Michael Polanyi

The pursuit of truth requires a passionate commitment.

In science, we believe that we ought to be guided by the evidence.

The act of knowing includes standards and ends.

Chemistry reveals the hidden structure of matter.

Life is a process of continuous creation.

The mind is not a passive receiver but an active participant.

Truth is a discovery, not an invention.

The liberty of the individual must be preserved in science.

We attend from something to something else.

Scientific progress is the result of overlapping competencies.

Faith is the presupposition of all rational activity.

The meaning of a work of art is not in its elements but in the whole.

In my youth, I sought truth in formulas; now I find it in experience.

The soul of science lies in its moral inversion.

To understand is to integrate particulars into a coherent whole.

Society thrives on the diversity of beliefs.

Knowledge is personal and yet communal.

The X-ray crystallography opened new worlds in chemistry.

Aging is the price of living fully.

Humor in science lightens the burden of discovery.