Towards a tri-dimensional model of happiness

a logo-philosophical perspective

Stephen J. Costello

pp. 343-363

in: Alexander Batthyány (ed), Logotherapy and existential analysis, Berlin, Springer, 2016

Abstract

The intention of this paper is to explore the subject of happiness in relation to meaning by drawing on the work of Viktor Frankl and placing it within a larger logo-philosophical frame of reference. I will do so through a close exegetical reading of Frankl's primary works by way of research. The question of happiness has been paramount in much of Western philosophy, going back to Aristotle. Frankl, by contrast, argues that meaning is foremost and that happiness cannot be aimed at directly; as such he is critiquing much of this eudaimonistic tradition that has been so prevalent and influential for much of human history. For Frankl, happiness is a by-product of the will to meaning. The thesis that I advance and, ultimately, my conclusion is that meaning is more important than happiness and that happiness is best construed in terms of a Franklian tri-dimensional model in that at the level of soma, we may speak of pleasure; at the level of psyche we may speak of happiness; and at the noetic level, it is more correct to speak of joy (spiritual happiness). My hope and hermeneutic wager is that this paper will been seen to have some seminal significance in the field of logotherapy and be of benefit to students of Viktor Frankl.

Cited authors

Aristoteles

Frankl Viktor