Objectivity And Personal Involvement In Science: An Examination Of Michael Polanyi's Theory Of Knowledge

Abstract

The present study is an attempt to interpret and understand Michael Polanyi's theory of knowledge. Polanyi's theory of knowledge is basically a repudiation of the modern scientific objectivism. He opposes the view that reliable knowledge is one that is completely detached from the knowing subject. This study examines the new view of knowing that Polanyi is putting forward - the view that knowledge is both personal and objective. We begin this inquiry by giving a short history of Polanyi's intellectual development which we believe is essential for an understanding of his work. The study also examines the arguments that Polanyi advances in order to show that all knowledge is personal. In this regard, the study look& at the role of imagination and intuition in scientific discovery. The question of personal judgement in science is also dealt with at length. One of the most interesting features of Polanyi's epistemology is the claim that all knowledge is either tacit or rooted in tacit knowledge. This view is derived from Gestalt theory whose overriding principle is that the whole dominates the parts and that we comprehend the whole by integrating its parts. This, study examines how Polanyi transposes Gestalt theory into a theory of knowledge. It also investigates how he uses the theory of tacit knowing in order to show how meaning is achieved in works of art, myths and religion. This study also explores the new kind of objectivity that Polanyi is putting forward and which he would want us to adopt in place of the false objectivism of positivism which he claims has taken possession of the modern mind, and has resulted in the impoverishment of culture