Greetings!
An Anthropologist on Mars & Man's Search for Meaning contain rich material concerning the broad subject of philosophical anthropology. Various perspectives on the human condition, life, adaptation, and meaning can be seen in both of these works.
What are some of the connections between these two books. Provide an example or two in order to illustrate your point(s).
This is due Sunday (13th)
-Prof. Terry
leeora shifteh
ReplyDeletei think perception and optimism is a very common theme in both books. in Mans search for meaning, frankl constantly emphasizes that although perception cannot go baCk in time and change our perception, it can decide whether we can over come our suffering or not. We need to have hope and faith and look towards the future with optimism. its all about perception and how we view things. any bad situation can be overcome with the right perspective, this is exactly what Frankl does, he keeps in mind his love for teaching and love for his wife to keep going. in an anthropologist on mars, mr i in the case of the colorblind painter does just the same. he was suffering and at first when he lost his sight, there was no future for him he was pessimistic. but once he saw the sun rise in a way no one else can, his perception changed and he was able to move forward and accept his suffering and turn it into something great.
I agree with leonora about the recurring themes of perception and optimism.The outlooks on the lives of Mr.I,Dr.Bennett,and Temple Grandin was never hindered by what the public believed to be the norm. There were a few speed bumps along the way with Grandins' story but all of them accepted their disabilities and saw the silver lining in all of it.
ReplyDeletethe above post is mine Devon Alexander
ReplyDeletethe theme i noticed in both books is having something to live for. in mans search for meaning viktor frankl says how his love for his wife helped him overcome the hardships of being in a concentration camp..just the thought of her gave him a meaning in life and something to look foward to when he gets out. also he showed tremdous will,instead of waiting for death like many of the other prisoners did when they smoked cigarettes,he chose to remain focus and keep his wife as the focal point of his desire until he gets out.in the color blind painter johnnathan i. faces the same theme just under a different circumstance. when the accident made him color blind instead of giving up he chose to continue doing what he loved because painting was his meaning in life. although he had trouble seeing colors and thought to himself maybe he cant do it he was able to overcome that percption and saw the world in a different light. rather than looking at the world as a color blind painter he was able to see another side of the world that was beautiful.in both books both viktor frankl and johnnathan i found what they were living for and managed to over come their obstacles because of it Marlon Demesier
ReplyDeleteThe way a person perceive a situation can greatly effect how they respond to it as it was illustrated in Oliver Sacks book An Anthropologist on Mars as well as Viktor E. Frankl’s Man’s Search For Meaning. In the first medical case in Sacks book Jonathan I. colorblindness gave him a very unique perspective on how he saw the world. But what was more important then that is the way he perceives his medical condition. From the beginning he responded to it in a very negative even hateful because he knows that color which has been there for him for 65 years was now taken away. However as the story unfolds you see that Mr. I saw it in a different point of view. He stop looking at it as a sickness and started looking as it as a gift therefore he responded in a different way.
ReplyDelete~Vanessa Louisne
The people in each book have been dealt bad hands at life and have to overcome. Bad in a sense of circumstances that you wouldn't wish on anybody. Would you wish for someone to have a disorder or be put into a concentration camp. The people in both book are suffering but they are able to rise above it. Frankl may be in a bad situation such as starving in the camp and sick but he doesn't let that stop him. In oliver sacks book. All 7 people have disorders but they are able to overcome it. In the case of the color blind painter he loses his passion to paint. This is a horrible thing to happen to him. He still is able to overcome something that brought him many problems. He learns to paint again and love what he does. These are how both books are connected the ability to overcome bad odds.
ReplyDelete-Christian Dudley
both books connect to each other because they use examples that describes the point they are getting too. In one of the chapters "color blind painter" Oliver describes how the man had a great painting talent and one day he lost it without remembering how, when u lose something you "love" that much i don't think you are going to have a reason to live. The painters wife was there for him all the times she stayed with him tell the end. Then we go back to Mans Search For Meaning by Frankl, which talks about how do we understand love and how do people define it in their life. One major connections is both of the Authors used to "wife" or "love" to help overcome the problems.
ReplyDelete^^^^ Joseph Arnaout
ReplyDeleteFrankl in "Man's Search for Meaning", goes through a lot of suffering in the concentration camps as they identities were taken away; being dehumanized. Those who kept going like Frankl, found meaning when he thinks of his wife, "when you find a why, you can conquer any how". That is just like Temple Grandin's mother who never gave up because she found meaning in her child, she was able to overcome any how. For me that is goes the same for Jonathan I, where he finds meaning in his work, although for a while he was lost but once again he found meaning in his art once again.
ReplyDeleteCarol Cheung
Prisca T.
