Polanyi's tacit knowledge
o1 Pro.icon
Menon's paradox" comes from Plato's dialogue "The Mennon," and is summarized by the question, "If we already know something, there is no need to seek it, and if we do not know it, there is no clue to seek it, so is it not possible to seek it in the first place? In reality, however, even if we do not know the "answer," we may gain a certainty or "sense of approaching this" in the process of seeking it. Michael Polanyi's "tacit knowledge (knowledge management terminology) (Tacit Knowledge)" and "Dimensions of tacit knowledge (The Tacit Dimension)" are influential concepts that explain the workings of knowledge behind this "sense of approaching the answer, These concepts are considered to be powerful in explaining the workings of knowledge behind this "sense of approaching the answer. For example, it can be understood as follows: Polanyi said, "We know more than we can put into words (We can know more than we can tell)," and he believed that the underpinning knowledge, which has not yet been made explicit, provides some spark or signpost to the right answer. Even in situations where Menon's paradox states that "there is no clue for exploration," in actual exploration, tacit knowledge that cannot be verbalized, such as experience, somesthesis, and fragments of knowledge that have been used so far, play a major role, and intuition such as "something different" or "this seems to be good" is obtained. 2.integration of "subsidiary" and "focal".
Polanyi explains that when exploring and creating, one integrates not only the object to which one's attention is centrally directed (the principal), but also the perceptions and sensations that one grasps peripherally (the secondary).
When solving a mathematical problem, one is conscious of the "main" part, such as transforming an equation or applying a theorem, but the chain of intuition and knowledge that has been empirically cultivated behind it acts implicitly as a "subordinate" part, making one feel that "this method may go".
3.Tacit knowledge solves paradoxes "practically".
At first glance, Menon's paradox seems theoretically impossible to learn what we don't know, but we experience "moving forward with a sense of palpability" in our daily learning and research, even if we don't yet know the right answer. In short, the "sense of approaching the answer" is thought to arise from the integration and utilization of some clues at an implicit level. This corresponds to Polanyi's assertion that we can find a direction because we already "know" to some extent more than we can put into words.
o1 Pro.icon
In Michael Polanyi's "The Tacit Dimension," he emphasizes that knowledge itself is more than just "knowledge that is hard to verbalize," but has a structure that includes "tacit" knowledge. He indicated the existence of this "dimension" with the famous phrase, "We can know more than we can tell.
Specifically, the following points can be made
1.Structure of tacit knowledge - consciousness of "subject" and consciousness of "master".
Polanyi explains that there are two levels of attention when people pay attention to something: "subordinate awareness" (subsidiary awareness: peripheral, supportive awareness) and "primary awareness" (focal awareness: central, focal awareness). For example, when playing a musical instrument, one is unconsciously supporting the movements of the fingers and the score, while at the same time focusing one's awareness on the musical expression of the performance as a whole. Tacit knowledge functions as this "subordinate" awareness and forms the basis of knowledge. 2.Tacit knowledge is personal and physical.
Tacit knowledge cannot be completely objectified and formalized because it is rooted in an individual's body and experiences. It is tied to a person's background, context, and physical senses, and includes aspects that cannot be conveyed through language or manuals alone.
When tacit knowledge is translated into language, it never retains its value.nishio.icon
It becomes an abstraction, detached from bodily sensations, etc.
o1 Pro.iconWhat works as background functions only implicitly, and if you try to consciously take it out and verbalize it, it rather loses its meaning
For example, when reading text, we feel that we are focusing our attention on each letter, but in reality we are putting each letter in the background and focusing on the overall meaning of the text. If we are conscious of "what character" each letter is, we will not be able to grasp the meaning of the entire sentence. This process of "understanding something else, the meaning of the sentence, through the letters placed in the background" is precisely the dimension of tacit knowledge that Polanyi refers to.
3.Sources of exploration and creation.
Tacit knowledge" is always at work in the discovery of new discoveries and the acquisition of new skills, including in scientific research. Polanyi argued that not only explicit knowledge such as data and theories, but also tacitly acquired intuition and intuition can lead to innovative ideas and problem solving.
This "tacit knowledge dimension" is an important perspective in understanding knowledge as a holistic process that includes human physicality, context, and personal relationships, rather than simply as information.
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