The Tacit Dimension - Paperback

by Michael Polanyi (Author), Amartya Sen (Foreword by)

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

Author Biography

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.