ReplyDeleteconnecting both books together, both Sacks and Frankl define the meaning of human being and the purpose of life. Based On the Anthropologist on Mars he discover how a human adapt to a life such as an illness that the human have to go through.In life they later learned how to accept their condition. There is always a purpose in life.People go through rough times in their life, but still manage to push themselves harder to reach their goals.Based on the Man's seach for meaning, Frankl discovers the meaning of life link with the theme existentialism means to live is to suffer and to survive is finding the meaning of suffering.(frankl pg 9).
Both Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl, and An Anthropologist on Mars by Oliver Sacks telling true stories of real people. While Dr. Sacks focuses on people with neurological problems, Dr. Frankl has an approach from the point of view of psychotherapy. Both Sacks and Frankl talk about adaption to a new condition, which happens during the state of suffering. For example, Dr.Sacks describes the case of a colorblind painter, who reached a point where his colorblindness became not just his new way of life, but something meaningful that helped him to progress in his field of art. Dr. Frankl has a description of his experience in the death camps during The Second World War, he managed to survive and to find meaning in his life through his work; not long after the end of the war, Victor Frankl became a famous psychiatrist for his work on Logotherapy. In both cases, meaning plays a significant part in the life of the individual, and they both adapt to the new conditions they are in.
ReplyDelete* Danny Abramov
The connections that I see between those two books is that they are both about an infinite love in all its manifestations that can make miraculous things and put meaning in human’s life in spite of any circumstances. The examples of such miraculous love are love of Temple’s mother who does not give up and helps her autistic daughter to become aware of meaning of her life, the love for his life’s work that helps Dr. Bennett to overcome his Tourette’s syndrome, the love for the art that brings new vision and new meaning of the colorblind painter’s life, the love for music that gives meaning to the seemingly empty life of the last hippie Greg. Finally, it is the love for his family and dreams about the future that leads Dr. Frankl through all severities of death camps.
ReplyDeleteAksana Gorenitsyn
In both books An Anthropologist on Mars and Man’s Search for Meaning shows connections in the aspect of strength. In Frankl's book his experiences in the concentration camp and his strength to survive plagues his life. Having meaning in life is what have made him progress and have something to live for. In Oliver Sacks book shows cases of conditions which individuals are faced with such as a man by the name of jonathan I who has a condition plagued by a car accident which has made him totally colorblind, which made him have the ability to see life in a whole new way by his condition. In An Anthropologist on Mars Temple Grandin has Autisum and comes to terms of that she is not like everyone else but is more than less of a person. Through their struggles of adapting to changes beyond their control, dealing with life and its meaning. Both books shows this inner strength to face their circumstances and live life to enrich their living not for themselves alone, but to show others they are capable of facing life also.
ReplyDeleteTeresa Powell
Both authors distinguish the struggles in one's life; The connection between An Anthropologist on Mars and Man’s Search for Meaning illustrate hope and the ability to find their own purpose in life. For instance, Mr.I, the colorblind painter, view life in color diffidently, but the irony in this story was Mr.I perception about color and life once he had been stripped away from color. As a result, Mr I. gain hope and his meaning in life beyond color. In the other hand, the experience of being a surviver in the concentration camp gave Frankl a purpose to why he should spread his ideology in life.
ReplyDeleteEmmanuel Avila
The connections that i see between Anthropologist on Mars and Man's Search for Meaning, show that both Sacks' and Frankl's see meaning through their patients eyes for they patients tell their own story of the changeses they went through, it help them to find their own stranght to survive though their suffering. most patients, realize that they cannot do the thing they used to do because of what they went through such as different illness as in Anthropolgist,The Case of the Colorblind painter and The Last Hippie, the suffereing that others go through by other human such as the Nazi death camp and how to over come this and find meaning in life. Elaine Taffe
ReplyDeleteFrankl's perspecive of love and meaning. people who have meaning in their life, can go through anything that cripple them for they can rise above it an put their life back on track.They not only live for material things so when they lost their material things they still have something to live for. Love mean to care for others, he is saying it is ok to love ourself,but we donot have to be selfish by thinking about only what we want. We will find ourself living a live that is meaningless. We also can love others by giving our time by lend on helping hand to someone who are in need Elaine Taffe
ReplyDeleteThere is a clear connection between An Anthropologist on Mars and Man's Search for Meaning. Individuals in both books are willing to continue living even after their horrible situations. In “The case of the colorblind painter”, Mr. I. is willing to continue with life, even without color, his true identity. After his accident, Mr. I. gains a new perspective on life, which allows him to continue painting. His love and passion for painting is what kept him going and is where he finds his true meaning in life. We see a similar connection in Man's Search for Meaning. Frankl was given harsh labor in the concentration camp. He had very little food and clothing in the cold weather of Auschwitz. Many people ended their life, because they saw no point in living. Frankl differs. Frankl was willing to do anything just to continue living, since he saw a purpose to life. Frankl was looking at the future and how the would be reunited with his beloved wife. The very thought of his wife is what he held on to until he was liberated. We see how both Mr. I and Victor Frankl saw a genuine meaning to life which gave them a reason to continue with life.
