Pre-Reading Activity (Background You Need)

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Pre-Reading Activity (Background You Need):

The portion of the book that precedes the section that you are reading is Frankl’s description of his life in the Nazi death camps of World War II. He tells his story as the foundation for his theory that we must learn to cope with suffering rather than just try to avoid it. Further, he argues that one of the greatest human motivations is to have meaning at the center of our lives. Unlike Abraham Maslow who argues that self-realization is the greatest achievement, Frankl argues that self-transcendence, or getting past yourself and finding meaning beyond yourself is the greatest human achievement So what you are reading is part of his theories for coping with suffering and finding meaning in our individual lives.

Pre-Reading Overview:

In this section, Frankl talks about the idea that there is a tension in difficulty in finding that meaning for some, but that that search, that need to find meaning is in fact healthy. He also discusses the idea of the meaning of life.

Pre-Reading Activity (Vocabulary):

These are terms that come up in the reading that may be unfamiliar or words that you have only a new familiarity of. Review definitions here before reading, but also keep this vocab cheat sheet handy so that when these words come up you can quickly reference them if you need to. If you come across other vocab words you don’t know, record them on the blank list at the end of this sheet and look them up later.

equilibrium: Definition ______

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existential: Definition ______

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vacillate: Definition ______

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Main Ideas:

Note here the/a main idea of each section of the article listed here by subtitle by either quoting a main idea “golden sentence” or, even better if possible, by summarizing it in your own words:

“Noö-Dynamics”

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“The Existential Vacuum”

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“The Meaning of Life”

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Additional Vocabulary:

Note here any words that you didn’t know (and highlight them in the article so you can find them again) and couldn’t quite figure out from the context, and when you have finished reading the article look up and jot down the definitions here so that you can go back to the context and re-read that section with the definition in hand. (But don’t stop your reading the first time around to look up words!)

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Miscellaneous Reading Notes:

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