Michael Polanyi Scientist and Philosopher

Michael Polanyi was one of the great figures of European intellectual life in the 20th century. A highly acclaimed physical chemist in the first period of his career who became a celebrated philosopher after World War II, Polanyi taught in Germany, England, and the United States and associatedwith many of the leading intellects of his time. His biography has remained unwritten partly because his many and scattered interests in a wide variety of fields, including six subfields of physical chemistry, epistemology, economics, patent law, social and political theory, aesthetics, andtheology. This long-awaited volume will be the definitive resource on Polanyi and his work.

William Taussig Scott was a distinguished theoretical physicist with a lifelong interest in philosophy, and the author of The Physics of Electricity and Magnetism (1959) and Erwin Schrodinger: An Introduction to His Writings (1967). Two National Science Foundation Fellowships were critical in his development: at Yale he studied theology and met Michael Polanyi; at Oxford he immersed himself in philosophy and deepened his relationship with Polanyi, whom he found to be a bridge between authentic science and authentic faith. Martin X. Moleski, S.J. is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Canisius College. He is the author of Personal Catholicism: The Theological Epistemologies of John Henry Newman and Michael Polanyi (2000).