This is the second revised edition of Timo Purjo's popular book on human spiritual capabilities, based on Viktor Frankl's philosophical theory, and its applicability to daily life. In this book, Purjo answers Frankl's call for logotherapists to develop an understanding of logotheory, its application, and integration with other approaches. Besides foundational concepts, including Frankl's three-dimensional ontology, the Ten Theses on the Human Person, an understanding of values, and more, the book introduces philosophical terms from key contemporary thinkers, integrating them into existential-phenomenological philosophy and logotheory. The author reconstructs and systematically presents logotheory, making it more transparent and more applicable across all helping professions. The book underscores Frankl's contribution to conceptualizing the spiritual capabilities that allow humans to seek, find, and realize meaningful values. Recognizing that this framework alone offered limited guidance for application, the author developed a structured model of self-distancing and self-transcendence to help people understand and cultivate these essential capacities, providing an applied pathway from basic potentialities to fully realized skills. Since the first edition of the book, five years of systematic testing and implementation have confirmed the effectiveness of these concepts in severe life crises and extreme situations, including war-affected regions. Purjo's approach is invaluable for hands-on training of emerging logotherapists, working with people's existential challenges such as combat trauma, loss of loved ones, life and work in hazardous conditions, and vulnerable populations in the context of the war. Through this structured framework, logotherapists can effectively tailor their methods to real-life needs. Readers who have actively used the book have also testified that it unlocks successive layers of knowledge and insight with each reading.
Timo Purjo (born 1952) holds a PhD in Philosophy. He is a Diplomate in Logotherapy and an accredited member of the International Association of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis. Purjo is the founder and director of the Viktor Frankl Institute Finland. He serves as a mentor and advisor to numerous logotherapy institutes and associations and has decades of teaching and training experience worldwide. A distinguished philosopher and logotheorist, he possesses a deep understanding of existential-phenomenological foundations of logotheory. Furthermore, Purjo has developed deep experiential logotherapeutic expertise as a helping professional by guiding countless individuals in confronting life's most difficult challenges. He is known for his generous commitment to sharing logotherapeutic insights with his students. He excels in training and mentoring future logotherapists to fully grasp and apply logotheoretical principles and methods in practice, both in research and client work. Purjo's strength as a writer lies in his ability to thoughtfully combine and integrate deep philosophical research and advanced logotheoretical thinking with real-world experience. Through his writings, teachings, and mentorship, Purjo bridges theory and practice, making logotheory more accessible, applicable, and impactful across all helping professions.
Kirjasta ei ole ilmestynyt lehdistöarvosteluja.