LOGOTHERAPY AND EXISTENTIAL ANALYSIS:

A GLOSSARY OF ENGLISH TERMS

February 2014 Edition

Marshall H. Lewis

Attitude modulation: converting a psychologically unhealthy attitude into a

psychologically healthy attitude; technique of logotherapy developed by Elisabeth Lukas
(Lukas, 2000, p. 86). Also called attitude modification, modification of attitudes.

Attitudinal value: one of the categorical values. The value by which one finds meaning
through the stand one takes toward a situation, especially an unchangeable fate; that is,
the choice of an attitude that allows the human person to rise above an unchangeable
predicament and to grow beyond oneself (Frankl, 1969, pp. 69-70). See also creative
value, experiential value.

Categorical imperative of logotherapy: “Live as if you were already living for the
second time and had acted as wrongly the first time as you are about to act now” (Frankl,
2010, p. 89).

Categorical values: three types of values by which meaning can be discovered: (1) the
creative value; (2) the experiential value; and (3) the attitudinal value (Frankl, 1969, p.
70). Also called the meaning triad.

Collective neuroses: unhealthy attitudes present in society; these include the provisional
attitude, the fatalistic attitude, collectivism, and fanaticism; Viktor Frankl’s historical
para-clinical diagnostic category (see DuBois in Frankl, 2004, pp. xix, xxiv-xxv).

Conscience: the intuitive capacity of the human person to discover the meaning of a
situation (Frankl, 1969, p. 63).
Creative value: one of the categorical values. The value by which one finds meaning
through what one gives to the world through one’s creations, that is, by creating a work
or doing a deed (Frankl, 1969, pp. 69-70). See also attitudinal value, experiential value.

Defiant power of the human spirit: ability of the human person to discovery meaning
in the face of tragedy (see Frankl, 1959, 2006, pp. 146-147). See also tragic optimism.

Demand characteristic: the objective quality inherent in meanings and values. This
objective quality of meanings and values, as opposed to human instinctual or archetypal
projection, accounts for the obligation on the human person to be responsible toward
meanings and values (Frankl, 1967, pp. 64-65 and Frankl, 2000a, p. 113).

Dereflection: technique of logotherapy in which the patient is enabled to ignore the self,
ignore symptoms, and to become directed toward the concrete meaning of personal
existence (Frankl, 2004, pp. 207-208).

Dimensional ontology: Frankl’s model of the human person that asserts the unity of the
human person while acknowledging ontological differences among body, mind, and
spirit. It is based on the following two laws (Frankl, 1969, pp. 22-25):

First law of dimensional ontology: “One and the same phenomenon projected
out of its own dimension into different dimensions lower than its own is depicted in such
a way that the individual pictures contradict one another” (Frankl, 1969, p. 23).

Second law of dimensional ontology: “Different phenomena projected out of

their own dimension into one dimension lower than their own are depicted in such a
manner that the pictures are ambiguous” (Frankl, 1969, p. 23).

Endogenous psychoses: mental disorders that have a biological cause; one of Frankl’s
historical diagnostic categories (see DuBois in Frankl, 2004, pp. xvii-xix).

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Existential: Frankl uses the term in reference to (1) existence itself, that is, the way of
being that is uniquely human; (2) the meaning of existence; (3) the striving to find a
concrete meaning in personal existence (Frankl, 2010, p. 61-62).

Existential analysis: see logotherapy and existential analysis.

Existential dream analysis: use of the psychoanalytic concept of the interpretation of

dreams to raise spiritual phenomena into consciousness and responsibleness (Frankl,
2000a, p. 47).

Existential frustration: A lack of fulfillment of the will to meaning (Frankl, 2010, p.

61); a sense of meaninglessness and emptiness (Frankl, 1969, p. 83). The term is often
used interchangeably with existential vacuum (see Frankl, 1969, p. 84-85 and Frankl,
2010, 61-62). Existential frustration may result in mental health problems, but need not
(see Frankl, 1969, p. 62).

