From My Writings

This page brings together selected academic essays that stand in close dialogue with the themes of Encounters. While related to the project as a whole, these writings focus more specifically on Viktor Frankl’s perspective on religion, meaning, and ethical responsibility. They are offered here as complementary, text-based reflections for readers who wish to engage these questions in greater depth.

These essays formed the basis for further development in the Japanese-language book 『宗教の限界と人生の意味』, where the arguments are expanded for a broader readership.

Ethical Paradoxes of Belief Systems: Viktor Frankl’s Approach

Keisuke Noda
The International Forum for Logotherapy: Journal of Search for Meaning
Vol. 45, No. 2 (2022), pp. 93–113

Abstract

While belief systems may have positive effects for some, they can also negatively affect human life. Although belief systems promote values and meaning, they may also drive believers to exclude, dehumanize, or even harm those who challenge their authority. This essay examines the paradoxes inherent in certain belief systems and argues that Viktor Frankl’s multidimensional approach—especially his emphasis on lived values and individual responsibility—offers a path toward resolving these ethical conflicts.

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Viktor Frankl’s Hermeneutic Space and Belief Systems

Conference Presentation
The 24th World Congress of the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy, October 19–21, 2023

This paper extends Frankl’s multidimensional philosophy into a hermeneutic framework for understanding belief systems. It explores how meaning, truth, and responsibility emerge within the interpretive space of the individual, and how rigid belief structures can distort this space. The presentation situates Frankl’s thought as a resource for addressing contemporary ethical and religious conflicts.

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