Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love.
Viktor E. FranklRead
Freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness. That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True freedom requires responsibility; without it, freedom can lead to chaos.
Viktor E. Frankl emphasizes that freedom is not just the absence of constraints but must be paired with a sense of responsibility. He argues that unchecked freedom can lead to arbitrary actions, and therefore, he proposes the idea of a Statue of Responsibility to complement the Statue of Liberty, highlighting that true liberty encompasses the acceptance of responsibility towards oneself and others.
Themes
FreedomResponsibilityLibertyPhilosophySociety
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on civil rights, one might quote this to emphasize the need for responsible actions.
More from Viktor E. Frankl
All quotes →The crowning experience of all, for the homecoming man, is the wonderful feeling that, after all he has suffered, there is nothing he need fear anymore—except his God.
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Here lies the chance for a man either to make use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining the moral values that a difficult situation may afford him. And this decides whether he is worthy of his sufferings or not.
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It is the pursuit of happiness that thwarts happiness.
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Logotherapy sees the human patient in all his humanness. I step up to the core of the patient's being. And that is a being in search of meaning, a being that is transcending himself, a being capable of acting in love for others.
Viktor E. FranklRead
The more one forgives himself - by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love - the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself.
Viktor E. FranklRead
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