Victor Frankl emphasised the role of spiritual anxieties leading to meaninglessness and this is called _____.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Existential anxiety
Victor Frankl, who propounded logotherapy, held that neurotic anxieties arise when the problems of life are attached to the physical, psychological or spiritual aspects of one’s existence. He emphasised the role of spiritual anxieties in leading to meaninglessness, and this is called existential anxiety, i.e. neurotic anxiety of spiritual origin. Logotherapy then helps the person find meaning in life.
Option (1) Emotional crisis — Incorrect. An emotional crisis is an ordinary phrase for a time of great emotional upset. It names no particular origin, while Frankl’s idea is about anxiety that comes from a loss of meaning.
Option (3) Emotional anxiety — Incorrect. Frankl’s point is that this anxiety is of spiritual origin, rooted in one’s existence; calling it emotional leaves out that very point.
Option (4) Existential crisis — Incorrect. The word ‘existential’ is right, but a crisis is a turning point in life, not the anxiety itself. Frankl’s term for the neurotic anxiety of spiritual origin is existential anxiety.
NCERT (2025-26): “Existential Therapy … Victor Frankl, a psychiatrist and neurologist propounded the Logotherapy. Logos is the Greek word for soul and Logotherapy means treatment for the soul.” “…Neurotic anxieties arise when the problems of life are attached to the physical, psychological or spiritual aspects of one’s existence. Frankl emphasised the role of spiritual anxieties in leading to meaninglessness and hence it may be called an existential anxiety, i.e. neurotic anxiety of spiritual origin.…” |