Empfehlungen basierend auf "Great Ideas On the Shortness of Life (Penguin Great Ideas)"

We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life-daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.When Man's Search for Meaning was first published in 1959, it was hailed by Carl Rogers as "one of the outstanding contributions to psychological thought in the last fifty years." Now, more than forty years and 4 million copies later, this tribute to hope in the face of unimaginable loss has emerged as a true classic. Man's Search for Meaning--at once a memoir, a self-help book, and a psychology manual-is the story of psychiatrist Viktor Frankl's struggle for survival during his three years in Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps. Yet rather than "a tale concerned with the great horrors," Frankl focuses in on the "hard fight for existence" waged by "the great army of unknown and unrecorded."Viktor Frankl's training as a psychiatrist allowed him a remarkable perspective on the psychology of survival. In these inspired pages, he asserts that the "the will to meaning" is the basic motivation for human life. This simple and yet profound statement became the basis of his psychological theory, logotherapy, and forever changed the way we understand our humanity in the face of suffering. As Nietzsche put it, "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how." Frankl's seminal work offers us all an avenue to greater meaning and purpose in our own lives-a way to transcend suffering and find significance in the act of living.

Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning focuses on Dr. Frankl's crucial findings that illustrate our sometimes unconscious desire to get hold of an ultimate meaning of life - whether it comes from a religious source or other venue of inspiration or influence. This is a very relevant topic, especially in light of that pervasive feeling of meaninglessness undercutting the ideas and ambitions of contemporary society. Whether it is the adolescent suffering from insecurity and doubt or the elderly person fearing isolation and neglect, a desperate sense of hopelessness and vulnerability plagues our culture. Dr. Frankl brilliantly demonstrates that it is possible for mankind to find, and actualize, profound meaning in his or her daily life. In this context, Frankl speaks of a "will to meaning" as a central motivating force, and presents specific evidence that life can offer meaning in each and every situation. For even those who have to shoulder the burden of personal guilt, or to face the force of inescapable suffering, still have, in principle, a unique opportunity to turn a predicament into an achievement - in other words, to turn personal tragedy into human triumph. Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning confesses that this search for meaning can also lead to nefarious ends such as unhealthy nationalism, obsessive jealousies, ethnic hatred, or a compulsive work ethic. Dr. Frankl believes that tolerance and a realization of our infinite possibilities throughout our finite existence will ensure a path to a fulfilling existence.

A leading German metaphysician of the 19th century, Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) exerted an influence far beyond the hermetic world of philosophy, with adherents ranging from Richard Wagner and Friedrich Nietzsche to Leo Tolstoy and Thomas Mann. Among Schopenhauer's chief contributions to the field of philosophy are his rejection of the idealism of his contemporaries and his embrace of a practical variety of materialism. He jettisons the traditional philosophic jargon for a brisk, compelling style that employs direct terms to express the metaphysics of the will.In The Wisdom of Life, an essay from Schopenhauer's final work, Parerga und Paralipomena (1851), the philosopher favors individual strength of will and independent, reasoned deliberation over the tendency to act on irrational impulses. He examines the ways in which life can be arranged to derive the highest degree of pleasure and success, presents guidelines to achieving this full and rich manner of living, and advises that even a life well lived must always aspire to grander heights. Abounding in subjects of enduring relevance, Schopenhauer's highly readable work appears here in an excellent translation.

Wie sieht es aus, das richtige Verhältnis zwischen Therapeut und Klient? Welche Abgründe gilt es zu verbergen, welche offen zu legen? Was ist von Patiententräumen zu halten, in denen der Therapeut eine entscheidende Rolle spielt? Irvin D. Yalom, Amerikas angesehenster und wortgewaltigster Psychotherapeut, zieht die Bilanz seines über fünfzigjährigen Berufslebens und beschert seinen Lesern ungewohnte Einblicke in das Leben eines Therapeuten - ein lehrreiches und mit zahlreichen Anekdoten gewürztes Lesevergnügen.

