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Here’s the wikipedia introduction to Victor Frankl’s book on the subject:

Man’s Search for Meaning is a 1946 book by Viktor Frankl chronicling his experiences as an Auschwitz concentration camp inmate during World War II, and describing his psychotherapeutic method, which involved identifying a purpose in life to feel positively about, and then immersively imagining that outcome. According to Frankl, the way a prisoner imagined the future affected his longevity. The book intends to answer the question “How was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?” Part One constitutes Frankl’s analysis of his experiences in the concentration camps, while Part Two introduces his ideas of meaning and his theory called logotherapy.

According to a survey conducted by the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Library of Congress, Man’s Search For Meaning belongs to a list of “the ten most influential books in the United States.”[1] At the time of the author’s death in 1997, the book had sold over 10 million copies and had been translated into 24 languages.[2][3]

This is a fantastic book. It should be required reading in our schools. That wikipedia introduction isn’t very good and doesn’t do the book justice, but that was what was available.

The author states it as mankind “wants” to have meaning and purpose in life. Frankl says it is more than that. Humans NEED purpose.

The modern welfare state completely fails humanity. By just giving out free stuff, the government robs people of their purpose, steals all meaning from the lives, and condemns people to a sorry, unhappy existence. Without struggle and a little bit of hardship people are guaranteed to be unhappy. This is alluded to in the book of Genesis when Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden. They were now required to work the land to provide for themselves. This is how it must be.

Yes, Man’s Search For Meaning by Victor Frankl is an outstanding book. It should be required reading in all high school English Literature courses. For those who haven't read the book: Frankl, a Jewish psychoanalyst before WWII, observed and analysed why some concentration camp prisoners survived, while others wasted away and died. His conclusion was that the survivors had a meaning or purpose for living and thus had the will to struggle and go on. That meaning or purpose often was to reunite with family members, or religious reason or, in some cases, just to get revenge on the Nazis.

You are so right! Bears repeating:

“This is a fantastic book. It should be required reading in our schools.”

HST, one must be inquisitive about one’s life in order to assimilate and appreciate Dr. Frankl’s conclusion that humans NEED purpose.

As a general question, I wonder how many purposeless people have y’all have encountered in your passage through this life?

Bet they were not grounded in a Judeo-Christian upbringing.