Essays

‘Man’s search for meaning’ in 10 quotes

I just finished reading ‘Man’s search for meaning’ by Viktor Frankl. Here are my 10 favorite quotes from this highly recommended book:

1. Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. A human being is not one in pursuit of happiness but rather in search of a reason to become happy.

2. No man should judge unless he asks himself in absolute honesty whether in a similar situation he might not have done the same.

3. It doesn’t really matter what we expect from life, but rather what life expects from us.

4. Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.

5. There are only two types of men in this world: decent men and indecent men.

6. Man’s search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life. This meaning is unique and specific in that it must and can be fulfilled by him alone.

7. When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.

8. Suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning. That is why man is ready to suffer, on the condition that his suffering has a meaning.

9. Something which in itself is meaningless, cannot be rendered meaningful merely by its perpetuation. (Comment: In my opinion the best reply to people who claim reproduction gives meaning to life)

10. Love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire.

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