Existential-phenomenological psychotherapy: Although these terms carry a variety of

philosophical nuances, they have converged within psychiatry and psychology to refer to
those theories that emphasize human experience over natural-scientific approaches
(Halling, S. and Nill, J. D., 1995 and Spiegelberg, 1972, p. xxvii- xxix). Note that many
existential-phenomenological theories are incompatible with Frankl’s thought, especially
those that suggest meaning is either unreal or nothing more than a creation of the human
person projected upon an essentially meaningless cosmos. (See Frankl, 1969, p. 60,
especially in regard to Frankl’s opposition to “the contention of Jean-Paul Sartre that
ideals and values are designed and invented by man. Or, as Jean-Paul Sartre has it, ‘man
invents himself’”). See also demand characteristic.

Existential vacuum: A sense of meaninglessness and emptiness (Frankl, 1969, p. 83); a

lack of fulfillment of the will to meaning (Frankl, 2010, p. 61). The term is often used
interchangeably with existential frustration (see Frankl, 1969, p. 84-85 and Frankl, 2010,
61-62). The existential vacuum may result in mental health problems, but need not (see
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Frankl, 1969, p. 62). The main manifestations of the existential vacuum are boredom and
apathy (Frankl, 1969, p. 85).

Experiential value: one of the categorical values. The value by which one finds
meaning through what one takes from the world in terms of encounters and experiences,
that is, by experiencing goodness, truth, and beauty, by experiencing nature and culture,
or by encountering another human being in a loving way (Frankl, 1969, pp. 69-70). See
also attitudinal value, creative value.

Franklian psychology: term adopted by the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy

following Frankl’s death in 1997 to refer to logotherapy and existential analysis. The
Institute’s curriculum was retitled with this term at that time (Graber, A., 2012, personal
communication). The term did not circulate widely outside the Institute and may be
retired following the next curriculum revision.

Freedom of the will: ability of the human person to choose “to take a stand on whatever
conditions might confront them” (Frankl, 1969, p. 16). Freedom of the will is opposed to
determinism, but does not imply freedom from conditions in life. Freedom of the will is
one of three axioms upon which logotherapy and existential analysis is based. See also
meaning in life and the will to meaning.

Functional pseudoneuroses: disorders that present with psychological symptoms but

that have a general medical cause (for example, hypothyroidism); one of Frankl’s
historical diagnostic categories (see DuBois in Frankl, 2004, pp. xviii, xx-xxi).

Hyperintention: excessive seeking of a goal, such as pleasure or happiness, such that

the goal is not obtained (see Frankl, 1969, p. 100).

Hyperreflection: excessive attention; countered by dereflection (Frankl, 1969, p. 100); a

compulsive self-observation (Frankl, 2004, p. 206).

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Iatrogenic neuroses: mental disorders caused or exacerbated by therapeutic
intervention; one of Frankl’s historical diagnostic categories (see DuBois in Frankl, 2004,
pp. xviii, xxi-xxii).

Instinctual unconscious: Frankl’s term for that portion of the unconscious discussed
extensively by Sigmund Freud, primarily a reservoir of repressed sexual and aggressive
drives (see Frankl, 2000a, p. 31).

Logoanalysis: an application of logotherapy developed by James Crumbaugh and

extended by Robert Hutzell that uses objective activities for clarification of one’s
personally meaningful values and then sets goals based on those values. Logoanalysis
adds two elements to logotherapy: (a) use of structured exercises, and (b) specific work
on setting goals and plans once the values are clarified. (See Crumbaugh, 1973, p. 189
and Schulenberg, et. al., 2008).

Logos: Ancient Greek word that in its basic sense means “word.” However, the term has
taken on complex philosophical and theological meanings due to its technical use by
Aristotle, the New Testament, and subsequent philosophers and theologians. For Frankl,
the word was used to mean “meaning” or “purpose.” Frankl defines it more fully as “the
world of meanings and values.” It is “the objective correlate to the subjective
phenomenon called human existence. Man is free to be responsible, and he is responsible
for the realization of the meaning of his life, the logos of his existence (Frankl, 1967, p.
64). This understanding may bear some similarity to one of Joseph Thayer's second
(mental) definitions of the term, namely, “reason, cause, ground,” and to Thayer's third
definition as used in the Gospel of John, in part, “the cause of all the world's life.”
(Thayer, 1979, 1981, p. 381-382).

