Hans Lenk (born 23 March 1935) is a German

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is di ...

who competed for the

United Team of Germany The United Team of Germany (german: Gesamtdeutsche Mannschaft) was a combined team of athletes from West Germany and East Germany that competed in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Winter and Summer Olympic Games. In 1956, the team also included athletes f ...

in the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

, and an Emeritus Professor of

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. He was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. In 1960, he was a crew member of the West German boat which won the gold medal in the eights event.

Life and career

Full Professor 1969–2003 (

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; german: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) is a public research university in Karlsruhe, Germany. The institute is a national research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT was created in 2009 w ...

, KIT = University of Karlsruhe, Germany), now Emeritus. President 2005-8 (now Honorary President) of the International Institute of Philosophy (I.I.P.), Paris, (i.e., the world academy of philosophers). President of the German Philosophical Society 1991-3, Vice President 1998–2003 of the

International Federation of Philosophical Societies The International Federation of Philosophical Societies (French: ''Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie'', FISP) is a world organization for learned societies in philosophy. Its member-societies arguably include every country ...

(Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie, FISP). Visiting and honorary professorships in Argentina; Austria; Brazil, Chile, Hungary, India, Japan, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Venezuela and the United States, incl. distinguished ones at

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

1973,

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medica ...

1976,

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

, Texas, 1987. Studies in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

sport science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sport and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally inc ...

(physical edu.) at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...

, 1955-7, and until 1961 at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

.(there also

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

), advanced studies in

cybernetics Cybernetics is a wide-ranging field concerned with circular causality, such as feedback, in regulatory and purposive systems. Cybernetics is named after an example of circular causal feedback, that of steering a ship, where the helmsperson m ...

Technical University of Berlin The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...

. – Dr. phil. =

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

at Kiel Univ. 1961. His Dissertation on the modern

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

has been the first comprehensive social philosophical study of the modern Olympics in the social sciences. Habilitations (advanced doctorates) at the

1966 (in

) and 1969 (for

), Assoc. Prof. 1969. – Full Professor at Karlsruhe Univ. 1969–2003. Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences 1973-5. Dean 1993–2006 of the European Faculty (now European Academy) of Land Use and Development. Lenk started out with the

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ultim ...

and the foundation of

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...

s (notably his habilitation thesis on the Critique of Logical Constants, 1968) and later on, since 1978, included

epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Episte ...

and pragmatic methodology of the social and natural sciences, technology+ economics, neuroscience and the

philosophy of language In analytic philosophy, philosophy of language investigates the nature of language and the relations between language, language users, and the world. Investigations may include inquiry into the nature of meaning, intentionality, reference, ...

in several books on Interpretative Constructs (1993) and Schema Games (1995). Since 1978 he developed his basic epistemological methodology of what he calls “methodological (scheme-)interpretationism” focused on a pragmatic and constructive realism a bit similar to Putnam's internal realism and much earlier and more general than the according recent perspectivism in US philosophy of science. Since then he extended and differentiated

Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrians, Austrian-British people, British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy o ...

’s later conception of “language games” toward “schema games” connecting and activating these with neuroscientific findings and analyses (for neurophilosophy cf. his book Consciousness as Scheme-Interpretation 2004). In

applied philosophy Applied philosophy (philosophy from Greek: φιλοσοφία, philosophia, 'love of wisdom') is a branch of philosophy that studies philosophical problems of practical concern. The topic covers a broad spectrum of issues in environment, medicine, ...

he published rather many studies and books on performance and achievement (not only in sport), social responsibility (see, e.g., Mitcham's Encyclopedia on Science, Technology and Ethics (2005, 2015 2nd ed.)), and social

philosophy of technology The philosophy of technology is a sub-field of philosophy that studies the nature of technology and its social effects. Philosophical discussion of questions relating to technology (or its Greek ancestor ''techne'') dates back to the very dawn of ...

. Lately, he turned to several books on Concrete Humanity 1988 and sustainability 2009 and

Philosophical Anthropology Philosophical anthropology, sometimes called anthropological philosophy, is a discipline dealing with questions of metaphysics and phenomenology of the human person. History Ancient Christian writers: Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo wa ...

2010, 2013. Lenk's autobiographical memorial recollections on

Ratzeburg Ratzeburg (; Low German: ''Ratzborg'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the district Herzogtum Lau ...

er Goldwasser (

’s Golden Waters) 2013 and Golden Day at

Lago Albano Lake Albano (Italian: ''Lago Albano'' or ''Lago di Castel Gandolfo'') is a small volcanic crater lake in the Alban Hills of Lazio, at the foot of Monte Cavo, southeast of Rome. Castel Gandolfo, overlooking the lake, is the site of the Papal Pala ...

