The Tacit Dimension - by Michael Polanyi (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A classic work in the philosophy of science that changed how we think about knowledge itself

"I shall reconsider human knowledge by starting from the fact that we can know more than we can tell," writes Michael Polanyi, whose work paved the way for the likes of Thomas Kuhn and Karl Popper. The Tacit Dimension argues that tacit knowledge--tradition, inherited practices, implied values, and prejudgments--is a crucial part of scientific knowledge. As relevant today as it was when it was first published, this volume challenges the assumption that skepticism, rather than established belief, lies at the heart of scientific discovery.

"The reissuing of this remarkable book give us a new opportunity to see how far-reaching--and foundational--Michael Polanyi's ideas are, on some of the age-old questions in philosophy."--Amartya Sen, from the Foreword

Review Quotes

"A thoughtful and detailed discussion of the many mysteries of human consciousness and perception."

--Charles Townes, Nobel laureate and winner of the Templeton Prize

"One of the best accounts we have of how science operates as both a cultural system and a reality-seeking empirical enterprise."

--Richard Shweder, University of Chicago

"Polanyi's work is still relevant today and a closer examination of this theory that all knowledge has personal and tacit elements . . . can be used to support and refute a variety of widely held approaches to knowledge management."

-- "Electronic Journal of Knowledge"

"Polanyi's work is still relevant today and a closer examination of his theory that all knowledge has personal and tacit elements, such that knowledge cannot be made fully explicit, can be used to both support and refute a variety of widely held approaches to knowledge management."--Kenneth A. Grant

"Polanyi's work deserves serious attention, and this compact presentation of some of the essentials of his thought will serve to send more readers on to, or back to, Personal Knowledge."-- "Review of Metaphysics"

About the Author

Michael Polanyi (1891-1976) was a Hungarian-British chemist and philosopher, a Fellow of the Royal Society, and a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. He is the author of many books, including Science, Faith and Society and Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy, both published by the University of Chicago Press. Amartya Sen, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998, is the Lamont University Professor at Harvard University.