Summary
Thorstein Veblen's "The Instinct of Workmanship" argues that the "sense of workmanship" is a fundamental human disposition for accomplishing tasks effectively, but it is shaped by and subservient to other, more elemental instincts. The book posits that the habitual trend of workmanship, and thus technological knowledge and proficiency, is bent towards specific lines of mastery depending on which instinctive dispositions are predominant in a community or individual. This bias, formed through cumulative habituation, significantly influences the state of the industrial arts and the growth of workmanlike ideals.
The author further explains that the "instinct of workmanship" is not a simple psychological element but a concurrence of aptitudes. Progress in technology is not solely an outcome of this instinct, as it can be influenced by "alien body of information, or pseudo-information" derived from non-workmanlike experience. Extreme urgency from other instincts can lead to a crudity of technique and loss of proficiency, while a lack of provocation can result in meaningless fabrication. The sense of workmanship, therefore, requires moderate exigence to function optimally.
Key concepts
- Instinct of Workmanship — A fundamental human disposition concerned with the ways and means of accomplishing instinctively given purposes.
- Sense of Workmanship — Signifies a concurrence of several instinctive aptitudes, rather than a simple or irreducible psychological element.
- Technological Mastery — The outcome of proficiency and the state of the industrial arts, influenced by the predominant instinctive dispositions and habits.
- Alien Body of Information, or Pseudo-information — Knowledge acquired through non-workmanlike experience that influences technological development.
- Moderate Exigence — Circumstances of moderate necessity and sufficient work in hand that best sustain technological efficiency and community-wide insight.
From the book
To all appearance, what counts first in this connection toward the
What is known of the earlier phases of culture in the life-history
The older or more primitive stocks, those which arose out of earlier
Popular questions readers ask
- What is the "instinct of workmanship" as defined by Veblen?
- How does Veblen link industrial use and wont to civilization?
- What materialistic assumptions does Veblen use in his analysis?
- Does Veblen claim technological facts are definitive for civilization?
- What is Veblen's approach to documentation in this essay?