“ It was not technology that produced the totalitarian ideologies which brought the disasters of the twentieth century into being, along with the feeling of absurdity and the contempt for human society that are current today. We may thank the scientific image of the world, as reflected in the modern mind, for these.”

—Michael Polanyi, Meaning (1976), 105

“. . . we have done little, in our free intellectual endeavors, to uphold thought as an independent, self-governing force.”

—Michael Polanyi, Meaning (1976), 22

“The position of science in society is thus seen to be merely a special feature of the position of thought in society. . . society must cultivate thought and not attempt to dominate it . . . [society] must grant to its citizens freedom to devote themselves to the sphere of ideas and must secure them the right to appeal from its own commands to the superior judgment of this realm.”

—Michael Polanyi, 1939, “Rights and Duties of Science, p. 11 in The Contempt of Freedom: The Russian Experiment and After

“If . . . it is admitted that the realm of thought possesses its own life, then freedom is not only made possible, but its institution becomes a social necessity.”

—Michael Polanyi, 1939, “Rights and Duties of Science, p. 11 in The Contempt of Freedom: The Russian Experiment and After

“. . . looking at the general direction the evolutionary development of living organisms has taken, one must in all fairness admit that this direction has been toward more meaningful organizations—more meaningful both in their own structure and in terms of the meanings they are able to achieve. . . this evolutionary history is a panorama of meaningful achievements of almost breathtaking proportions.”

—Michael Polanyi, Meaning, 173

“The widely extended network of mutual trust, on which the factual consensus of a free society depends, is fragile. Any conflict which sharply divides people will tend to destroy this mutual trust and make universal agreement on facts bearing on the conflict difficult to achieve.”

—Michael Polanyi, 1956, “The Magic of Marxism and The Next Stage of History” Special Supplement, Bulletin of the Committee on Science and Freedom, p. 16

“. . . a free society can exist only if men firmly believe in each other as moral beings. Free government is government guided by discussion; that is its very essence. . . . [W]ithout moral confidence between men, there can be no government by the consent of the governed. . . Thus inevitably, once we deny that moral motives play a part in politics, we find that the only possible form of government is by force.”

—Michael Polanyi, 1947, “What to Believe,” Box 31, Folder 10, Michael Polanyi Papers