Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology

This book is a first attempt to combine insights from the two perspectives with regard to the question of meaning by examining a collection of theoretical and empirical works. This volume therefore is destined to become an important addition to psychological literature: both from the viewpoint of the history of ideas (again this would be one of the first times that positive and existentialist psychologies meet) and from the viewpoint of theoretical and empirical research into the meaning concept in psychology.

Alexander Batthyany holds the Viktor Frankl Chair for Philosophy and Psychology at the International Academy of Philosophy in the Principality of Liechtenstein. He teaches theory of Cognitive Science at Vienna University’s Cognitive Science Program and Logotherapy and Existential Analysis at the Department of Psychiatry at Vienna Medical School. Since 2012, Batthyany is Visiting Professor for Existential Psychotherapy at the Moscow University Institute of Psychoanalysis. He is director of the Viktor Frankl Institute and the Viktor Frankl Archives in Vienna and first editor of the 14-volume Edition of the Collected Works of Viktor Frankl. Batthyany has published several books and articles and lectures widely on philosophical and existential psychology, philosophy of mind, and theory of cognitive science.

Pninit Russo-Netzer is a researcher at the Department of Counseling and Human Development at the University of Haifa. Her main research and practice interests focus upon Positive Psychology, meaning in life and Logotherapy, spirituality, change and development. Pninit has published several articles, developed programs and curricula for various organizations on these topics. Pninit lectures on positive psychology and related topics in a number of academic institutions and conducts workshops and training in organizations. She serves as academic advisor and consultant to both academic and non-academic institutions. She is a member of the International Positive Psychology Association and serves on board of directors of the Logotherapy Association in Israel.