Ontological considerations in the work of V. Frankl

Abstract

Frankl’s anthropological scheme defines the human being as a tripartite entity. As an inseparable unity of body, soul, and spirit, the human being partakes in three different ontological dimensions. The fact that they are interconnected constitutes a unique ex-sistence. In line with the Latin meaning of the term, Frankl perceives the human being as one that, by virtue of its ontological dimensional structure, is always somehow »standing-out«, a being beyond itself. In the interrelations of the body, soul, and spirit, Frankl detects psycho-physical parallelism (a relation between soul and body) and noo-psychic antagonism (a relation between the so-called Psychophysikum and the spirit). The latter indicates a persistent opposition of the two spheres, caused by the urges, needs, and motives arising from them. If the soul is being led by the carnal needs and urges, the spirit reacts by motivating the will to meaning. This will to meaning is the fundamental and most important motivational force in human life, constantly stimulating self-transcendence. Therefore, Frankl’s concept of ex-sistence also indicates a human disposition towards surpassing oneself. Such a transcendent being leads a person into the spiritual dimension, when one turns towards values. By determining its existence according to values, the human being goes beyond itself, into the dimension of being where beings exist in mutual intentional relations. The fundamental basis for their interconnectedness is Bei-Sein (being-with), which is also Frankl’s primary definition of spirit. According to this definition of the spiritual dimension, Frankl interprets the act of cognition in reversed manner: in contrast to the modern question of the possibility of knowing an object, Frankl sees the relations between beings as having always already existed with one another. Therefore, Frankl considers the classical epistemological problem of subject and object to be incorrectly posed and artificially constructed. In spiritual dimension, as the eternity of being, beings acquire their distinctiveness only if they are in ontological closeness to each other. In this way, the category of spirit (being-with) becomes synonymous with the being of love.