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Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy (1958)

by Michael Polanyi

Series: Gifford Lectures (1951-1952)

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789628,468 (4.17)6
The publication of Personal Knowledge in 1958 shook the science world, as Michael Polanyi took aim at the long-standing ideals of rigid empiricism and rule-bound logic. Today, Personal Knowledge remains one of the most significant philosophy of science books of the twentieth century, bringing the crucial concepts of "tacit knowledge" and "personal knowledge" to the forefront of inquiry. In this remarkable treatise, Polanyi attests that our personal experiences and ways of sharing knowledge have a profound effect on scientific discovery. He argues against the idea of the wholly dispassionate researcher, pointing out that even in the strictest of sciences, knowing is still an art, and that personal commitment and passion are logically necessary parts of research. In our technological age where fact is split from value and science from humanity, Polanyi's work continues to advocate for the innate curiosity and scientific leaps of faith that drive our most dazzling ingenuity. For this expanded edition, Polyani scholar Mary Jo Nye set the philosopher-scientist's work into contemporary context, offering fresh insights and providing a helpful guide to critical terms in the work. Used in fields as diverse as religious studies, chemistry, economics, and anthropology, Polanyi's view of knowledge creation is just as relevant to intellectual endeavors today as when it first made waves more than fifty years ago.… (more)
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» See also 6 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 6 (next | show all)
Libro eccezionale, che scuote le basi della presunta oggettività scientifica ribaltandole a favore della conoscenza personale intesa come modalità prima di apprendimento. Il testo è del 1958, la chiarezza filosofica con cui affronta problematiche scientifiche è inoppugnabile e alcune delle riflessioni qui messe su carta (per esempio il tema delle conoscenze tacite/esplicite) sono state negli anni a venire rimasticate e banalizzate un po' ovunque. Una lettura fondamentale.
( )
  d.v. | May 16, 2023 |
12/10/21
  laplantelibrary | Dec 10, 2021 |
This is a book with whose project I have much sympathy. This sounds awkward and condescending, and that is my fault, but it’s true. It is the effort of a successful chemist (who turned to philosophy later in his career) to engage with the broader implications of scientific knowledge and activity on the wider field of human knowledge. It seeks to challenge what Polanyi considers the orthodoxy of the critical mindset, which he regards as little better than scientism. Ultimately, however, all Polanyi offers us is a mish-mash of unreconstructed realism, pragmatism, and metaphysicism (!).

Full review HERE ( )
  agtgibson | Jan 5, 2021 |
An interesting and original contribution to the philosophy of science. Unlike many other books in this field, this one should be of interest to scientists as well. The weakness of this book is that the argumentation seems to meander this way and that without a very clear focus, but the author still makes some good points along the way.
  thcson | Apr 25, 2010 |
science
  leese | Nov 23, 2009 |
Showing 1-5 of 6 (next | show all)
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The publication of Personal Knowledge in 1958 shook the science world, as Michael Polanyi took aim at the long-standing ideals of rigid empiricism and rule-bound logic. Today, Personal Knowledge remains one of the most significant philosophy of science books of the twentieth century, bringing the crucial concepts of "tacit knowledge" and "personal knowledge" to the forefront of inquiry. In this remarkable treatise, Polanyi attests that our personal experiences and ways of sharing knowledge have a profound effect on scientific discovery. He argues against the idea of the wholly dispassionate researcher, pointing out that even in the strictest of sciences, knowing is still an art, and that personal commitment and passion are logically necessary parts of research. In our technological age where fact is split from value and science from humanity, Polanyi's work continues to advocate for the innate curiosity and scientific leaps of faith that drive our most dazzling ingenuity. For this expanded edition, Polyani scholar Mary Jo Nye set the philosopher-scientist's work into contemporary context, offering fresh insights and providing a helpful guide to critical terms in the work. Used in fields as diverse as religious studies, chemistry, economics, and anthropology, Polanyi's view of knowledge creation is just as relevant to intellectual endeavors today as when it first made waves more than fifty years ago.

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