Michael Polanyi Books

Exploring the concept of 'tacit knowing,' this collection features three lectures by Michael Polanyi, a distinguished theorist in philosophy, physical chemistry, and economics. Originally published in 1959, these lectures build upon his earlier work, "Personal Knowledge," and emphasize the significance of non-verbalized understanding in the acquisition of knowledge. Polanyi's insights are essential for comprehending the interplay between personal experience and intellectual frameworks, making this volume a critical resource for scholars in the social sciences.

Books on epistemology tend to be dreary affairs. Epistemology, which is the branch of philosophy that studies how human beings acquire and "validate" their knowledge, tend to be largely speculative and logical. Most theories of epistemology that are inflicted upon the world are nothing more than highly artificial constructions of some philosopher's speculations as to how men "ought" to attain and validate their knowledge. Any correspondence to how men really attain knowledge is usually pure coincidence. Moreover, in many instances, the epistemological philosopher has some special agenda which he is seeking to impose on his readers by confusing them with a mass of epistemological pedantry. He may be trying to prove the validity of a largely speculative form of "reason" or of definitions or of certainty or of a perfect a immaculate form of "objectivity" or of some other equally utopian and irrelevant principle

Suitable for students and scholars, this title challenges the assumption that skepticism, rather than established belief, lies at the heart of scientific discovery.

In its concern with science as an essentially human enterprise, Science, Faith and Society makes an original and challenging contribution to the philosophy of science. On its appearance in 1946 the book quickly became the focus of controversy.Polanyi aims to show that science must be understood as a community of inquirers held together by a common faith; science, he argues, is not the use of "scientific method" but rather consists in a discipline imposed by scientists on themselves in the interests of discovering an objective, impersonal truth. That such truth exists and can be found is part of the scientists' faith. Polanyi maintains that both authoritarianism and scepticism, attacking this faith, are attacking science itself.

A chemist and member of a family renowned for its learning in several disciplines, Michael Polanyi experienced first-hand the horrors of totalitarian government and worldwide war. He argued that centrally planned organizations―or governments―based solely on the methods of science threaten to foreclose a full human knowledge of the mysteries of existence and therefore pose a direct threat not only to academic freedom but also to social and political liberty. Michael Polanyi (1891–1976) was an internationally renowned scientist, philosopher, and professor whose other works include Personal Knowledge and The Tacit Dimension . Stuart D. Warner is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois.

In seinem zum Klassiker gewordenen Buch Personales Wissen von 1958 legt Michael Polanyi das Augenmerk auf die personengebundenen Elemente wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisprozesse – auf Erfahrung und Vorwissen, Geschicklichkeit und Können. Mit dieser Intervention leuchtet er den blinden Fleck einer am Objektivitätsideal ausgerichteten Wissenschaftslogik aus, nämlich den verkörperten, vergesellschafteten Forscher selbst. Als »personales« und in der Folge als »implizites Wissen« konzeptualisiert, ist sein epistemologischer Ansatz zu einem der wichtigsten Beiträge der gegenwärtigen Wissenschaftsforschung avanciert. Polanyis Hauptwerk liegt nun erstmals in deutscher Übersetzung vor.