Logotherapy and existential analysis: (abbrev. LTEA) the comprehensive theory and
therapy developed by Viktor Frankl. The term is the English translation of the subtitle of
Frankl’s first monograph on the topic, Arztliche Seelsorge: Grundlagen der Logotherapie
und Existenzanalyse published in 1946. (The English version, The Doctor and the Soul:

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From Psychotherapy to Logotherapy, was published in 1955). See also Alexander
Batthyány (retrieved 2014).

Logotherapy: (1) used in the broad sense, the comprehensive theory and therapy
developed by Frankl, i.e., a shorter term for logotherapy and existential analysis.
This form is often used among English speakers. Frankl favored this shorter term
in English because, at the time, another theory (Ludwig Binswanger’s
Daseinanalyse) was also being translated as existential analysis. Frankl first used
the term logotherapy in 1924 (Frankl, 1955, p. 5 and Frankl, 2000b, p. 113).
(2) used in the narrow sense, the clinical application of Frankl’s existential
analytic approach (Frankl, 2000a, p. 67).

Existential analysis: an examination that leads to consciousness of

responsibility. Frankl coined this term in 1938 as an alternative to logotherapy
(Frankl, 1938 and Frankl, 1939). Note that existential analysis cannot be an
analysis of existence because existence is irreducible; existential analysis is,
rather, an analysis toward existence in terms of responsibleness (see Frankl, 1965,
p. 269 and Frankl, 2000a, p. 36).

General existential analysis: an examination of responsibility relating to

universal topics of human existence. Frankl’s writings on the meaning of
love, the meaning of death, the meaning of work, etc. constitute his
general existential analysis (Frankl, 1955, p. 176).

Special existential analysis: an examination of responsibility in a

particular life. Such an examination may be done during the course of
logotherapy in its specific definition, but need not be confined to clinical
application (Frankl, 1955, p. 176).

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Logotherapy and existential hermeneutics: special existential analysis applied to a
written text; a hermeneutical analysis of meaning in a given text through the lens of
logotherapy and existential analysis (Lewis, 2013 and Lewis, 2014).

Maieutic question: a therapeutic question characterized by one premise grounded in an

existential problem and another premise presenting the problem transcended (See Graber,
2004, pp. 114-115). Also called midwifing question.

Mass neurotic triad: see neurotic triad.

Meaning-centered therapy: frequent synonym for logotherapy and existential analysis,

especially in materials designed by practitioners for use by the general public.

Meaning in life: composed of the categorical values – the creative, experiential, and
attitudinal values (Frankl, 1969, p. 73). Meaning in life is one of three axioms upon
which logotherapy and existential analysis is based. See also freedom of the will and the
will to meaning.

Meaning of the moment: the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment
(Frankl, 1959, 2006, p. 108) and actualized through the categorical values (Frankl, 1959,
2006, pp. 110-111).

Meaning triad: three types of values by which meaning can be discovered: (1) the
creative value; (2) the experiential value; and (3) the creative value (Frankl, 1969, p. 70).
Also called the categorical values.

Medical ministry: illumination of the possibilities of discovering meaning in suffering,

especially when the opportunity to do so falls to secular medical practitioners rather than
to clergy (Frankl, 1955, pp. 270-271 and Frankl, 2004, p. 179).

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Neurotic triad: depression, aggression, and addiction when traced to the existential
vacuum (Frankl, 1978, p. 26). Schulenberg , et. al., (2008) conceptualize the neurotic
triad as violations of social norms, distress symptoms, and physiological/psychological
addictions or excesses. Also called mass neurotic triad.

Nihilism: the denial of objective meaning in the world and in human experience. Frankl
challenges nihilism, reductionism, and psychologism and saw these positions as being in
part responsible for the Holocaust (Frankl, 2000b, pp. 59-60). See also psychologism,
reductionism.

