Argumentative Essay on Man's Concern about a Meaning of Life Is the Truest Expression of Being Human

Introduction

The concept by Viktor Frankl regarding fully living and survival were established through the experiences and observations that he made while he was in camps. He made use of the psychiatric training in discerning the meanings of the observations as well as to assist him to become a better individual. Many prisoners felt that they will have to be spared up to the last moment when they first reached the camp. All prisoners knew that they had the opportunity of surviving but at the end, this belief was eliminated and they started learning in ways that they would use to survive through the use of their inner strength. The prisoner had started having a sense of humor. The humor helped the prisoners to overcome stressful situations that they faced. Viktor learned about what was required to survive as well as how to maintain internal strength despite the weakening of the external strength. Viktor concluded the statement that "Man's concern about the meaning of life is the truest expression of being human." The following paper will provide the reasons why I agree with the statement by Viktor about the meaning of life.

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A life that is unfulfilled may mean an unhappy and unhealthy life, although this is not necessarily the case. One reason I agree with the statement by Viktor regarding life meaning is that having no purpose and meaning of life may result in low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety. In a community or a given country, there have been several times when there are terrible things that occur resulting in shaking of the lives of people to the core. What matters during these periods is finding out one's purpose in life (Jewell 141). Several communities come together and have a shared purpose as well as working towards a similar objective and assisting others to overcome the difficult event being experienced. However, the modern life may lack the community togetherness spirit, and people may wander without goals through their daily routine in search of something that they are even unaware they are missing. Therefore, finding the purpose of one's life is very crucial since individuals will see the reason why they live, and in this manner, they will be able to overcome the external challenges while having inner strength.

The other reason why I agree with the statement by Viktor regarding life meaning is that when human beings are more concerned about the meaning that their life has leads to happiness pursuit. Happiness pursuit by people may result in people feeling frustrated, stressed, anxious, and depression (Pattakos and Dundon 23). Moreover, happiness usually is concerned about having individuals attempting to satisfy their needs and wants thereby reflecting towards themselves which gives a focus on inward-looking.

I agree to the statement that finding the meaning of life represents what it entails being a human being since for a person who wants to live in the way that they can handle all situations despite how difficult they require knowing why they live. The 'why' in people's life normally gives individuals the aim of living. People who fail to understand the shy for their living there is no point for their living. Locke believes that there are given moral truths which applied to all individuals. As a result of many prisoners who were in camp with Viktor having lost their 'why' lost their lives quickly. The true meaning of people's life is having the fundamental change in the attitude that they have towards life. Therefore, in people's life, it is essential to understand that it is not essential to what people expect from their lives but what matters most is what their life wants from them. In this way, the life of individuals means that people are ready to take the responsibility of finding the right answer to the problems in that they encounter in life as well as fulfilling the tasks that are set continuously for all individuals.

Being a human being means that one can resist the influence of their environment. In many cases, the human being is totally and influenced unavoidably by the environment. People cannot escape the controls that are brought by their surroundings and man usually does not have any choice regarding the action that they will take in dealing with such situation. The most appropriate way for the human being to overcome the difficult situations is through being able to find the true meaning of their life. In the case of the prisoners who were with Viktor, there is proving that human beings usually have a choice about the action that they will take towards the situation that they are facing (Lutzen and Ewalds-Kvist 319). Human beings may preserve the vestige of mind-independence, spiritual freedom even when they are facing difficult situations.

The other reason why I agree with the statement about Viktor concerning the finding of the true meaning of life is that of human being suffering, there is always a meaning that is related to it. This defines the truest expression of human being. Most of the individuals spend their lives in more desperate attempts with the aim of completely eradicating suffering and having the belief that happiness will automatically be experienced after suffering is gone. Hume asserts that it is crucial to observe how human beings live as well as functioning in life. Therefore, in real life of human being, there is a meaning that is related to the suffering of people. It is not necessary for having suffering resulting in the making of people's life void of their meaning, but it may as well provide meaning (Wong 151). Life of an individual who has already found the true meaning of their life act to serve the role of providing them with opportunity through which they can realize values in the creative work. Suffering cannot be meaningless because it is much intricately bound to the life itself. Finding the meaning of one's life enables a person to accept their fate as well as all suffering that their life faces and by doing so make them choose an action o to overcome the suffering hence providing them with the opportunity to add a deeper meaning o their life even when they are faced with the most difficult situations.

Another reason why I agree with the statement by Viktor concerning finding the meaning of life is that human beings are made to appreciate the virtue of love after they have successfully found the true meaning of their lives. When individuals find the meaning of their lives, they understand that love is the primary way that can be used to evaluate the innermost personality of another human being. No human being may become aware of other people unless they start loving them. Furthermore, it is through love that makes people estimate the potential that is in them. The loving people who have already found the meaning of their life causes them actualize their potentialities.

Being a human being refers to having the sense of individuality. The people's respect for the human individuality and the special identity, passions and purpose do not allow them to do wrong to others. Therefore, it is crucial for people to answer their lives through the finding of their specific life meaning. People can only learn about how they should know themselves through by action but not reflection. Plato thought that people's lives usually go wrong because they fail to give their selves adequate time to think logically and carefully concerning their plans.

It is by through performing one's duty that will help people to find out the meaning of their life successfully. Being a human being means having the duty of attaining the demands of their daily lives. Being a human requires one to become a responsible person. Thus the ability of individuals to actively respond to the life problems and to grow responsible to their life is a central factor that helps people to find meaning as well as their life fulfillment (Frankl 16).

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is right to agree with the statement by Viktor Frankl "Man's concern about the meaning of life is the truest expression of being human" due to several reasons. Finding the meaning of one's life help individuals to find a purpose in their lives, helps individuals to handle many difficult situations that they are faced by, people understand the importance of love as well as developing a sense of individuality.

Works Cited

Frankl, Viktor E. Man's search for meaning. Simon and Schuster, 1985.

Jewell, Albert. "The importance of purpose in life in an older British Methodist sample: Pastoral implications." Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging 22.3 (2010): 138-161.

Lutzen, Kim, and Beatrice Ewalds-Kvist. "Moral distress and its interconnection with moral sensitivity and moral resilience: Viewed from the philosophy of Viktor E. Frankl." Journal of bioethical inquiry 10.3 (2013): 317-324.

Pattakos, Alex, and Elaine Dundon. Prisoners of Our Thoughts: Viktor Frankl's Principles for Discovering Meaning in Life and Work. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2017.

Wong, Paul TP. "Viktor Frankl's meaning-seeking model and positive psychology." Meaning in positive and existential psychology. Springer, New York, NY, 2014. 149-184.