Slovak Priest and Psychologist Peter Tavel on the Search for Meaning in Life

Peter Tavel, a Slovak-born Dominican priest and clinical psychology professor, has built an unconventional life bridging spirituality and science. Originally from eastern Slovakia, Tavel trained as a civil engineer before joining the Dominican order, spending years in an Austrian monastery and sailing on a century-old sailing vessel — an experience he credits with overcoming his fear of death. He now holds a respected position as a professor of clinical psychology at Palacký University in Olomouc, Czech Republic, and has spent more than two decades accompanying elderly and dying patients in Austrian hospices. In a wide-ranging interview, Tavel reflects on the meaning of life, personal transformation, and what he describes as a common human tendency to expend excessive energy trying to avoid making mistakes — energy he argues would be better directed elsewhere.