There is a secret hidden in Viktor Frankl's existential map, and it is perhaps the most fascinating of all: man only realizes himself when he leaves himself.
What does it mean to step outside yourself
Self-transcendence is the name that Frankl gives to this movement: man is fulfilled when he gives himself to something greater than himself, a cause, a mission, a love. It's not looking inside in search of yourself, it's looking outside, and it's precisely in this leap that pain turns into purpose and suffering into creation.
Why searching for meaning in yourself doesn't work
A person obsessed with finding meaning by looking inside themselves often goes around in circles. Frankl observed that meaning appears when attention turns outward, on a work to be done, on a specific person to love, or on the attitude with which one carries suffering that cannot be avoided. It's the same reasoning behind triple dimension of the human being: it is the spirit that chooses to transcend itself, even when the body and mind no longer have strength.
Self-transcendence under pressure
It is in the most extreme moments that self-transcendence appears most clearly. In the concentration camps, Frankl saw prisoners who, even without any control over their circumstances, still managed to turn their attention outward: sharing the last piece of bread, keeping a promise to someone waiting for them outside. It is this movement, leaving oneself, that sustains the existential tension healthy that Frankl speaks of.
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What is self-transcendence, for Viktor Frankl?
It is the idea that man is fulfilled when he leaves himself, when he gives himself to something greater than himself, a cause, a mission, a love. It is the leap that transforms pain into purpose and suffering into creation.
Is self-transcendence the same as sacrifice?
Not exactly. It's not overriding one's own will, it's directing attention outside oneself, on a work, on a loved one or on a cause, which, for Frankl, is precisely where meaning appears.
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Home class (Community NousCast): Em Busca de Sentido, de Viktor Frankl