30. THE STRUCTURE OFKNOWLEDGE CREATION

THE DISCOVERER WORKS IN THE BELIEF THAT HIS LABORS WILL PREPARE HIS MIND FOR RECEIVING A TRUTH FROM SOURCES OVER WHICH HE HAS NO CONTROL.

Polanyi talked about “the advancement of knowledge that cannot be achieved by any application of explicate modes of inference, however diligent” or “by the diligent performances of any previously known procedure.” Polanyi calls this “heuristic inquiry.” Heuristic derives from the Greek heuriskein, to find or discover. The “nature of discovery” – knowledge creation – is the root subject that animates Polanyi’s philosophy.

In his three books, Polanyi wrote about the path anyone – scientist, creative artist, entrepreneur – takes in the process of actualizing a hidden potential ...

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