Comparing Logotherapy and Logoteleology: From Meaning to Meaningful Purpose

By Luis A. Marrero, M.A., RODP, LLP. Founder, Boston Institute for Meaningful Purpose

Logoteleology builds upon Viktor Frankl’s foundational work in Logotherapy by advancing the study of meaning into the realm of purposeful design. While Logotherapy focuses on finding meaning through suffering, Logoteleology expands the focus to how individuals and organizations create, organize, and live by meaningful purpose. The following table compares the two approaches. It highlights the shift from

• surviving and finding meaning to intentionally designing and thriving with and through a meaningful purpose

• reacting to difficult conditions to preventing difficult conditions

• from an emphasis on therapy to prioritizing proactive thriving

Aspect	Logotherapy (Viktor Frankl)	Logoteleology (Luis A. Marrero)
Philosophical Foundation	Life has meaning under all circumstances, and the search for that meaning is the primary motivational force.	Human beings are logoteleological by nature — urged to fulfill meaningful purpose that uplifts both self and others.
Nature of Meaning	Meaning is something to be discovered — a 'why to live' that gives life purpose.	Meaning is what is meant — an organized, causal construct that explains why and for what purpose someone exists. Humans are inherently born with a meaningful purpose (Protomeaning) to fulfill.
Motivational Basis	“Will to Meaning” — the desire to find meaning in one’s existence.	Protomeaning — the innate, creative urge to pursue learning, love, meaningful connection, and fulfilling one’s calling through inherent potential.
Method and Practice	Helps individuals find meaning in life’s circumstances to overcome existential frustration.	Clarifies, rewrites, and lives with a purposeful intention to attain lucidity, growth, and flourishing.
Vision of the Human Being	A meaning-seeking being who is capable of transcending suffering through choice.	A being that creates meaning and purpose, capable of consciously shaping a meaningful life and world.
Evolutionary Perspective	Focuses on finding meaning in the face of adversity.	Advances to thriving through purposeful design — integrating meaning with personal, group, organizational, and societal systems.

Logotherapy reveals the power of meaning in adversity; Logoteleology extends that power into purposeful flourishing.