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
Citation
Masters of Arts , University of Nairobi (1988)Publisher
University of Nairobi. Department of Arts