A Simple Example of the Tacit Dimension and Indwelling

The Tacit Dimension is more frequent than we think

Michael Polanyi's Tacit Dimension is a profound but complex concept. It goes beyond the simple statement "We know more than we can tell."

In fact, the Tacit Dimension is central to Polanyi's philosophy of knowledge.

Here are some simple examples to help us understand this concept:

I was watching a short video of a taiji master (@AipingTaiChi) explaining taiji movement. She explained that taiji movement is a direct path: mind (intention)-movement, bypassing the nerves, the muscles, and the joints. The focus is on the intention→movement, not the mechanics of the movement. During training, we worry about the correct postures, weight distribution, breathing, etc., but when doing taiji we must have all that right automatically, and effortlessly. The attention is entirely on the intention and the movement. This is what a taiji master does, after years of training. They have internalized the principles of taiji so deeply that they can move without thinking. Their movement is fluid, graceful, and effortless.

I was pleasantly surprised by her explanations, those are exactly what happens in the Tacit Dimension.

All the components of the Tacit Dimension are shown clearly in this example. The proximal part is the part we must practice hard during training, such as the correct stance, weight distribution, the alignments of the body, and the breathing. This must be internalized, or in Polyani’s terms, we must indwell these parts, so that we can focus on the next part, which is the distal part. If we cannot indwell the proximal part, we cannot attend to the distal part.

This is what Polanyi meant by

attending from (the proximal) —> attending to (the distal)

Once we can indwell the mechanics of taiji, we can forget them (attending from), since they have become automatic or intuitive, and we just center our mind on the intention and movement. It is here that taiji becomes a mind-body practice.

Once you have understood the above example, it can be easily transferred to other examples such as face recognition, riding a bicycle, and playing musical instruments. You can always find the two parts, the proximal that must be indwelled and the distal that is more like the whole purpose or meaning of the thing.

The tacit dimension should be understood as a process of integration. It involves integrating clues, details, and parts into meaningful wholes.

Polanyi was influenced here by Gestalt psychology and its ideas about perceiving forms and solving problems by reorganizing elements into coherent wholes. However, Polanyi's conception of tacit knowledge was much broader than just perceptions.