Noetic dimension: “that dimension in which the uniquely human phenomena are
located” as distinct from biological and psychological phenomena (Frankl, 1969, p. 17).
The boundary between the noetic dimension and other dimensions of phenomena is sharp
and rigid, not fluid (Frankl, 2000a, p. 32-33). Frankl preferred the term “noetic” to
“spiritual” to avoid religious connotation. It is the human rather than the theological
dimension. Also called noological dimension.

Noodynamics: “a polar field of tension where one pole is represented by a meaning that
is to be fulfilled and the other pole by the man who has to fulfill it” (Frankl, 1959, 2006,
p. 105); the tension created between what the human person has already achieved and
what the human person ought yet to accomplish, or between what the human person is
and what the human person should become (Frankl, 2010, p. 63).

Noogenic neuroses: mental disorders with noetic or existential causes; one of Frankl’s
historical diagnostic categories (see DuBois in Frankl, 2004, pp. xviii, xxiii-xxiv).

Noological dimension: see noetic dimension.

Organ neuroses: disorders involving physical symptoms that appear to be caused by a

general medical condition, but that are actually caused by psychological factors; one of
Frankl’s historical diagnostic categories (see DuBois in Frankl, 2004, pp. xvii--xx).

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Paradoxical intention: technique of logotherapy in which the patient is encouraged to
do or to wish that which is feared (Frankl, 1969, p. 102). Paradoxical intention is based
on the uniquely human capacity of self-distancing (Frank, 1969, p. 99 and Frankl, 2010,
p. 109).

Phenomenology: “Phenomenology is an attempt to describe the way in which man

understands himself, in which he interprets his own existence, far from preconceived
patterns of interpretation and explanation such as are furnished by psychodynamic or
socio-economic hypothesis” (Frankl, 1969, p. 7).

Psychogenic neuroses: mental disorders arising from psychological causes; one of

Frankl’s historical diagnostic categories (see DuBois in Frankl, 2004, pp. xviii, xxii-
xxiii).

Psychologism: reductionism as applied to psychiatric and psychological theory; that is,

the belief that a human person can be completely explained in terms of such a theory (see
Frankl, 2000b, pp. 60, 63). See also nihilism, reductionism.

Psychophysical organism: the mind and body dimensions of the human person as
distinct from the noetic dimension of the human person (see Frankl, 1969, pp. 22-23 and
Frankl, 2000a, pp. 31-34).

Psychosomatic illnesses: physical illnesses that are triggered by, but not caused by,
psychological factors; one of Frankl’s historical diagnostic categories (see DuBois in
Frankl, 2004, pp. xix-xx).

Purpose in Life Test: (abbrev. PIL or PLT) first attempt to validate a logotherapeutic
concept through psychometrics; often referenced in the research literature on logotherapy
and existential analysis (see Crumbaugh, 1968).

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Reactive neuroses: mental disorders caused by a psychological reaction to a
psychological or physical disturbance; one of Frankl’s historical diagnostic categories
(see DuBois in Frankl, 2004, pp. xviii, xxi).

Reductionism: the idea that a phenomenon is nothing more than the sum of its parts.
Frankl saw reductionism as the contemporary expression of nihilism. Frankl saw
reductionism as being in part responsible for the Holocaust (Frankl, 2010, p. 220). See
also nihilism, psychologism.

Religio: repressed and unconscious religiosity that may appear in dreams (Frankl, 2000b,
p. 55); it is understood as “a latent relation to transcendence” inherent in the human
person (Frankl, 2000b, p. 68).

Self-detachment: see self-distancing.

Self-distancing: the uniquely human capacity to detach from a situation or from oneself;
this allows the human person to choose an attitude toward the situation or the self
(Frankl, 1969, p. 17). Self-distancing is the basis of paradoxical intention (Frank, 1969,
p. 99 and Frankl, 2010, p. 109). Along with self-transcendence, self-distancing is one of
two fundamental characteristics of human existence identified by Frankl (Frankl, 1969, p.
99 and Frankl, 2004, p. 4). Also called self-detachment.

