Polanyi Society Zoom Sessions
Perspectives on Polanyi’s “Rules of Rightness” Collin Barnes, Walter Gulick, Phil Mullins July 29, 2022
Below are materials prepared for the Zoom session of July 29, 2022, as well as a recording of the session. The recording is approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes long. Posted materials are for non-commercial use of scholars and students.
This Zoom discussion, led by Collin Barnes, Walter Gulick, and Phil Mullins, focused on Polanyi’s recently discovered, unpublished 1954 lecture “Rules of Rightness,” which was a component of a series at the University of Chicago.
You will find below at the bottom of the page a link for a recording of the session that is on the Zoom Cloud as well anther link for the same recording on the Polanyi Society website. The equipment on the Zoom Cloud is likely somewhat more sophisticated (e.g., the “fast forward” is easier to operate) than that on your local machine which the recording on the Polanyi Society website will use. But the link for the Zoom Cloud recording will quit working at the point the Polanyi Society rental agreement ends. The link on the Polanyi Society website should, however, continue to operate using your local player. The Zoom Cloud recording may also be affected by traffic on the internet.
Immediately below (i.e., preceding the links for the recordings) is the original posting with information about this Zoom session and links for readings.
Polanyi Society Zoom Session
Perspectives on Polanyi’s “Rules of Rightness”
Collin Barnes, Walter Gulick, Phil Mullins
July 29, 202211 a.m. Central Standard Daylight Savings Time
This Zoom Discussion will focus on Michael Polanyi’s recently discovered fourth lecture, titled “Rules of Rightness,” in a seven-lecture, unpublished 1954 University of Chicago series. A link for a copy of this lecture is below. “Rules of rightness” is an important philosophical idea developed in Personal Knowledge in “The Logic of Achievement,” the first chapter of the final “Knowing and Being” component of Polanyi’s magnum opus (see PK, 328-332 but parts of the lecture also appear elsewhere). This lecture is apparently Polanyi’s first use of this terminology. His discussion is particularly interesting insofar as Polanyi strongly links the participative, skillful personal aspect of all knowing and the normative systems of rules that operate in known comprehensive entities. In this session, each panelist will make a brief comment on points of interest and then the floor will open for general discussion.
To register to receive the link for this Zoom Session, please send an e-mail to both Gus Breytspraak (gus.breytspraak@ottawa.edu) and Phil Mullins (mullins@missouriwestern.edu).
Michael Polanyi’s 1954 “Rules of Rightness” Chicago Series Lecture
The following brief comments/outlines were used in this Zoom Session to initiate the discussion:
Phil Mullins, “Seeing ‘Rules of Rightness’ in Context”
Walter Gulck, “Comments on Michael Polanyi’s ‘Rules of Rightness’”
Collin Barnes, “A Further Word on Likert-Scales Inspired by ‘Rules of Rightness’”