#59: From Turmoil to Transcendence: The Book of Job and the Will to Wisdom

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From Turmoil to Transcendence:
The Book of Job and the Will to Wisdom

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On April 18, 2013, I successfully defended my Ph.D. dissertation at the Chicago Theological Seminary.  The dissertation title is A Logotherapy Hermeneutic Developed and Applied to the Book of Job.  I was struck by the warm reception Frankl’s ideas were given by a group of biblical scholars and theologians who had had little exposure to Frankl outside the reading of the dissertation.  I especially want to thank the Chicago Theological Seminary and my dissertation committee for allowing me to write on this topic.

A few months ago, on LogoTalk Radio #54, I talked a bit about what I mean by a “Logotherapy Hermeneutic.”  In short, logotherapists know that examples of Frankl's principles have been explained and interpreted through numerous books, texts, and even movies.  Although this has been a practice for some time, and is encouraged in the logotherapy curriculum, no theory as to how to interpret a story through a Franklian lens has ever been developed at a scholarly level.  That is what this dissertation does, and that is what a Logotherapy Hermeneutic is -- a defined theory of textual interpretation based on Logotherapy.  As such, it is closely related to what Frankl calls a "Special Existential Analysis."

The lecture that follows is my presentation to the Nineteenth World Congress on Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy in Dallas, Texas given on June 21, 2013. The lecture illustrates the application of a Logotherapy Hermeneutic to the Book of Job.

The handout given during the lecture can be found by following this link.

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Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@gmail.com and may you have a meaningful day.

#54: Logotherapy and Existential Hermeneutics: Background

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Logotherapy and Existential Hermeneutics: Background

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Next week at World Congress XIX on Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy: Inspiring Meaning-Centered Living in Diverse Disciplines, Cultures and Wisdom Traditions, I have the privilege of presenting From Turmoil to Transcendence:  The Book of Job and the Will to Wisdom based on my recently completed PhD dissertation on logotherapy and hermeneutics.  During that presentation, I intend to outline what a logotherapy hermeneutic is, and then engage logotherapy in a dialogue with the Biblical Book of Job.  I find the discoveries both about the Book of Job and about logotherapy to be quite startling.  

Spiral bound, paper-only copies of the dissertation will also be available at the World Congress bookstore for $20.00. There are only 15 copies available, so I’ll accept pre-orders by email to logotalk@gmail.com.

In this podcast, I share a bit of background on what a hermeneutic is, and what it has to do with logotherapy.  I also talk about types of hermeneutics, as well as postmodernism, and explore how Frankl’s theory fits with those constructs.  Most of this material will not be part of the presentation next week, and both this episode and the presentation are free-standing, but listening to this episode before the presentation will give those who attend a fuller understanding of the overall project.

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Links from this month's podcast:

Logotherapy and Existential Analysis:  The Theory and Therapy of Viktor Frankl at the Zur Institute.

Upcoming Conferences on Logotherapy and Existential Analysis:

First World Congress for Existential Psychotherapy in London, May 14-17, 2015.

In 2013:

• June 17-19 in Dallas
• June 19-23 in Dallas
• August 22-24 in Buenos Aires
• October 3-6 in Lima

If you are a presenter at the 19th World Congress and would like to have your lecture recorded for LogoTalk Radio, please contact me to make arrangements.  If you are not a presenter, but have a logotherapy initiative that you think would make a good topic for a LogoTalk interview, and you plan to attend the World Congress, contact me to make arrangements for a live interview. Finally, if you are a presenter at one of the congresses I am not attending, you can still make a recording for use on the show.

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Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@gmail.com and may you have a meaningful day.

#17 A Franklian Reading of the Book of Job: A Dissertation Proposal

Click here to download A Franklian Reading of the Book of Job: A Dissertation Proposal

Purpose in Life May Reduce Alzheimer's Risk

Read more at:

Medscape Today

and at:

The Archives of General Psychiatry


Dissertation Proposal:  A Franklian Reading of the Book of Job

"This dissertation will develop a hermeneutic based on the existential approach to suffering of Dr. Viktor E. Frankl.  The Book of Job will be read in light of this hermeneutic.  Special emphasis will be placed on the existential question of whether Job will "curse God and die."  Job's final, ambiguous response to the speeches of God will be treated as an existential challenge to the reader.  The dissertation will conclude with a discussion of how a Franklian hermeneutic is of benefit in understanding and responding to this challenge."

Click here for the full PDF proposal.

Thank you for listening. Please email any questions or comments to logotalk@pld.com and may you have a meaningful day.