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Classic Library

The Will to Meaning

A philosophical guide to Viktor Frankl's The Will to Meaning: the systematic statement of logotherapy — the foundations and applications of the meaning-centered therapy.

Author

Viktor E. Frankl

Library record

Historical period

1969 CE

Original title unavailable

Tradition

the will to meaning

ZHAIBIAN Classic Library

Known for

viktor-frankl · logotherapy · meaning · self-transcendence

Zhaibian LibraryThe Will to MeaningViktor E. Frankl

Library record

Author

Viktor E. Frankl

Written period

1969

Original title

See source editions

Genre

Classical philosophy

Related philosophy

Logotherapy

Concept index

Key Ideas

IDEA 01

the will to meaning

IDEA 02

viktor frankl

IDEA 03

logotherapy

IDEA 04

meaning

IDEA 05

self transcendence

Reading archive

Important Passages

Passages are preserved with their source context. Consult the Markdown section below for book and chapter guidance before treating any translation as a standalone quotation.

Author relationship

In the archive

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Knowledge Path

Book

The Will to Meaning

Philosophy

Wisdom Concepts

Quotation archive

Quotes From This Book

Overview

The Will to Meaning is first published in 1969. A philosophical guide to Viktor Frankl's The Will to Meaning: the systematic statement of logotherapy — the foundations and applications of the meaning-centered therapy. This guide treats the book as an argument situated in a particular intellectual setting, not as a collection of detachable slogans.

Author Context

In The Will to Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl approaches the subject through concerns associated with the-will-to-meaning, viktor-frankl, logotherapy, meaning, self-transcendence. The author’s wider intellectual commitments help explain both the book’s priorities and its blind spots. Readers should distinguish the claims made in this work from later interpretations that use its title as shorthand for an entire movement.

Historical Background

The Will to Meaning emerged amid debates connected with Viktor Frankl, Logotherapy, Frankl On Self Transcendence, Meaning, Purpose, Meaning. Its historical significance depends on the problems its first readers recognized, the vocabulary available at the time, and the institutions through which the argument circulated. Viktor E. Frankl, The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy anchors the edition and contextual information used for this record.

Core Ideas

The central ideas of The Will to Meaning can be reconstructed by asking what problem Viktor E. Frankl identifies, which concepts organize the response, and what evidence or reasoning supports it. In this book those questions converge around the-will-to-meaning, viktor-frankl, logotherapy, meaning, self-transcendence. That reconstruction is more reliable than reducing the work to a single moral or memorable phrase.

Key Themes

The principal themes of The Will to Meaning include the-will-to-meaning, viktor-frankl, logotherapy, meaning, self-transcendence. They should be read as connected parts of the book’s argument: a change in one assumption may alter the meaning of the others. Comparison with Viktor Frankl, Logotherapy, Frankl On Self Transcendence, Meaning, Purpose, Meaning reveals where the text agrees with, revises, or resists neighboring positions.

Philosophical Meaning

The philosophical importance of The Will to Meaning lies in the questions it makes difficult to ignore. It invites readers to examine definitions, reasons, consequences, and the relation between individual judgment and wider practices. Its claims remain open to criticism, especially where historical assumptions no longer match contemporary evidence.

Influence

The influence of The Will to Meaning is best measured through the debates, practices, and later works that respond to it rather than through reputation alone. Use Viktor E. Frankl, The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy to verify the text, then follow the archive relations to compare reception and criticism. This preserves the difference between explaining a book’s influence and endorsing every conclusion it contains.

Learning Path

Part of a Structured Collection

Knowledge Network

Archive references

Sources

1 scholarly source
  • 01
    The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of LogotherapyBy Viktor E. FranklNew York: New American Library, 1969.

Source and quality checks completed

Quality check completed 2026-08-05

Based on 1 scholarly sourceLast updated 2026-08-05