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Michael Polanyi and tacit knowledge

ideasthinkerspractice

michaelpolanyiandtacitknowledge
MichaelPolanyihelpedtodeepenourappreciationofthecontributionof'tacit knowing'tothegenerationofnewunderstandingsandsocialandscientific discovery.Webrieflyexplorehisrelevancetoeducators.
contents:introductiontacitknowledgeconclusionbibliographyhowtocitethisarticle

MichaelPolanyi(18911976)madeaprofound contributionbothtothephilosophyofscienceandsocial science.BorninBudapestintoaupperclassJewishfamily, hestudiedattheUniversitythere(gainingdoctoraldegrees bothinmedicineandphysicalscience)andatKarlsruhe.His initialworkwasasaphysicalchemistundertaking significantworkattheUniversityofBerlin(andother universities)oncrystalstructureandreactionkinetics.With therisetopowerinGermanyofHitler,MichaelPolanyi emigratedtoBritainandbecameProfessorofPhysical ChemistryattheUniversityofManchester(19331948).Ina significantshift,followinghisgrowingcontributiontotheliteratureofsocialscienceand philosophy,MichaelPolanyithenbecameProfessorofSocialSciencesatManchester (194858).Healsolecturedasvisitingprofessororseniorfellowattheuniversitiesof Chicago,Aberdeen,Virginia,StanfordandMertonCollege,Oxford. Tacitknowledge CentraltoMichaelPolanyi'sthinkingwasthebeliefthatcreativeacts(especiallyactsof discovery)areshotthroughorchargedwithstrongpersonalfeelingsandcommitments (hencethetitleofhismostfamousworkPersonalKnowledge).Arguingagainstthethen dominantpositionthatsciencewassomehowvaluefree,MichaelPolanyisoughttobring intocreativetensionaconcernwithreasonedandcriticalinterrogationwithother,more 'tacit',formsofknowing. Polanyi'sargumentwasthattheinformedguesses,hunchesandimaginingsthatarepart ofexploratoryactsaremotivatedbywhathedescribesas'passions'.Theymightwellbe aimedatdiscovering'truth',buttheyarenotnecessarilyinaformthatcanbestatedin propositionalorformalterms.AsMichaelPolanyi(1967:4)wroteinTheTacitDimension,
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Michael Polanyi and tacit knowledge

weshouldstartfromthefactthat'wecanknowmorethanwecantell'.Hetermedthis prelogicalphaseofknowingas'tacitknowledge'.Tacitknowledgecomprisesarangeof conceptualandsensoryinformationandimagesthatcanbebroughttobearinanattempt tomakesenseofsomething(seeHodgkin1991).Manybitsoftacitknowledgecanbe broughttogethertohelpformanewmodelortheory.Thisinevitablyledhimtoexplore connoisseurshipandtheprocessofdiscovery(ratherthanwiththevalidationorrefutation oftheoriesandmodelsincontrastwithPopper,forexample). Wemustconcludethattheparadigmaticcaseofscientificknowledge,in whichallfacultiesthatarenecessaryforfindingandholdingscientific knowledgearefullydeveloped,istheknowledgeofapproachingdiscovery. Toholdsuchknowledgeisanactdeeplycommittedtotheconvictionthat thereissomethingtheretobediscovered.Itispersonal,inthesenseof involvingthepersonalityofhimwhoholdsit,andalsointhesenseofbeing,as arule,solitarybutthereisnotraceinitofselfindulgence.Thediscovereris filledwithacompellingsenseofresponsibilityforthepursuitofahidden truth,whichdemandshisservicesforrevealingit.Hisactofknowingexercises apersonaljudgementinrelatingevidencetoanexternalreality,anaspectof whichheisseekingtoapprehend.(Polanyi1967:245) MichaelPolanyiplacedastrongemphasisondialoguewithinanopencommunity(a themetakenuplaterstronglybythephysicistDavidBohm).Herecognizedthestrengthby whichweholdopinionsandunderstandingsandourresistancetochangingthem.Unlike manyofhiscontemporariesheplacedhisthinkingwithinanappreciationofGodandof thepowerofworshipespeciallyinhislaterwriting(see,forexample,Meaning).Inhis earlierwork(especiallyinPersonalKnowledge)Polanyiseemstobepreoccupiedwith 'settingforthwaystothinkaboutreligiousmeaningasanarticulatesystemorframework relatedtootherarticulatesystems'(Mullinsundated).LaterMichaelPolanyiattemptedto extendhismodeltodescribethenatureofhumanknowledgefoundinart,mythand religion. Conclusion Inrespectofthephilosophyofscience,itcanbearguedthatMichaelPolanyihelpedto pavethewayforThomasKuhn'sgroundbreakingworkonthestructureofscientific revolutions.Perhapsthestrongestechoofhisworkthatweencounteraseducatorscomes throughtheworkofDonaldSchnandChrisArgyrisonknowinginaction,andin Eisner'sconsistentargumentsforconnoisseurshipandcriticisminevaluation.Italsohas parallelsinJeromeBruner's(1960)distinctionbetweenmediatedandimmediate cognitionorapprehension. BypayingattentiontoPolanyi'sconceptionofthetacitdimensionwecanbegintomake senseoftheplaceofintuitionandhunchesininformaleducationpracticeandhowwe
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Michael Polanyi and tacit knowledge

