Taking Polanyi's Concept of Tacit Knowing to Episodes of Intuitive Acting

Within this paper Polanyi’s concept of tacit knowing is applied to episodes of experts’ intuitive acting. At first, the distinction between two kinds of awareness is briefly summarised. Then, tacit knowing’s triadic structure is contrasted with points of time without this particular structure. Building on this analysis, the creation of triads is modelled. Here, two processes are suggested to be twinned: emergence and amalgamation. It is argued that due to its incapability of amalgamation, no semantic value emerges solely in focal awareness. Rather, all knowing is either tacit or rooted in tacit knowing (Polanyi). Hence, our knowing is non-formal. Finally, the concept of tacit knowing is applied to episodes of intuitive acting. It is argued that non-triadic approaches cannot explain convincingly the emergence of phenomenological entities. For this purpose, the idea of subsidiary awareness with tacit knowing as its modus operandi turns out as crucial. Though Michael Polanyi provides primarily an enquiry into the nature of scientific knowledge (Polanyi 1998, p. vii), his work can be applied more broadly to psychological and pedagogical enquiries. This paper offers an exegesis of his concept of tacit knowing to episodes of experts’ intuitive acting.