Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
1. Capos pg 21-23
the freudian defense mechanism? |
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Definition
Capos- prisoners who acted like trustees.
they were never hungry even though the prisoners were starving, in fact some of them had better lives in camp then they ever did. they were brutal to the other 'lower' prisoners and acted like the SS, they even beat the other prisoners worse than the SS did. if they did anything wrong they got demoted.
for sure the freudian defense mechanism, they were terrible to others in order to not be criticized or punished themselves.
Class notes:
in a situation of intense coercion- they identify with the aggressors. e.g. stockholm syndrome: identifying with the kidnapper. |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
2. Lifeworld pg 24b |
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Definition
????
Many factual accounts have already been put on record about concentration camps. Here, facts will be significant only as far as they are a part of a man's experience.
For those who have been inmates in a camp, it will attempt to explain their experiences in the light of present day knowledge. And for those who have never been inside it may help them comprehend, and above all understand, the experiences of that only too small percentage of prisoners who survived and who now find life very difficult |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
3. "barbed wire sickness" pg 25 |
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Definition
psychology of prison life, investigated after the First World War... then the Second World War gave us an insight into the "psychology of the masses"
"for the war gave us the war of nerves, and it gave us the concentration camp." - LeBon |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
4. 3 phases pg 26 |
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Definition
the three phases of the inmate's mental reactions to the camp life-
1-the period following his admission
symptom: shock
2-the period when he is well entrenched in camp routine
3-the period following his release and liberation. |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
5. "delusion of reprieve" pg 28 |
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Definition
psychological condition where a condemned man, immediately before his execution, gets the illusion that he might be reprieved at the very last minute.
VF is on the train arriving at Auschwitz and he is with the other prisoners and used this to describe their feelings as they arrived. He writes, "We, too, clung to shreds of hope and believed to the last moment that it would not be so bad. |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
6. external incentive (motivation) pg 29 |
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Definition
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
7. First Phase Culmination pg 33 |
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Definition
| While waiting in line to get disinfected after entering the camp, the SS were collecting all of the prisoners possessions, VF points to a a rolled up manuscript in his pocket. The manuscript is a scientific book and VF explains to the guard that he knows that he should be grateful for his life, but asks to keep it because it contains his life work. The guard smiles and laughs mockingly and says "shit" and "so that marked the culminating point of the first phase of my psychological reaction: I struck out my whole former life." |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
8. Self-esteem -- depersonalization pg 34 LOOK UP AGAIN FOR 110 |
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Definition
As the prisoners are lined up to bath, they are given 2min to strip themselves of all of their clothes except shoe laces, belt or suspenders. They are then shaved of all of the hair on their body before entering a shower area.
"all we possessed was our naked existence"
all nice shoes were switched for raggedy old pairs and even ones that didn't fit. people were beaten -whipped- for cutting the tops off of their boots. |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
9. "gallows humor" pg 34 |
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Definition
After starting the awful process of entering the camp they lost all hope and began to feel a 'grim' sense of humor.
"We knew that (at this point) we had nothing to lose except our so ridiculously naked lives."
When the shower turned on everyone tried to make fun by criticizing everyone else and themselves. VF says after all we did have real running water.
Their fun then turned into curiosity. |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
10. dissociation pg 35 |
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Definition
When their shower "fun" turns into curiosity...
This curiosity was a fundamental reaction towards certain strange circumstances.
"Cold curiosity predominated even in Auschwitz, somehow detaching the mind from its surroundings, which came to be regarded with a kind of objectivity. At that time, one cultivated this state of mind as a ** means of protection**"
anxiously awaiting what would happen next, their curiosity turned into surprise. |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
11.a
second phase pg 39-40 |
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Definition
The shift from phase 1 to phase 2:
The phase of relative apathy in which he achieved a kind of an emotional death.
Along with this came the emotions of boundless *longing for the home and family then *disgust with all of the ugliness that surrounded.
only a short time later would the second phasers become void of all emotions and unable to react to all of the sightings of cruelty |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
11. b
second phase: adaptation pg 42 |
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Definition
"Apathy and the blunting of the emotions and the feeling that one could not care anymore, were the symptoms arising in the second stage of the prisoner's psychological reactions, and which eventually made him insensitive to daily and hourly beatings. By means of this insensibility, the prisoner so surrounded himself with a very necessary protective shell.
(Right after watching the typhoid patient in the health corridor... VF lacked all emotion while watching one of the nurses drag the body out, the only reason he remembers is because he thought it was weird from a psychologically professional standpoint.) |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
11. c
second phase: regression |
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Definition
"Apathy, the main symptom of the second phase, was a necessary mechanism of self defense."
It could be readily understood that such a state of strain, coupled with the constant necessity of concentrating on the task of staying alive, forced the prisoner's inner life down to a primitive level.
Spoke of "regression, in a camp inmate--a retreat to a more primitive form of mental life. His wishes and desires became obvious in his dreams.'
dreamt mostly of bread, cake, cigarettes, and a bath |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
12. wish fulfillment (in dreams) & obsession pg 48 |
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Definition
VF writes of the prisoners needs and desires prevalent in the dreaming sequence. He says that they mostly dreamt of bread, cake, cigarettes, and nice warm baths. The lack of having these simple things satisfied led to "wish-fulfillment" dreaming
He writes that he would wake no one from a night mare because no matter how horrible the dream could of been, it wasn't worse then their reality.