cancomeabetterunderstandingofwhatmightbegoingonindifferentsituations. Significantly,hisattentiontopassionsandcommitmentsthrowsfreshlightonthepraxis (informed,committedactions)thatstandattheheartofinformaleducation. Furtherreadingandbibliography Mullins,P.(undated)'MichaelPolanyi18911976',deepsite.org, http://www.deepsight.org/articles/polanyi.htm.VisitedOctober2,2003.Useful introductoryoverviewofPolanyi'scontributionwithspecialreferencetoreligiousthought. Polanyi,Michael(1958,1998)PersonalKnowledge.TowardsaPostCriticalPhilosophy. London:Routledge.428pages.Theclassicstatementtacitknowledge. Polanyi,Michael(1967)TheTacitDimension,NewYork:AnchorBooks.(108+xipages). Basedonthe1962Terrylectures(Yale)thisbookprovidesanoverviewoftacitknowledge. Helooksattacitknowing,emergenceandthesignificanceofasocietyofexplorers. Polanyi,Michael(1997)Science,EconomicsandPhilosophy:SelectedPapersofMichael Polanyi.EditedwithanintroductionbyR.T.Allen.NewBrunswick(USA)andLondon: TransactionPublishers.Essaysfrom1917to1972thatincludesanannotatedbibliography ofMichaelPolanyi'spublicationsonsociety,economics,andphilosophyandsummariesof unpublishedpapers. Bibliography Bruner,J(1960)TheProcessofEducation,Cambridge,Mass.:HarvardUniversityPress. Gelwick,R.(1987)TheWayofDiscovery:AnIntroductiontotheThoughtofMichael Polanyi,NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress. Hodgkin,R.(1991)'MichaelPolanyiProphetoflife,theuniverseandeverything'Times HigherEducationalSupplement,September27,page15. Kuhn,T.(1962)TheStructureofScientificRevolutions,Chicago:UniversityofChicago Press. Polanyi,Michael(1951)TheLogicofLiberty.London:RoutledgeandKeganPaul, 1951Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress. Polanyi,Michael(1964)Science,FaithandSociety.Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress Polanyi,Michael(1964)TheStudyofMan.Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress. Polanyi,Michael(1969)KnowingandBeing.EditedwithanintroductionbyMarjorie Grene.Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress. Polanyi,MichaelandProsch,Harry(1975)Meaning.Chicago:UniversityofChicago Press.
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Michael Polanyi and tacit knowledge

Prosch,H.(1986)MichaelPolanyi:ACriticalExposition.Albany:SUNYPress. Scott,D.(1995)EverymanRevived:TheCommonSenseofMichaelPolanyi,NewYork: WilliamEerdmans. Links TrythePolanyiSocietyhomepage(http://www.missouriwestern.edu/orgs/polanyi/) (includesessaysbyPolanyi,aguidetoarchivematerialanddetailsofThePolanyiSociety Periodical). Howtocitethisarticle:Smith,M.K.(2003)'MichaelPolanyiandtacitknowledge',the encyclopediaofinformaleducation,www.infed.org/thinkers/polanyi.htm. 2003MarkK.Smith
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