Michael Polanyi

Philosopher quoted in Faith is Not Blind (Bruce C. Hafen and Marie K. Hafen) for his account of learning by example as submission to authority and tradition. The passage the Hafens cite: “To learn by example is to submit to authority. You follow your master because you trust his manner of doing things even when you cannot analyse and account in detail for its effectiveness… These hidden rules can be assimilated only by a person who surrenders himself to that extent uncritically to the imitation of another. A society which wants to preserve a fund of personal knowledge must submit to tradition.” In the book’s argument, Polanyi sits among a chorus of voices (Richard Bushman, G.K. Chesterton, Neal A. Maxwell, and others) used to hold faith and intellectual honesty in tension — here illustrating how tacit knowledge passes through trust and apprenticeship rather than explicit analysis.

Context: Michael Polanyi (1891–1976) was a Hungarian-British polymath — chemist turned philosopher — best known for his concept of tacit knowledge (“we know more than we can tell”) and the book Personal Knowledge. The quoted passage reflects that core theme.

Where this appears

• Faith is Not Blind — Polanyi quoted on learning-by-example as submission to authority/tradition, part of the book’s case for tacit, trust-based knowledge