originally published 5/31/2018

Philosopher Esther Lightcap Meek joins us to discuss the realism of philosopher and chemist Michael Polanyi (1891-1976) and Polanyi’s belief that our understanding of reality shapes our understanding of knowledge. For Polanyi, reality is full of meaning and intelligibility that precedes our perception of it. In fact, it is something that we already participate in and, to some extent, know “subsidiarily.” This knowledge is something that is developed and acquired in tradition and passed along through generations. For Polanyi, knowledge that is anchored in an intelligible reality is what enables the scientist to achieve discovery through a process facilitated both by intuition and imagination. Esther Lightcap Meek is the author of Contact With Reality: Michael Polanyi’s Realism and Why It Matters (Wipf and Stock, 2017). This interview was originally featured on Volume 139 of the Journal.

23 minutes

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Though largely ignored, the work of research chemist-turned-philosopher Michael Polanyi (1891–1976) offers rich insight into the methods of science, the role of belief in all human knowing, and the important connections between knowledge and responsibility. Tacit Knowing, Truthful Knowing explores Michael Polanyi’s criticisms of both objectivism and subjectivism, and his attempts to develop a more truthful understanding of how we know the world. His ideas are based on the belief that all knowledge is either tacit (silent and unspoken) or rooted in tacit knowledge.

This Report features interviews with leading interpreters of Polanyi’s thought, including Marjorie Grene, Richard Gelwick, Thomas Torrance, and Martin X. Moleski. Interviews with Nobel Prize-winning chemist Dudley Herschbach, educator Steven Garber, and master violin makers Peter and Wendy Moes, along with readings from Michael Polanyi’s books and correspondence, further illuminate his ideas.

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