Kuno Lorenz
Encyclopedia
Kuno Lorenz is a German
philosopher. He developed a philosophy of dialogue, in connection with the pragmatic theory of action of the Erlangen
constructivist
school. Lorenz is married to the literary scholar Karin Lorenz-Lindemann.
, Hamburg
, Bonn
and Princeton
, Lorenz earned his Ph.D. in 1961 under Paul Lorenzen
in Kiel
with a thesis about Arithmetic and Logic as Games. In 1969 he received his habilitation
degree in philosophy
also under Lorenzen but this time in Erlangen
. In 1970 he was offered the chair of philosophy at the University of Hamburg to succeed Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker
. From 1974 till his retirement in 1997 he taught at the University of Saarland in Saarbrücken. Among his former students is Arno Ros
.
) an approach to arithmetic and logic as dialogue games. In dialogical logic, tree calculations (generally, of Gentzen type calculus) are written upside down, so that the initial assertion of a proponent stays above and is defended against an opponent as in a game. This is a linguistically more congenial approach to logic which is more suitable as a model for argumentation than the formal derivation in a calculus or truth tables. Lorenz presented for the first time a simple demonstration of Gentzen's consistency proof
on this game-theoretic basis. If one regards logic and mathematics in this way as a game, an intuitionist approach becomes a more plausible option.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
philosopher. He developed a philosophy of dialogue, in connection with the pragmatic theory of action of the Erlangen
Erlangen
Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach.Erlangen has more than 100,000 inhabitants....
constructivist
Constructivist epistemology
Constructivist epistemology is an epistemological perspective in philosophy about the nature of scientific knowledge. Constructivists maintain that scientific knowledge is constructed by scientists and not discovered from the world. Constructivists claim that the concepts of science are mental...
school. Lorenz is married to the literary scholar Karin Lorenz-Lindemann.
Career
After studying mathematics and physics in TübingenTübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
and Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Lorenz earned his Ph.D. in 1961 under Paul Lorenzen
Paul Lorenzen
Paul Lorenzen was a philosopher andmathematician.As a founder of the Erlangen School and the inventor of game semantics he was a famous German philosopher of the 20th century.-Biography:Lorenzen studied with David Hilbert as a schoolboy and he was one of Hasse's...
in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
with a thesis about Arithmetic and Logic as Games. In 1969 he received his habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
degree in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
also under Lorenzen but this time in Erlangen
Erlangen
Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach.Erlangen has more than 100,000 inhabitants....
. In 1970 he was offered the chair of philosophy at the University of Hamburg to succeed Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker
Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker
Carl Friedrich Freiherr von Weizsäcker was a German physicist and philosopher. He was the longest-living member of the research team which performed nuclear research in Germany during the Second World War, under Werner Heisenberg's leadership...
. From 1974 till his retirement in 1997 he taught at the University of Saarland in Saarbrücken. Among his former students is Arno Ros
Arno Ros
Arno Ros is a German philosopher and Professor of Theoretical Philosophy at the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg in Magdeburg, Germany.- Studies and initial teaching positions :...
.
Dialogue and predication
Lorenz developed (along with Paul LorenzenPaul Lorenzen
Paul Lorenzen was a philosopher andmathematician.As a founder of the Erlangen School and the inventor of game semantics he was a famous German philosopher of the 20th century.-Biography:Lorenzen studied with David Hilbert as a schoolboy and he was one of Hasse's...
) an approach to arithmetic and logic as dialogue games. In dialogical logic, tree calculations (generally, of Gentzen type calculus) are written upside down, so that the initial assertion of a proponent stays above and is defended against an opponent as in a game. This is a linguistically more congenial approach to logic which is more suitable as a model for argumentation than the formal derivation in a calculus or truth tables. Lorenz presented for the first time a simple demonstration of Gentzen's consistency proof
Gentzen's consistency proof
Gentzen's consistency proof is a result of proof theory in mathematical logic. It "reduces" the consistency of a simplified part of mathematics, not to something that could be proved , but to clarified logical principles.-Gentzen's theorem:In 1936 Gerhard Gentzen proved the consistency of...
on this game-theoretic basis. If one regards logic and mathematics in this way as a game, an intuitionist approach becomes a more plausible option.
Dialogical constructivism
Not only logic, but the whole of philosophy is given a dialogical treatment by Lorenz. Only in the mirror of a relative Other is it possible to reflect upon oneself. Lorenz developed a dialogical constructivism from the focus on the dialogical principle (Martin Buber) and the process of language games of the later Ludwig Wittgenstein. In addition, the pragmatism of Charles Sanders Peirce and the historicism of Wilhelm Dilthey are complementary juxtaposed.Publications
- 1969 with Jürgen MittelstraßJürgen MittelstraßJürgen Mittelstraß is a German philosopher especially interested in the philosophy of science.He was born in Düsseldorf in 1936 and studied philosophy, history and protestant theology at Bonn, Erlangen, Hamburg and Oxford from 1956 till 1961.He received his Ph.D...
: Die methodische Philosophie Hugo Dinglers Einleitung zum Nachdruck von: Hugo Dingler Die Ergreifung des Wirklichen Kapitel I-IV. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt (Reihe Theorie 1) S. 7-55 - 1970 Elemente der Sprachkritik Eine Alternative zum Dogmatismus und Skeptizismus in der Analytischen Philosophie Suhrkamp, Frankfurt (Reihe Theorie)
- 1977 Einführung zu: Richard Gätschenberger Zeichen, die Fundamente des Wissens Zweite, unveränd. Aufl., vermehrt um eine Einführung von Kuno Lorenz. (Nachdr. v. 1932) frommann-holzboog, Stuttgart (problemata; 59)
- 1978 with Paul LorenzenPaul LorenzenPaul Lorenzen was a philosopher andmathematician.As a founder of the Erlangen School and the inventor of game semantics he was a famous German philosopher of the 20th century.-Biography:Lorenzen studied with David Hilbert as a schoolboy and he was one of Hasse's...
: Dialogische Logik WBG, Darmstadt - 1978 (Hrsg.): Konstruktionen versus Positionen Beiträge zur Diskussion um die konstruktive Wissenschaftstheorie. Paul LorenzenPaul LorenzenPaul Lorenzen was a philosopher andmathematician.As a founder of the Erlangen School and the inventor of game semantics he was a famous German philosopher of the 20th century.-Biography:Lorenzen studied with David Hilbert as a schoolboy and he was one of Hasse's...
zum 60. Geburtstag. de Gruyter, Berlin, New York - 1980 Sprachphilosophie in: Althaus u.a. (Hrsg.): Lexikon der germanistischen Linguistik Niemeyer, Tübingen
- 1982 (Hrsg.): Identität und Individuation (2 Bde.) frommann-holzboog, Stuttgart
- 1986 Dialogischer Konstruktivismus In: K. Salamun (Hrsg.): Was ist Philosophie? Mohr, Tübingen
- 1990 Einführung in die philosophische Anthropologie WBG, Darmstadt ²1992 ISBN 3-534-04879-2
- 1992/6 with M. Dascal, D. Gerhardus und G. Meggle) (Hrsg.): Sprachphilosophie Ein internationales Handbuch zeitgenössischer Forschung (2 Halbbde.) Berlin/New York
- 1998 Indische Denker Beck, München ISBN 3-406-41945-3 (Rezension)
- 2009 Dialogischer Konstruktivismus de Gruyter, Berlin, New York ISBN 978-3-11-020310-3
External links
- Literature of and about Kuno Lorenz in the catalog of the German National Library (record Kuno Lorenz • PICA-Record)