Andrew Grosso, a professor from the Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Wisconsin, delivered a lecture on the connection between Michael Polanyi’s philosophies and Christianity in Dow A&B on Tuesday.
Grosso is research professor of philosophical and systematic theology and associate dean for academic affairs at Nashotah House. His lecture, entitled “Help My Unbelief: Michael Polanyi and the Challenge of Faith in the Modern World,” drew a crowd of approximately 60 students and faculty.
The small group of students, who took Professor of Education Jon Fennell’s seminar on Polanyi last semester, became interested in furthering their study and answering questions they developed throughout the course.
“We all really became fascinated by the relationship between Polanyi’s philosophy and his own thought, his own life, and the things he had to say about Christianity,” said senior Matt O’Sullivan, who took Fennell’s seminar last fall. “That question came up both inside and outside the classroom a lot.”
O’Sullivan and senior Mike Pope worked with Fennell to bring an expert to campus, and chose Grosso for his enthusiasm.
“It was born out of student interest, and then with Dr. Fennell’s help, we were able to find someone who has already done some scholarly research on the topic,” O’Sullivan said. “Grosso’s excitement was a big selling point.”
Grosso said he was impressed with how many people on campus are serious about the study of Polanyi. During a lunch with students, he was able to discuss aspects of Polanyi that are typically studied by serious scholars rather than merely curious students.
“I don’t think I’ve ever encountered another institution where there are this many people as invested in Polanyi studies as there are here,” Grosso said. “There’s a dedicated group here that I think has a very good handle on what Polanyi was doing and a very good understanding of how his thought relates to streams of contemporary thought. It was wonderful to be able to engage with people who are familiar with him in more than just a passing way.”
Grosso wrote an entirely original 23-page paper specifically for this lecture, drawing upon previous research and inquiries from a book and other papers he has written.
“The best thing about his paper was how much it opened,” Professor of Philosophy and Culture Peter Blum said. “It didn’t so much solve a lot of problems as open and set a framework for a whole bunch of questions that I think are really important to discuss.”
The lecture was done in the style of an academic conference, which allows a scholar to present his paper followed by responses from a panel. There was also ample time for the crowd to ask questions of Grosso, though there were many questions left unanswered.
“Polanyi is such a potentially rich source for thinking about so many different issues – aesthetics, economics, philosophy, religion. You name it, he did something in the area,” Grosso said. “You could spend all day talking about him, and it would be profitable.”
O’Sullivan said he was happy with how the event went, but still has many more questions about Polanyi.
“I think, if anything, most of us are going to have trouble sleeping tonight,” O’Sullivan said. “That’s the sign of a good talk.”
