The roots of Michael Polanyi’s idea of science – criticism of objectivistic ideal (original) (raw)

2011, Przegląd Filozoficzny, R. 20, Nr. 2 (78), Warszawa 2011, s. 163-180.

The aim of article is to expound Polanyi’s notion of science in aspect of its origins, i.e. his criticism of objectivistic ideal of science, conceived as a set of postulates demanding elimination of personal and habitual (i.e. tacit) components of science. As fulcrum of the ideal he points out (1) the laplacean idea of cognition and knowledge and (2) the idea of scientific theory formulated by Ernst Mach. Polanyi’s method of criticism consists on revealing inapplicability of both ideas by comparing them to actual scientific practice within fields of astronomy and mathematics, followed by formulation of an alternative idea of objectivity for scientific theory.

Uniwersytet - zarys ewolucji idei podstawowej

2002

Two basic ideas of what a university should be have competed throughout history. The oldest conception of the university can be traced to Plato’s Academy. This idea was later developed by Wilhelm von Humboldt and revived by Allan Bloom. According to this approach the university is a multi-functional institution which combines education with the pursuit of truth. Mediaeval universities, the Napoleonic university and the idea of university as a higher vocational school developed according to the assumptions of the newer model. There are also a number of intermediate approaches where the point of departure is the didactic function but the didactic process is based on the specific values of the older approach, i.e., general and theoretic knowledge. These models were radically questioned in the second half of the twentieth century. The crisis of the university is partly a function of the unfavourable cultural climate (disbelief in the value of the scientific method and the validity of kn...

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