who had been receiving psychoanalytical therapy for the past five years. The man was unhappy with his job and disagreed with much of American foreign policy, and his psychotherapist told him that his frustration with following orders came from deeply-held frustrations with his father.

Frankl realized that this man’s will to meaning was existentially frustrated, and saw that what he needed to do was find a new job, rather than reconcile with his dad. The patient switched careers and continued to live happy and therapy-free for many years. Frankl writes that this man did not truly have a noögenic neuroses or need any therapy at all. He simply needed to be reoriented toward thinking about his future.

According to Frankl, while existential frustration can bring about noögenic neuroses, or legitimate psychological problems that need to be addressed, this type of frustration does not inherently cause serious, long-term problems. In milder cases, frustration leads to “existential despair,” or a deep concern over the meaning of one’s life.

Like psychoanalysis, logotherapy involves an analytical approach that seeks to help a patient figure out and orient towards his problems. It is unlike psychoanalysis, however, in that it holds that man’s will to meaning is far more important than his will to pleasure. Logotherapy seeks to make the patient aware of his existential frustration and help him reconnect with his will to meaning.