The 29+ Michael Polanyi Quotes

Admittedly, Scientific Authority Is Not Distributed Evenly Throughout The Body Of Scientists; Some Distinguished Members Of The Profession Predominate Over Others Of A More Junior Standing.

Admittedly, The Body Of Scientists, As A Whole, Does Uphold The Authority Of Science Over The Lay Public. It Controls Thereby Also The Process By Which Young Men Are Trained To Become Members Of The Scientific Profession.

And The Actual Achievements Of Biology Are Explanations In Terms Of Mechanisms Founded On Physics And Chemistry, Which Is Not The Same Thing As Explanations In Terms Of Physics And Chemistry.

To Try To Reform All The Power Structures At Once Would Leave Us With No Power Structure To Use In Our Project. In Any Case, We Will Be Able To See That Absolute Moral Renewal Could Be Attempted Only By An Absolute Power And That A Tyrannous Force Such As This Must Destroy The Whole Moral Life Of Man, Not Renew It.

No Inanimate Object Is Ever Fully Determined By The Laws Of Physics And Chemistry.

These Maxims And The Art Of Interpreting Them May Be Said To Constitute The Premisses Of Science But I Prefer To Call Them Our Scientific Beliefs. These Premisses Or Beliefs Are Embodied In A Tradition, The Tradition Of Science.

My Title Is Intended To Suggest That The Community Of Scientists Is Organized In A Way Which Resembles Certain Features Of A Body Politic And Works According To Economic Principles Similar To Those By Which The Production Of Material Goods Is Regulated.

The First Thing To Make Clear Is That Scientists, Freely Making Their Own Choice Of Problems And Pursuing Them In The Light Of Their Own Personal Judgment, Are In Fact Co-operating As Members Of A Closely Knit Organization.

But The System Of Prices Ruling The Market Not Only Transmits Information In The Light Of Which Economic Agents Can Mutually Adjust Their Actions, It Also Provides Them With An Incentive To Exercise Economy In Terms Of Money.

I Hold That The Propositions Embodied In Natural Science Are Not Derived By Any Definite Rule From The Data Of Experience, And That They Can Neither Be Verified Nor Falsified By Experience According To Any Definite Rule.

Of Course Language Manifests A Belief Only If We Use Its Words With The Implied Acceptance Of Their Appositeness.

But Even Physics Cannot Be Defined From An Atomic Topography.