The Logic of Liberty

by Michael Polanyi

A chemist and member of a family renowned for its learning in several disciplines, Michael Polanyi experienced first-hand the horrors of totalitarian government and worldwide war. He argued that centrally planned organizations―or governments―based solely on the methods of science threaten to foreclose a full human knowledge of the mysteries of existence and therefore pose a direct threat not only to academic freedom but also to social and political liberty. Michael Polanyi (1891–1976) was an internationally renowned scientist, philosopher, and professor whose other works include Personal Knowledge and The Tacit Dimension . Stuart D. Warner is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Politics, Economics

277 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Michael Polanyi was a Hungarian-British polymath, who made important theoretical contributions to physical chemistry, economics, and philosophy.

His wide-ranging research in physical science included chemical kinetics, x-ray diffraction, and adsorption of gases.

He argued that positivism supplies a false account of knowing, which if taken seriously undermines humanity's highest achievements.

He pioneered the theory of fibre diffraction analysis in 1921, and the dislocation theory of plastic deformation of ductile metals and other materials in 1934. He emigrated to Germany, in 1926 becoming a chemistry professor at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin, and then in 1933 to England, becoming first a chemistry professor, and then a social sciences professor at the University of Manchester. In 1944 Polanyi was elected to the Royal Society.

Reviews

[Don Lim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Polanyi (the better Polanyi) argues against the government funding of science. Like other authors who argues against government funding due to the bureaucratic nature of the State, Polanyi further argues that the centralization of governments to fund science will end up, contrary to intentions, turning science stagnate.

The reason being, due to the complex epistemological questions science attempts to pursue, due to the limits of human experience and purview, and because the questions science tries to reach are often not yet clarified nor even formulated yet, many individuals with different goals, ideas, and viewpoints, who each autonomously decide where and how to contribute, will result in the cohesive body of knowledge that is science. Of course, Polanyi does not argue such a polycentric system will always and indefinitely come up with the right and truthful ideas, as humans are fallible, but that such a system will take knowledge as far as it will go.

Government funding presumes a natural unity, that a man or woman or groups of them can successfully dictate or order many magnitudes of other individuals to pursue academic endeavors. By giving money to some projects and none to others will, unfortunately, stifle some useful intellectual discoveries, as by definition, these discoveries are still yet unknown.

Furthermore, men and women in the position to hand out funding will, inevitably, be clouded by their own judgments, giving money to ideas they already know, agree with, like, or to researchers for mutual benefits--regardless of whether or not such endeavors will benefit public interest as a whole. Complex epistemological problems must be approached with a polycentric manner in order to grasp at matters which we can never hope for ultimate mastery.

[Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spontaneous order y'all!

[Rafael]

Deeply interesting. The first half explores the concept of freedom within science and how it is a cornerstone of an organic system of undirected but coordinated progress. There is also a frontal attack on positivism and supposedly "value-neutral" conceptions of science, arguing instead for a fiduciary view which is defined by upholding beliefs in moral values like truth and justice and obligations towards them. A similar attack is levelled at radical scepticism and nihilism, illustrating how they lead to the destruction of science and it's subversion as a tool to further state power at the expense of progress and freedom.

In the second half, the ideas about science are extended to other domains. Polanyi's views on spontaneous order and independent cooperation as the foundation of both economic and intellectual systems are original and provocative. He elaborates some of the key points that were later popularised by Hayek's widely acclaimed essay Use of Knowledge. Nonetheless, Polanyi's ideas seems both more nuanced than Hayek's (less amenable to dogmatic laissez-faire, yet equally critical of central planning and totalitarianism) and wider in scope, covering science as well as (more briefly) the law.

It is the first of his writings that I've read, most certainly not the last one.

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating collection of essays written around the end of the Second World War. However - let me tell you - these essays are fresh. These essays should be discussed now. The value of pure science, rather than applied science. The consequences of positivism. The parking of positionality in scientific methodologies.

This is a book of activism that is needed now. Right now. And they were written in 1945. Stunning and important.

[Domo Futu · Rating 5 out of 5]

The same principles that make science flourish—freedom, self-regulation, and an evolving tradition—are also the foundation of a free and thriving society.
https://domofutu.substack.com/p/the-l...

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book looks at the subject of liberty mainly in the field of science and how academic freedom is good. It spends much of its time contrasting with the Soviet system and highlights some of the ways that system has led to significant failures. At other times it's very heady and philosophical.