ReplyDeleteMiriam Zada
The connections I found between Frankl's experience, and the case studies shared by Sacks, is that they all endure a great amount of suffering, in order to find meaning in their lives. They all overcome great adversities, and continue to on having successful fulfilling lives. Frankl himself, over comes life in nazi concentration camps. Surviving, he is able to help others through his development of logotherapy, having great success in the field of psychiatry. As well as the story of Temple Gradin; having been diagnosed with autism, continued on to excel scholastically, regardless of the way others viewed her. Today she has accomplished so much. in the field of animal science, as well as being a Professor. She is a great inspiritation to not only to women, but to anyone who has had the opportunity to be touched through the life she lives. These stories show the resiliency of the human spirit. I believe that we can all succeed in our dreams as long as we too keep an open heart, in order that we can make a life a better place not just for ourself but for all of us. Belinda Vega
ReplyDeleteIn Man's Search for Meaning Frankl explains to us that we have to find our own meaning of life because there is not only 1 real meaning. But in an Anthropologist on Mars the story of the color blind painter it shows how he made the best of life without having the same eye sight he used to have before the accident. After the accident he could see things clearly about life that other people didn't see due to his condition. Both have the connection that life is more then just what we see its even deeper then sight.
ReplyDelete-*Vivian Navarro
the connecton between the two books is having something to live for.(a passion) Anthropologist on mars is about people with neurological disorders and the type of lifestyle they live in. Sacks shares his experiences working with many cases. he shares story about a man with tourettes syndrome and how ironically enough he was a very skilled surgeon, with the abiltiy to over come his out breaks while working, because he had a passion for getting things precise, and loved what he did for a living. sacks and was as frankl shows us that despite the problems one may have, its their reason for living that pulls them threw and helps them over come their current situtaion even if it is only temporarily... Krystal G
ReplyDeleteI think th emain connection between two books, that they both talk about adaptation. People used to adapt a lot of things and try to live with them . For instance, Oliver Sacks wrote a story about Mr "I" who lost his vision and became a colorblind. He adapt how to be a colorblind and to live fully life. He found the way to paint colorblind picture , to show people how he felt. Black and white were reality for main character. However he can adapt and live with it for the rest of his life. Adaptation according to Frankl one of the biggest things that humans can do. Frankl adapted to live in a camp during Geraman Nazi. Adaptation helped him to surive and adapt new life without wife and his relatives .Sometimes a life we should adapt things that looks awkward to us.
ReplyDeleteMarina Belokopytyy
both books accent the power of the human will. a man can be beaten, starved, tortured, but as long as the will of that person is still in tact, there is nothing that can affect that person. the will to live, the will to continue on and become different, to become something greater. both the colorblind painter and frankl suffer a great deal. but they both receive a will to strive forward in order to do live with the cards they've been dealt. another comparison that the two books share is the ability of a person to evolve. this ability to evolve has to do with the will to survive. when one develops a will to survive in a time of great hardship, that person must change, adapt, to survive. in the same example as before, both the colorblind painter and frankl had to evolve in order to adapt fully to their new situations. the painter was able to perceive depth and shadows in ways no one else could. frankl grew tough cold, desensitized. he was able to see death and not be phased by it. he was able to survive in the coldest weather, while completely malnourished and not adequately dressed.
ReplyDeletestephen lee
The two books are similar in many ways, they show peoples ability to cope with difficult situations. They overcome the obstacles that they face. For example the color blind painter, all he knew his whole life as color, and one day it was taken away from him. It toook him a while but he finally accepted it, and he saw life a bit differently now and wouldnt trade it for anything. Frankl had to go through a concentration camp, he had to face torture, but the power of love let him adapt and survive. The two book shows mans ability to adapt.
ReplyDelete-Savera Bajwa
these books are quite similar in many ways, such as the fact that they show mans struggle to adept, to uncontrolable aspect of life frankl's experience in the concentration camp, and diffeernt peopl like jonathan I learning to adept when after losing the ablity to see color. also both books display life as a precious thing and, you never now what to expect from life, frankl did not expect to find the meaning of life while in the concentration camp, and characters in the anthropologist on mars all had disorders that we would find horriable however they changed the negitive aspect of their lifes to make their disorders a blessing, in life these disorders actually bettered their lifes. both books could change the life and preception of a person.
ReplyDeleteJehonathan Tetteh
Anthropologist and Mans Search for Meaning both are similar. With the colorblind painter, he had to adapt to losing his color vision.But Frankl's whole lifestyle was changed. He was imprisoned and constantly faced with death. Although they both had to adapt and their lives would change forever, Frankl's situation is much harder to overcome - in my opinion
ReplyDelete-Patrick Clay