The Scientific View of Sport

Book excerpt: progress and happiness - however these terms may be understood in detail - as a significant and constitutive element of scientific inquiry. In this sense the question of the way in which sport really benefits people and contributes to their happiness, and under which individual and social conditions, is a scientific question. It assumes special significance when the fact is taken into account that in the field of sport science a general scepticism is shown towards those dogmas and pedagogical theses which take such an interpretation for granted in the absence of a firm empirical foundation and a critically evolved theory. Sport and Sport Science Sport and exercise, physical culture and education in sport (physical training), gymnastics and touring combined with some form of sport are-as the present report distinctly shows-all over the world among the most striking social phenom ena of today. At first sight they seem to be uncomplicated, clear and comprehensible for everybody; they stand for a type of solidarity which is independent of differences in ideological-political outlook, and sometimes exhibit an almost archaic intensity and attraction; they are supported by the active participation or at least the interest of very many people in many parts of the world and are endued with specific func tions, varying in importance, of a medical (therapeutical, prophylactic, rehabilitative), pedagogical, psychological and social character.