Obsessed with the idea of food, since the basic human requirement was taken away. VF speaks of some of the workers fantasizing about their favorite meals and foods and how someday they would get out have a reunion and cook it all for each other. Their daily ration was a lil over a pint of thin soup and a small portion of bread. |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
13. those spiritually developed pg 55 |
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Definition
VF writes of how those more intellectually developed and probably more delicate often were able to retreat from their terrible surroundings to a life of inner riches and spiritual freedom therefor causing less damage to their inner selves
These people even faired better then those of a more robust nature in the camp. |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
14.a refuge pg 58-60 |
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Definition
3 main 1)love 2)past life 3)beauty of nature
VF is walking to a new work site in the darkness of the morning. He remembers his wife and vividly sees and converses with her. He realizes at this moment that "the salvation of man is through love and in love"
"This intensification of 'inner life' helped the prisoner find a refuge from the emptiness, desolation, and spiritual poverty of his existence, by letting him escape into the past."
To escape to this refuge, the prisoners envisioned minor tasks that one would perform daily with out even thinking twice about it. They would pretend that they were doing simply things to escape the thought of nothingness and death.
They found extreme comfort in the beauty of nature and would get trapped by the thought of how beautiful the world could be. |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
15. situational anonymity pg 71 |
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Definition
page 70:
under the influence of the prisoners intended for death and the capos, the personal ego finally suffered a loss of all values.
"If a man in the concentration camp did not struggle against this in a last effort to save his self-respect, he lost the feeling of being an individual, a being with a mind, with inner freedom and personal value. He thought of himself then as only a part of the enormous mass of people; his existence descended to the level of animal life."
There was no regard for human life in the camps, the men were reduced to a number, and the number only mattered when it was on a list. Other than that, human life had no value. |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
16. a
attitude pg 86 |
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Definition
The experiences of the camp show that man does have a choice of action. There were examples that proved that apathy could be overcome and irritability could be suppressed. Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of the psyche and physical stress.
The few that made it to the end and still comforting others offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.
There are always choices to make.
In the final analysis it becomes clear that the sort of person the prisoner became was the result of an inner decision, and not the result of camp influences alone. Fundamentally, therefor, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him-- mentally and spiritually.
It is this spiritual freedom that cannot be taken away-- that makes life meaningful and purposeful. |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
16. b
attitude-change pg 98 |
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Definition
| What was needed was a fundamental change in our attitude toward life. We had to learn ourselves, and furthermore we had to teach the despairing men, that it did not really matter, what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
17. inner decision pg 87 |
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Definition
Even though the conditions such as lack of sleep, insufficient food and various mental stresses, may suggest that the inmantes were bound to act in certain ways,
in the final analysis it became clear that the sort of person that the prisoner became was a result of inner decision, and not a result of camp influences alone. Therefor, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him--mentally and spiritually. Hey may retain his human dignity, even in concentration camp.
It is this spiritual freedom ---which cannot be taken away-- that makes life meaningful and purposeful. |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
18. axes of existence pg 92 |
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Definition
Life in a concentration camp could be termed "provisional existence" of an unknown limit. A man who could not see an end to this provisional existence did not have an aim or ultimate life goal and would therefor cease living for the future.
The prisoners suffered from this strange "time- experience"-- In camp, a day appeared endless however a larger unit of time such as a week seemed to pass much faster. PARADOX time experience-- without a future or a goal of life.
time- limitless in terms of imprisonment
space- confined to the narrow limits of the prison
outside- the camp became remote, out of reach and unreal
outside life- became a movie/fantasy for the ghost like prisoners |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
19. Nietzsche pg 97 & 103 |
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Definition
97:
As we said before, any attempt to restore a man's inner strength in the camp had first to succeed in showing him some future goal.
Nietzsche words "He who has a WHY to live for can bear with almost any HOW"
103:
Whoever was still alive had reason for hope. health family happiness, business, fortune, position in society--- all were things that could be restored again or achieved. After all, we still had our bones intact. Whatever we had gone through could still be an asset ot us in the future.
Nietzsche quote "Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich starker."
or
"That which does not kill me, makes me stronger" |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
20. The past pg 104 |
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Definition
I also mentioned the past.. all its joys, and how its light shone even in the present darkness. He quotes an unnamed poet " What you have experienced, no power on earth can take from you.
Everything, thought, action, experience, we have brought into our being. Having been is also a type of being, and perhaps the surest kind. |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
21. Third Phase pg105
& depersonalization |
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Definition
The third stage of the prisoner's mental reactions: the psychology of the prisoner after his liberation.
We learn that there are two races of a man, the decent and the indecent. In this sense no group of people is a pure race, they consist of both types of men.
When the white flag rose, the prisoners were in a sate of inner suspense followed by total relaxation. (not overjoyous)
The reality did not penetrate into our consciousness; we could not grasp the fact that the freedom was ours. We were not pleased, we had lost that ability and it had to return, slowly.
"depersonalization" pg 110
Everything appeared unreal, unlikely and part of a dream.
After the liberation, Frankly speaks of eating everything in sight, having the freedom to speak, and the freedom of space.
However, the man suddenly liberated from this mental pressure can suffer damage to his moral and spiritual health.
Some thought they could use their new freedom licentiously and ruthlessly becoming instigators justifying their terrible behavior by their own terrible experiences. |
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Term
Viktor E. Frankl, "A Man's Search for Meaning"
22. resentment |
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Definition
Some prisoners experienced resentment and wanted to fuck up purely because they had been fucked with.
others had 2 fundamental experiences, bitterness and disillusionment.
Bitterness occurred upon the return home, when the prisoners questioned others and themselves, why did we go through that? it wasnt worth it and other people say they dont feel bad because they didnt know.
Disillusionment= Other prisoners returned home only to find their life and family destroyed and nothing in the future to look forward to. Consequently, they still suffered. They left the camp believing that they had experienced the worst only to find out that when they came home, they could not escape that suffering and lived in it until death. |
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