Michael Polanyi

The mind is not a passive recipient of information, but an active constructor of meaning.

The scientific revolution was not merely a change in method, but a change in the conception of knowledge itself.

The attempt to eliminate personal judgment from science leads to its impoverishment.

The tacit component of knowledge is not a residue of explicit knowledge, but its foundation.

The scientist's intuition is not a mystical faculty, but a highly developed form of tacit knowing.

The meaning of a work of art, like a scientific discovery, is grasped tacitly.

The freedom of thought is not a luxury, but a necessity for the advancement of knowledge.

The attempt to control science from above inevitably stifles its creativity.

The scientist's commitment to truth is a form of moral responsibility.

The ideal of a perfectly rational agent is a fiction.

The act of understanding is always a personal act.

The pursuit of knowledge is an inherently risky enterprise.

The meaning of a theory is not exhausted by its empirical predictions.

The tacit dimension of knowledge is what makes human creativity possible.

The scientist's judgment is not a weakness, but a strength.

The attempt to reduce all knowledge to explicit rules is a form of intellectual totalitarianism.

The freedom of inquiry is essential for the flourishing of human culture.

The meaning of a scientific experiment is not exhausted by its data.

The tacit dimension of knowledge is what allows us to make sense of the world.

The scientist's passion for discovery is not a bias, but a driving force.