I AM THE WAY: MICHAEL POLANYI'S TAOISM

Abstract. Several contemporary writers have found certain correlations between Taoism and modern philosophy of science to be particularly noteworthy because of their usefulness for interpreting world views, implicit or explicit, in each. However, the recent project in science and epistemology–the work of Michael Polanyi–which is probably most fruitfully resonant with Taoism has not yet been explored in that connection. The purpose of the present article is to begin that exploration. The essay provides a preliminary sketch of certain key moments in Polanyi's thought and then turns attention to the Taoist themes of Tao, wu-wei , and tz'u as these illuminate and are illuminated by the Polanyian post-critical epistemology.