Abstract
Michael Polanyi was a scientist and philosopher. His post-modern philosophy attempted to restore to modern society faculties of knowing and understanding which centuries of scientism have stripped away. I argue that Polanyi’s philosophy embodies concepts of personhood, knowledge and life which provide rich possibilities for theological reflection, and for the science-theology dialogue. First, as opposed to the “objectivism” deriving from the rise of science, Polanyi insists that the fact of personhood must be the starting point for a proper understanding of reality, and this suggests an understanding of reality in which mind precedes matter. Second, knowledge is a process by which the multi-levelled character of reality invites human inquiry, drawing us forward into more abstract and intangible depths: “deepest reality is possessed by higher things that are least tangible.” Third, life is not definable in terms of physics and chemistry: higher ordering principles come into play both in life’s beginnings and in its development. Evolution has to take into account the “finalistic principles” to which the fact of personhood attests. Cumulatively, Polanyi’s philosophy suggests that reality is far more personal and meaningful than moderns usually recognize, and that our relation to it should be far more I-Thou than I-It.
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Notes
- 1.
There are also, of course, protests from scientists (with no religious interests) against such denials: e.g. Donald 2001: 1–45, and Tallis 2011. From a more philosophical (including theological) angle, see e.g. Haught 2006, and Ward 2010. Polanyi’s own rejection of “the programme of behaviorism” (e.g. 1965: 15–16) was scathing.
- 2.
At the ESSSAT Tartu 2012 conference, some respondents to my presentation were concerned that the watch analogy sounded reminiscent of William Paley’s attempt (Natural Theology, 1802) to prove the existence of God by likening the obviously designed intricacies of a watch to the amazing design of living things. Polanyi’s point is utterly different, and has nothing in common with Paley. Polanyi only wishes to show that machines (both mechanical and organic) are not reducible to the laws of physics and chemistry but operate by principles that control the boundary conditions left open by inanimate physical matter (more on this below). His point is established simply by observation and logic; it neither depends on nor aims at a theological perspective.
- 3.
A fascinating study of emergence is provided by Morowitz (2002). Emergence accounts for “novelties [in nature] that follow from the system rules but cannot be predicted from properties of the components that make up the system” (13). His book describes 28 examples of emergence, from the big bang to homo sapiens.
- 4.
- 5.
I mention “amoebic interpretation” here with reference to Southgate 2012 (Tartu conference paper), which argues that “interpretation, precisely understood, is a fundamental property of life.”
- 6.
For a neurological description of this phenomenon, known as “binding,” see Donald 2001: 178–184. Polanyi, of course, is including the perception and contemplation of the “tacit dimension,” in other words, a transcendent dimension which is not in Donald’s purview.
- 7.
This is the title of Chap. 12 of Personal Knowledge.
- 8.
For Polanyi’s full discussion of “A Society of Explorers,” see 1966: 55–92.
- 9.
Wilson (1998) argues that all disciplines are ultimately reducible to laws definable by biology, and thus he subsumes even religion and ethics under biology. The contrast with Polanyi, who sees the insights of biology as inevitably leading to the transcendent level of philosophy and theology, could not be more dramatic.
- 10.
Dulles (1992), of course, has already made some use of Polanyi’s insights in his understanding of revelation. There is a great deal more, however, that might be said.
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Smiles, V.M. (2015). Persons Knowing Life: Theological Possibilities in Michael Polanyi’s Philosophy. In: Evers, D., Fuller, M., Jackelén, A., Sæther, KW. (eds) Issues in Science and Theology: What is Life?. Issues in Science and Religion: Publications of the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17407-5_14
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