2015 present a lively overview of his athletic and academic career stages (except the three US visiting professorships). Lenk's academic specializations comprise amongst others:

, methodology and

, incl. social sciences and technology, systems theory, neurosciences,

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

, theoretical sociology, action theory, philosophy and psychology of creativity, achievement motivation and group dynamics, neuro- and moral philosophy as well as applied ethics, sport science and philosophy of sport.

(Honorary) memberships in societies/committees

Professional societies/committees

* Founding president of the bilateral Philosophical Societies with Argentina, Chile, Hungary (−2005), Romania, and the German-Russian Society of the Philosophy of Science and Technology * Founding member 1972 and President (1980–1) of the International Association of Sport Philosophy. * Member of the Steering Committee member of FISP 1994–2008 * 2003 Member of the

Russian Academy of Science The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

, Moscow * Member of the International Academy for the Philosophy of the Sciences 1995 * Internat. Academy for Philosophy 2010 * and the International Institute of Philosophy/Paris (I.I.P.) 1994 * German UNESCO Commission 1983–91 * Honorary membership: 2008 (as Hon. Pres.) of the International Institute of Philosophy * Honorary membership: German Philos. Society * Honorary membership: Philosophy Section of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

* Honorary membership: World Academy of Letters

Sports societies/committees

* Honorary membership: International Olympic Academy * Honorary membership: German Rowing Federation *

German Olympic Committee The German Olympic Sports Confederation (german: Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund or DOSB) was founded on 20 May 2006 by a merger of the ''Deutscher Sportbund'' (DSB), and the ''Nationales Olympisches Komitee für Deutschland'' (NOK) which dates ...

1965–93 * honorary memberships in various rowing clubs.

Sport achievements

4 German, 9 University and 2 European Championships in rowing (4-, 8+) 1958–60, Olympic Goldmedalist in the eight oar crew (8+) 1960 (

Rome Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

). Co-founder and coach of 3 German Championships (4+, 8+), 1 European silver medal (4+) and one World Championship (8+, 1966).

Awards and honors (selection)

Silver Laurel Leaf Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest sports award in Germany, was endowed on 23 June 1950 by the German President Theodor Heuss. It is awarded to athletes and teams of exemplary character that have won medals at Olympic and ...

of the Federal President of Germany 1959, 1960 * Scientific Diem Plaque 1962 * Sievert-Prize (Olympians International) 1972/3 * Noel Baker Research Prize (

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

) 1978 * Outstanding Academic Book Award (USA) 1979 * Commander's Cross (Großes Verdienstkreuz) from the President of the Federal Republic of Germany 2005 * Ethics Prize from the German Olympic Sports Federation 2010 * International Plato Award 2010 * Hall of Fame of the German Sport 2012 * Distinguished Scholar Award of the International Assoc. for the Philosophy of Sport 1995 * 8 honorary doctor degrees: Cologne 1986 (Sports U.), Córdoba/Arg. 1992 (Nat. U., twice = from 2 depts.), Moscow 1995 (GUGN) and IUÖP 2001, Budapest 1993 (TU), Pecs 1994 (dist., Rostov/Don 2002) * 5 honorary or distinguished professorships abroad (US, Russia, Hungary, Chile).

Publications

Overview

Lenk is the author of about 2500 articles and almost 150 books, incl. in Engl., a.o., Global

TechnoScience In common usage, technoscience refers to the entire long-standing global human activity of technology combined with the relatively recent scientific method that occurred primarily in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. Technoscience is the ...

and Responsibility 2007, Grasping Reality 2003, Save Olympic Spirit 2012, Social Philosophy of Athletics 1979, Team Dynamics 1977, Comparative and Intercultural Philosophy (ed.) 2009, Kant Today (ed.) 2006, Land Development Strategies (co-ed.) 2009, Ethics Facing Globalization (co-ed.) 2006, Advances and Problems in the

Philosophy of Technology The philosophy of technology is a sub-field of philosophy that studies the nature of technology and its social effects. Philosophical discussion of questions relating to technology (or its Greek ancestor ''techne'') dates back to the very dawn of ...

(co-ed.) 1997 (US)+2001, Epistemological Issues in Classical Chinese Philosophy (co-ed.) 1993, (Translations of books/articles into 20 languages.)

