Q: Not everyone is so philosophically oriented. Why is it necessary to help a person find the ‘meaning’ of his situation? Isn’t it enough to just help him get through it?
This question was posed to me at a talk I gave on “An Operational Definition of Meaning in Logotherapy.” I had discussed an assessment and intervention model showing that ‘meaning’ is not an esoteric and philosophical concept but rather concrete and practical.
Throughout Viktor Frankl’s writings I identified four specific expressions of meaning: (a) accurate perception of the objective facts and the message they convey (b) feelings and attitudes about the facts (c) what this reality requires of the one confronting it (response-ability) and (d) the tangible fulfillment of that requirement.
To help a person find the meaning is to help him in these four ways:
a) to help him drop the psychic filters (misperceptions, projections, assumptions and distorted beliefs) that block his vision so that he can see the reality confronting him with clarity
b) to help him to look inward and get in touch with what has made a particular experience significant for him. For example, pain is a sign that he is not functioning optimally, and this message matters to him because he values his health. Experiencing conflict with one’s spouse matters to him if he values his spouse and he values the relationship.
c) To help him the importance of his role and responsibility in a situation
d) To affirm his achievements in having responded thoughtfully to what the situation called for, often by overcoming obstacles in the process
The fulfillment of these actions and attitudes are not philosophical or theoretical and one need not be philosophically oriented to accomplish these things. Finding the meaning is the only way to help the person get through it, because as long as he is ignoring or misreading the situation confronting him and he won’t deal with the situation properly.
Nonetheless meaning is admittedly a philosophical concept. In a more profound sense the givens of life are our given opportunities to take our unique combination of conditions and skills to become our authentic selves. The objective facts are the same for everyone; the way the facts address us is individual.
Consider the difference between the role of a parent, child, sibling or friend of an alcoholic. Alcoholism is the objective reality; this reality addresses each of the people confronting it with a different call to action depending on their relationship with the alcoholic. In this sense meaning is objective and subjective at the same time.
Maybe not everyone finds it meaningful to consider the special role she has to play or to see the problem in its wider context of his past, present and future. However, I have found that when I can restore a person’s sense of purpose in these ways it makes a difference. It is much more meaningful than just ‘getting through it.’