Self-transcendence: the uniquely human capacity to reach beyond oneself (Frankl,

1969, p. 8) toward a meaning to be fulfilled or toward another person to be encountered
(Frankl, 2004, p. 4). Self-transcendence is the basis of dereflection (Frankl, 1969, p. 99
and Frankl, 2010, p. 109). Along with self-distancing, self-transcendence is one of two
fundamental characteristics of human existence identified by Frankl (Frankl, 1969, p. 99
and Frankl, 2004, p. 4).

Spiritual unconscious: concept of the unconscious extended by Frankl (as contrasted to

the Freudian instinctual unconscious) to include spiritual existence; for Frankl, the human

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spirit is unconscious in its origin (see Frankl, 2000a, pp. 31, 37). See also religio,
transcendent unconscious.

Socratic dialogue: in logotherapy, method to bring the healthy, noetic core of the human
person to conscious awareness such that spiritual resources can be used therapeutically
(see Fabry, 1988, p. 9).

Supra-meaning: meaning that can only be understood in a world beyond the human
world. The human person is incapable of understanding it, but may believe in it through
faith (Frankl, 1969, p. 145). Also called ultimate meaning.

Third School of Viennese Psychiatry: logotherapy and existential analysis. That is, the
school of psychiatry that arose in Vienna following Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis and
Alfred Adler’s individual psychology (Soucek, 1948).

Tragic optimism: ability of the human person to (1) turn pain into a uniquely human
achievement; (2) turn guilt into self-improvement or change; and (3) turn life’s
transitoriness into motivation to take action now. (See Frankl, 1959, 2006, pp. 137 ff.).
See also defiant power of the human spirit.

Tragic triad: pain, guilt, and death – three conditions experienced by all human beings.
The attitudinal value is subdivided into meaningful attitudes chosen toward pain, guilt,
and death (Frankl, 1969, p. 73). More specifically, the attitude chosen toward pain
reflects the attitude toward fate; the attitude chosen toward guilt reflects the attitude
toward the self; the attitude chosen toward death reflects the attitude to life’s
transitoriness that leads to responsibility (Frankl, 1969, pp. 73-74).

Transcendent unconscious: an integral part of the spiritual unconscious, the

transcendent unconscious refers to a human intentional relation to transcendence. This
relation may be unconscious (Frankl, 2000a, p. 68). See also religio, spiritual
unconscious.

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Ultimate meaning: meaning that can only be understood in a world beyond the human
world. The human person is incapable of understanding it, but may believe in it through
faith (Frankl, 1969, p. 145). Also called supra-meaning.

Unconscious: see instinctual unconscious, spiritual unconscious.

Values: meanings that have been shared by human beings throughout a society, or
throughout history; meaning-universals that crystallize in the typical situations that
society or humanity must face; values must pass the test of individual conscience (Frankl,
2010, pp. 178-179). See also categorical values.

Will to meaning: the basic striving of the human person to find and fulfill a concrete
meaning and purpose in personal existence (Frankl, 1969, p. 35 and Frankl, 2010, p. 62).
The will to meaning is one of three axioms upon which logotherapy and existential
analysis is based. See also freedom of the will and meaning in life.

Will to pleasure: Frankl’s restatement of Freud’s pleasure principle, as contrasted with

his own will to meaning. Frankl views the pursuit of pleasure as a derivative of the will
to meaning and suggests that it arises only if the will to meaning is frustrated. Pleasure,
according to Frankl, is the effect of meaning fulfillment (Frankl, 1969, p. 35). (See, also,
Freud, 1949, 1969, pp. 3, 55).

Will to power: Frankl’s restatement of Adler’s superiority goal, as contrasted with his
own will to meaning. Frankl views the pursuit of power as a derivative of the will to
meaning and suggests that it arises only if the will to meaning is frustrated. Frankl
emphasizes that power is a means to an end and not an end in itself (Frankl, 1969, p. 35).
(See, also, Adler, 1924, pp. 13-14).

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