Selected publications (in German)

* Kritik der logischen Konstanten.

De Gruyter Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature. History The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, 1968, * Werte – Ziele – Wirklichkeit der modernen Olympischen Spiele (2nd Ed.). Hofmann, Schorndorf, 1972, * Leistungssport – Ideologie oder Mythos?

Kohlhammer Verlag W. Kohlhammer Verlag GmbH, or Kohlhammer Verlag, is a German publishing house headquartered in Stuttgart. History Kohlhammer Verlag was founded in Stuttgart on 30 April 1866 by . Kohlhammer had taken over the businesses of his late father-in-law ...

, Stuttgart 1972, 1974 (2nd Ed.), * Pragmatische Philosophie. Hoffmann & Campe, Hamburg 1975, * Zur Sozialphilosophie der Technik.

Suhrkamp Suhrkamp Verlag is a German publishing house, established in 1950 and generally acknowledged as one of the leading European publishers of fine literature. Its roots go back to the "arianized" part of the S. Fischer Verlag. In January 2010 the ...

, Frankfurt/M 1982 * Eigenleistung. Fromm, Osnabrück-Zürich, 1983, * Die achte Kunst – Leistungssport – Breitensport. Fromm –Interfrom, Osnabrück-Zurich, 1985, * Zwischen Wissenschaft und Ethik.

, Frankfurt a. M., 1992, * Interpretationskonstrukte. Zur Kritik der interpretatorischen Vernunft.

, Frankfurt a. M., 1993, * Philosophie und Interpretation.

, Frankfurt a. M., 1993, * Interpretation und Realität.

, Frankfurt a. M., 1995, * Schemaspiele.

, Frankfurt a. M., 1995, * Einführung in die angewandte Ethik – Verantwortlichkeit und Gewissen. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart, 1997, * Einführung in die Erkenntnistheorie. UTB (Fink), München, 1998, * Konkrete Humanität.

, Frankfurt a. M., 1998, * Praxisnahes Philosophieren. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart, 1999, * Erfassung der Wirklichkeit, Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg, 2000, * Kreative Aufstiege. Zur Philosophie und Psychologie der Kreativität.

, Frankfurt a. M., 2000, * Albert Schweitzer: Ethik als konkrete Humanität. LIT, Münster, 2000, * Das Denken und sein Gehalt. Oldenbourg, München, 2001, * Denken und Handlungsbindung, Karl Alber, Freiburg, 2001, * Kleine Philosophie des Gehirns. Wiss. Buchges. Primus, Darmstadt, 2001, * Erfolg oder Fairness? (2nd Ed.). LIT, Münster, 2010, * Natur – Umwelt – Ethik (with M. Maring). LIT, Münster, 2003, * Bewusstsein als Schemainterpretation. Mentis, Paderborn, 2004, * Verantwortung und Gewissen des Forschers. Studienverlag, Innsbruck, 2006, * Bewusstsein, Kreativität und Leistung. Wiss. Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 2007, * Das flexible Vielfachwesen. Einführung in die moderne philosophische Anthropologie zwischen Bio-, Techno- und Kulturwissenschaften. Velbrück Wiss., Weilerswist, 2010, * Ratzeburger Goldwasser – vom Lago Albano bis Lambarene. Projektverlag, Bochum/Freiburg, 2013, * Transkulturelle Logik – Universalität in der Vielfalt (with G. Paul). Projektverlag, Bochum/Freiburg, 2014, * Goldtag am Lago Albano. Projektverlag, Bochum/Freiburg, 2015,

Originally English works (selection)

* Team Dynamics, Stipes, Champaign IL, 1977, * Social Philosophy of Athletics: A Pluralistic and Practice-Oriented Philosophical Analysis of Top Level Amateur Sport. Stipes, Champaign IL, 1979, * Grasping Reality. World Scientific, Singapore, 2003, * Global TechnoScience and Responsibility. LIT, Berlin, 2007, * S.O.S. Save Olympic Spirit. Agon Sportverlag, Kassel, 2012,

External links

*
Website of the L'Institut international de philosophie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenk, Hans 1935 births Living people Rowers from Berlin Olympic rowers for the United Team of Germany Rowers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United Team of Germany Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Olympic medalists in rowing German philosophers Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences West German male rowers Recipients of the Silver Laurel Leaf German male writers Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics European Rowing Championships medalists Philosophers of sport 20th-century German people