Michael Polanyi 1891 – 1976
Michael Polanyi was a Hungarian-British polymath, physical chemist, economist, and philosopher and the younger brother of the economic historian Karl Polanyi. After a distinguished career as a chemist in Berlin, he fled Nazi Germany and turned increasingly to philosophy, holding chairs of social studies at Manchester and Oxford. His Personal Knowledge and The Tacit Dimension argue that all knowing involves a tacit, personal component that cannot be fully articulated, and that the ideal of strict objectivity is therefore incoherent. His thought has shaped philosophy of science, theology, and the study of expertise.
Key facts
- Nationality
- Hungarian-British
- Era
- Contemporary
- Movements
- Continental
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Michael Polanyi:
“We can know more than we can tell.”
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Attributed to Michael Polanyi:
“All knowledge is personal.”
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Attributed to Michael Polanyi:
“Tacit knowing is the foundation of explicit knowing.”
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Attributed to Michael Polanyi:
“Discovery is the act of guessing reality.”
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Attributed to Michael Polanyi:
“Pure objectivity is a myth that, if accepted, destroys what it sought to perfect.”