The Meaning of Life in Children’s Wartime Experiences
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/PCh.2022.019Keywords
logotherapy, the meaning of life, children, war experiences, Ludwik Bandura, Józef Tischner, religionAbstract
This article addresses the question of the meaning of life in the context of the war experiences of children and youth. The concept of logotherapy, elaborated by Viktor Frankl, is our starting point given its positive message that even in the most tragic of life circumstances, human beings can preserve the meaning of life and be hopeful about their future. It is known that children who are experiencing war cannot come at their traumatic experiences following the principal logotherapy assumptions. However, these children do find other sources of meaning, either by turning to their families or by seeking solace in the teachings of their religion. This fact is confirmed by our analysis of the statements of children who participated in an empirical study conducted just after the Second World War by Ludwik Bandura and the entries posted by Józef Tischner in his diary in 1944 and 1945.
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