Michael Polanyi Quotes
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. The quotes below are attributed to Michael Polanyi, organized by topic.
Michael Polanyi on Knowledge
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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.”