Although he was born into slavery and endured a permanent physical disability, Epictetus (ca. 50–ca. 130 CE) maintained that all people are free to control their lives and live in harmony with nature. We will always be happy, he argued, if we learn to desire that things should be exactly as they are. After attaining his freedom, Epictetus spent his career teaching philosophy and advising a daily regimen of self-examination. His pupil Arrian later collected and published the master's lecture notes; the Enchiridion, or Manual, is a distillation of Epictetus's teachings and an instruction manual for a tranquil life. Full of practical advice, this work offers guidelines for those seeking contentment as well as those who have already made some progress in that direction. Translated by George Long.

Timeless wisdom on generosity and gratitude from the great Stoic philosopher SenecaTo give and receive well may be the most human thing you can do—but it is also the closest you can come to divinity. So argues the great Roman Stoic thinker Seneca (c. 4 BCE–65 CE) in his longest and most searching moral treatise, "On Benefits" (De Beneficiis). James Romm's splendid new translation of essential selections from this work conveys the heart of Seneca's argument that generosity and gratitude are among the most important of all virtues.For Seneca, the impulse to give to others lies at the very foundation of society; without it, we are helpless creatures, worse than wild beasts. But generosity did not arise randomly or by chance. Seneca sees it as part of our desire to emulate the gods, whose creation of the earth and heavens stands as the greatest gift of all. Seneca's soaring prose captures his wonder at that gift, and expresses a profound sense of gratitude that will inspire today's readers.Complete with an enlightening introduction and the original Latin on facing pages, How to Give is a timeless guide to the profound significance of true generosity.

90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin BooksPlagued by ill-health, violently sick at sea, irritated by renovation costs: Seneca is never less than sympathetically human. In these letters written 2000 years ago, the ancient philosopher speaks to the reader today with lucidity and warmth. Whether advising on how to live a good life, spend time alone or free oneself from fears of death, Seneca is the wise and compassionate friend we all need now.

Reverence for Life—Albert Schweitzer's pivotal philosophy Musician, physician, humanitarian, and philosopher, Albert Schweitzer was a twentieth-century Renaissance man who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his "Reverence for Life" philosophy. The Wisdom of Albert Schweitzer explores this core philosophy, which inspired one of the world's great humanitarians.   While traveling in Africa, Schweitzer recognized that all living creatures have a will to live and believed that through a "reverence for life" mankind had an ethical imperative to aid in the welfare of all living things, including the environment. His words have remained an inspiration for generations of humanitarians and environmentalists.

Frankls memoir describes life in Nazi death camps and offers lessons for spiritual survival. Based on his own experience and the stories of his patients, he argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward. At the heart of his theory, known as logotherapy, is a conviction that the primary human drive is not pleasure but the pursuit of what we find meaningful. --Adapted from publisher description.

Few books in recent decades have had the continuing impact of Dr. Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" -- the classic best seller now considered to be one of the most important contributions to psychiatry since the writing of Freud. In it, Dr. Frankl gives a moving account of his life amid the horrors of the Nazi death camps, chronicling the harrowing experience that led to his discovery of his theory of logotherapy. A profound revelation born out of Dr. Frankl's years as a prisoner in Auschwitz and other concentration camps, logotherapy is a modern and positive approach to the mentally or spiritually disturbed personality. Stressing man's freedom to transcend suffering and find a meaning to his life regardless of his circumstances, it is a theory which, since its conception, has exercised a tremendous influence upon the entire field of psychiatry and psychology.Here, Dr. Frankl not only describes the genesis and development of logotherapy but also explains its basic concepts, and in this revised and enlarged edition, has included a new chapter, entitled "The Case for a Tragic Optimism," in which he updates theoretical conclusions of the book. The result is an invaluable work by one of the world's preeminent psychiatrists.