From Epistemology to Metaphysics

This chapter argues that Michael Polanyi is fundamentally a metaphysical thinker, and that his epistemological project is directed toward justifying our ability to hold unprovable metaphysical beliefs in good conscience. I examine two additional explicit metaphysical proposals made, though never systematized, by Polanyi: The ontological aspect of tacit knowing and his postulation of comprehensive entities, going on to propose a tripartite speculative metaphysics of comprehensive entities which incorporates elements of Object-Oriented Ontology and contemporary neo-Aristotelian hylomorphism. This chapter thus begins by taking novel positions on open debates within Polanyi studies and then moves, speculatively and logically, beyond Polanyi’s explicit teaching into the realm of original speculative metaphysics in conversation with contemporary interlocutors.