JOSHA’s Critical Review of "Death and the Meaning of Life in Logotherapy and in “The Death of Ivan Ilych”: Psychological Analysis of a Literary Work”
Cinthya Souza Simas
Affiliation: University of Amazonia, Belém, Brazil & Journal of Science, Humanities and Arts (JOSHA), Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Keywords: Psychology, Literature, Interdisciplinarity, Logotherapy, Death
Categories: News and Views, Humanities, Social Sciences and Law
DOI: 10.17160/josha.10.6.954
Languages: English
This study explores the connection between psychology and literature by investigating how the themes of "death" and the "meaning of life" intertwine. It draws from Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy and Existential Analysis, examining their application in literature with insights from psychologists. Focusing on Leo Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilyich," the research applies Frankl's perspective, suggesting that facing death can catalyze a deeper comprehension of life's meaning and accelerate the realization of different value categories: creative, experiential, and attitudinal. The study specifically looks into the protagonist's adoption of attitudinal values in response to the unavoidable suffering he confronts.