Skip to main content

Part of the book series: Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science ((BSPS,volume 163))

Abstract

I shall be discussing Michael Polanyi’s career as a scientist and philosopher from the point of view of history of science as well as his contribution to the history of science. But in order to arrive at my conclusions, I shall have to make some excursions into other fields, such as the branches of politics and epistemology that were fashionable during his career. For it is fair to say that Polanyi (1891–1976) was a unique person in the history of science, not least in the spectrum of his interests. The Dictionary of Scientific Biography (Vol. 18) lists his professional fields as chemistry, philosophy, and sociology.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Selected Bibliography

  • Cohen, Robert S. “Tacit, Social and Hopeful,” in Interpretations of Life and Mind. Essays around the Problem of Reduction, Marjorie Grene, ed. ( London: Routledge Kegan Paul, 1971 ), 137–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelwick, Richard. The Way of Discovery. An Introduction to the Thought of Michael Polanyi ( New York: Oxford University Press, 1977 ).

    Google Scholar 

  • Holton, Gerald. “Einstein, Michelson and the `Crucial’ Experiment,” in Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988), chapter 8 and pp. 477–480.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langford, Thomas A. and William H. Poteat, eds. Intellect and Hope. Essays in the Thought of Michael Polanyi ( Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1968 ).

    Google Scholar 

  • Polanyi, Michael. “The Growth of Science in Society,” Minerva,vol. 5, no. 4 (Summer 1967), 533–546.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polanyi, Michael. “Life’s Irreducible Structure,” Science,vol. 160 (21 June 1968), 1308–1312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polanyi, Michael. Personal Knowledge. Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy ( Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1958 ).

    Google Scholar 

  • Polanyi, Michael. “The Potential Theory of Adsorption,” Science,vol. 141 (13 September 1963), 1010–1013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polanyi, Michael. Science, Faith and Society ( London: Oxford University Press, 1946 ).

    Google Scholar 

  • Polanyi, Michael. The Tacit Dimension (Garden City, NY: Doubleday Co., Inc., 1967 ).

    Google Scholar 

  • Szabadvaary, Ferenc. “Mihaly (Michael) Polanyi,” Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. 18 ( New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1981 ), 718–719.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wigner, Eugene and R. A. Hodgkin. Biographical entry for Michael Polanyi, in Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, vol. 23 (1977).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1995 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Holton, G. (1995). Michael Polanyi and the History of Science. In: Gavroglu, K., Stachel, J., Wartofsky, M.W. (eds) Physics, Philosophy, and the Scientific Community. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol 163. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2658-0_11

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2658-0_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4436-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-2658-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics