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Freud believes there is an infinite potential meaning to be found in life no matter the circumstances
Confusing because then there is a lack of direction because there is no defined specific goal or need.
There is no ultimate answer to the meaning of life, so one can lose motivation since there is no specific goal or action that can guide and direct behavior.
Franklin’s position on the meaning of life:
The search for meaning is the primary motivation in one’s life.
There are three way to discover meaning
1. Through work, deeds, achievement
2. Through experiencing something (nature, culture, art, goodness, beauty) or by loving someone
3. If necessary, bearing suffering with dignity and courage
However suffering is not necessary for living a meaningful life
Love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire
Human behavior depends on inner decisions
Meaning of life is specific to individual and can change from moment to moment
Existential despair/ existential vacuum: sense of life’s emptiness and meaninglessness
Arises from “the gap between what one is and what one should become”
Solution to existential despair: finding and actualizing the potential meaning in each situation of one’s life
Self transcendence: forgetting the self by finding a meaning to fulfill a cause to serve, or a person to encounter or love
Meaning of life must be discovered in the world rather than isolated contemplation


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