Michael Polanyi - Early life, Physical chemistry, Philosophy of science, Economics, Professional honours, Family, Bibliography, Further reading

Physical chemist and social philosopher, born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied there and at Karlsruhe, lectured at Berlin, emigrated to Britain after Hitler's rise to power, and was professor of physical chemistry (1933–48) and of social studies (1948–58) at Manchester. He did notable work on reaction kinetics and crystal structure, and wrote much on the freedom of scientific thought, philosophy of science, and social science.

Michael Polanyi (born Polányi Mihály) (March 11, 1891 – February 22, 1976) was a Hungarian–British polymath whose thought and work extended across physical chemistry, economics, and philosophy.

Early life

Michael was born into a Jewish family in Budapest. With the coming to power in 1933 of the Nazi party Polanyi took up a position as Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Manchester. In a significant shift, following his growing contribution to the literature of social science and philosophy, Michael Polanyi became Professor of Social Sciences at Manchester (1948-58).

Physical chemistry

Polanyi's scientific interests were diverse, embracing chemical kinetics, x-ray diffraction and the absorption of gases at solid surfaces.

In 1934, Polanyi, roughly contemporarily with G.

Philosophy of science

From the mid-1930s, Polanyi began to articulate his opposition to the prevailing positivist account of science, arguing that it failed to recognise the part played by tacit knowledge and the creative role played by the imagination.

Polanyi criticised the notion of absolute objectivity and acknowledges the importance of inherited practices, ideas which were to influence the thought and work of Thomas Kuhn in the 1960s.

Economics

Polanyi, like Hayek, believed that a free market facilitates the use of tacit knowledge within a society. Polanyi's ideas on economics are elaborated in his book The Logic of Liberty.

Professional honours

Polanyi was a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford.

Family

Michael Polanyi's son, John Charles Polanyi, is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Toronto, Canada. In 1986 John Polanyi was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry .

Bibliography

Polanyi, M (1946) Science, Faith, and Society ISBN 0-226-67290-5 Polanyi, M (1951) The Logic of Liberty ISBN 0-226-67296-4 Polanyi, M (1964) Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy ISBN 0-226-67288-3 Polanyi, M (1967) The Tacit Dimension ISBN 0-8446-5999-1 (1983 Doubleday reprint) Polanyi, M & Prosch, H (1975) Meaning ISBN 0-226-67294-8

Further reading

Sheldon Richmond, Aesthetic Criteria: Gombrich and the Philosophies of Science of Popper and Polanyi.

Drusilla Scott, Everyman Revived: The Common Sense of Michael Polanyi.

Richard Gelwick, The Way of Discovery, An Introduction to the Thought of Michael Polanyi.