“There is no meaning to life except the meaning man gives his life by the unfolding of his powers.”
Erich Fromm (1900–1980) German social psychologist and psychoanalyst
Source: Man for Himself: An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics
“The meaning of life is to give life meaning.”
Source: book Man's Search For Meaning
Last update July 29, 2023. History
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Do you have more details about the quote "The meaning of life is to give life meaning." by Viktor E. Frankl?
Viktor E. Frankl64
Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, and Holocaust surviv… 1905–1997Related quotes
Jean Paul Sartre (1905–1980) French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and …
Source: Existentialism Is a Humanism (1946), p. 58
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English playwright and poet
Not by Shakespeare, but from Finding Your Strength in Difficult Times: A Book of Meditations, a 1993 self-help book by David S. Viscott.
Misattributed
Source: http://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/06/16/purpose-gift/
“There is not one big cosmic meaning for all, there is only the meaning we each give to our life.”
Anaïs Nin (1903–1977) writer of novels, short stories, and erotica
“Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life.”
Rick Warren (1954) Christian religious leader
Source: The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?
“Pyrrhus: Mercy often means giving death, not life.”
Pyrrhus: Mortem misericors saepe pro vita dabit.
Troades (The Trojan Women), line 329; Translation by Emily Wilson
Tragedies
Viktor E. Frankl (1905–1997) Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, and Holocaust survivor
Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning (1997)
Context: It is true, Logotherapy, deals with the Logos; it deals with Meaning. Specifically I see Logotherapy in helping others to see meaning in life. But we cannot “give” meaning to the life of others. And if this is true of meaning per se, how much does it hold for Ultimate Meaning?
“Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life.”
Eric Hoffer book The True Believer
Section 75
The True Believer (1951), Part Three: United Action and Self-Sacrifice
Context: Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. Thus people haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also by nursing a fanatical grievance. A mass movement offers them unlimited opportunities for both.
