The Personalism of Viktor Frankl or Franklian Personalism

Viktor E. Frankl (1905 – 1997) – the eminent 20th century psychiatrist, Holocaust survivor and Founder of Logotherapy, the Third Viennese "School" of Psychotherapy, after the respective "schools" Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) or psychoanalysis, and Alfred Adler (1870 – 1937) or individual psychology – was influenced by the "philosophy" of personalism. Like many “schools” of philosophy, personalism is difficult to define, or at least arrive at a rigid definition. It is very broad in perspective. Like existentialism, personalism cannot be confined to one particular system of thought. It is typically associated with existentialism but it crosses other disciplines, such as psychology and theology. However, a central idea of personalism is the recognition of the irreducible value or worth of the person.[i] Personalism, then, is a presupposition, a basic attitude toward the dignity of every human person.