Theory of Meaning

Abstract

One of the greatest challenges faced by nurses and other health professionals whether providing care to those with acute, life-threatening illnesses, chronic conditions, or seeking to remain healthy is to find the key to human motivation. Viktor Frankl believed that the primary human motivation was to seek meaning and purpose in life. Frankl laid the foundational concepts on what has been developed into the Theory of Meaning and developed a treatment logotherapy. The Theory of Meaning is a framework that lends itself to interdisciplinary endeavors. Three major concepts from Frankl’s works are the building blocks of the theory: life purpose, freedom to choose, and human suffering. These concepts are supported by three human dimensions: the physical or soma, the mental or psyche, and the spiritual or noos. Nurse researchers and practitioners can draw on the theory to understand ordinary life stresses, as well as life-changing events and human suffering.