While Franklian psychology, founded by Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, is predominantly known for its psychological techniques, in reality at its core it is a philosophy about life and about man. As such, it has certain tenets that it is based upon.
These are propositions based on observation and experiences in the most severe circumstances imaginable – at concentration camps where Frankl spent almost three years of his life as an inmate.
Here’s a seven worth noting:
Our noetic dimension is our treasure chest of health
While Franklian psychology doesn’t deny the effects our soma and psyche have on us, it maintains that there is a dimension to the human being that is higher than the somatic and psychological and that lifts us up above these two. This is our noetic dimension that contains capacities and resources which make us uniquely human, and thus co-creators with life. At the core of these are our freedom of choice and decision-making capacity. These essentially allow us to take a stand toward our limitations, psychological drives, suffering, circumstance, environment, upbringing. They enable us to choose who we are (i.e. the hero or the victim in our story) and what we make of our lives. Ultimately, the realization and utilization of our noetic capabilities allows us to remain mentally healthy and resilient.
Life communicates with us continuously
There’s a quote by Viktor Frankl that says “Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked.” This is a revolutionary outlook on the meaning of life. As conscious beings, we humans often wonder about the point of our existence. Frankl flips this and says that it is we who are asked. He believed that we are presented with situations and people and placed in circumstances through which life effectively asks us “What are you going to do with that?” “What meaning are you going to give to this?”. Franklian psychology maintains that even tragedies hide the potential for meaning. What meaning we give to what happens to us is ultimately our choice.
There is a blessing in unavoidable suffering
To take the last point further, situations of unavoidable suffering – such as the loss of a loved one or incurable illness – are seen by Franklian psychology as a chance to realize the highest meaning potentials in life. By suffering bravely when faced by unavoidable suffering, we relieve the pain of those who love us (and who feel helpless when they can do nothing for us) but more importantly, we set an example for them. This means that when they are faced with unavoidable suffering themselves they will be able to shoulder it better too. The reality is, our own attitude in situations of suffering can significantly reduce the amount of pain we experience.
We are ultimately always free
As noetic beings, beings not limited by only a body and a mind, but who posses spirit too, we are ultimately always free. This, Franklian psychology maintains, is not freedom from anything but freedom to something. We are not free from pain, limitations, tragedies, disappointments, fear but we are always free in how we respond to those. Whether we allow them to define and defeat us or we decide to exercise our freedom and have the last say as to who we are and how what is happening to us will shape our life – the choice is always ours.
The past is the only place that is safe
Franklian psychology sees life as filled with endless dormant potentials. The question we are continuously faced with is what will we choose to take and transform from potential into reality. What has been done and has happened cannot be undone, cannot be taken away from us, cannot be erased. The past is seen as the grain repository of our lives – only here things are safe. The future is uncertain, we may or may not be able to turn a potential into reality. This is why we need to act now to move what we want from potential in the uncertain future to a fact in “the museum of our past”.
Guilt is to be used as fuel for good
As mentioned above, what we have done in the past lives there forever. We cannot go back and change it. This is why, when we mature and realize the gravity of a mistake we’ve made, the pain and torment we’ve caused, it could be incredibly hard to overcome our guilt and forgive ourselves. While mistakes cannot be undone, when they are used as a fuel to do good in the future, this can help us make peace with our guilt. The more good that comes out of the bad we’ve done, the easier it becomes to live with the guilt we carry.
Freedom without responsibility is chaos
While we’re ultimately free beings, unlimited freedom doesn’t lead to unlimited happiness. It only leads to chaos and turmoil. This is what Franklian psychology proposes. We need to exercise our freedom responsibly in order to find fulfillment and happiness in life. It is through acting responsibly, towards ourselves and towards others, that we derive meaning in life as we pursue and achieve goals, build things that matter to us, go beyond our own interests and do for others. This was such an important point for Frankl that he even suggested that a Statue of Responsibility be built on the west coast of the US to supplement the Statue of Liberty on the east coast.
I will leave you with another saying by Frankl that is my second most favorite of his (the first one being the one on meaning above) “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
True story that I’d say.