Shop Class as Soulcraft
Matthew Crawford • 2009
In Short
A philosopher-mechanic argues for the value of manual engagement with the world in promoting human agency and dignity.
In Depth
Who's the author?
Matthew Crawford is a writer, philosopher, and motorcycle mechanic. He is a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, a research center focused on cultural change. He also still does work as a mechanic fabricating motorcycle parts.
What's the intention?
Crawford makes a case for the value of manual trades and engagement with the material world. To him, working in the trades elevates values of human agency, accountability, and self-reliance that have been lost in the separation of thinking from doing.
Who's it for?
Large portions of the book consist of Crawford recounting his own personal educational and professional experiences, and in fact, it feels like the the author is writing to people similar to himself: those who take a dim view of intellectual office work, but share his experience of pleasure in the manual trades and are seeking a strong philosophy to rally around. Unfortunately, this approach also results in parts of the book feeling exclusionary, particularly toward women. There are passages that seem to appeal to stereotypical “manly” ideals and attitudes that will likely turn many readers off.
So what?
The book prompted me to consider what it means to engage with the real world through design and the attitude I should have towards the world as a designer. It also made me ask whether the things I make are really empowering people to engage with the world or further alienating them from it. While I think Crawford’s opinions in the book are made a little lopsided by his personal experiences, I feel his overall arguments about the value of material engagement and human agency are most welcome.
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More
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On Being Master of One’s Own Stuff
Technology • Human-centeredness • Participatory Design • Making
The experience of manual engagement with our world, of making and fixing things, is vital to the idea of human agency and dignity, but is often denied by designed objects that seek to smooth the rough edges for us.
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On the Ethics of Maintenance and Repair
Human-centeredness • Participatory Design • Making
When work is rooted in a reality external to yourself, you are taught a kind of humility in order to reach a level of understanding that then empowers you to act. This can be an unselfish way to see the process of design.
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On Communities of Use
Participatory Design • Making • Situatedness
Work is made meaningful through shared standards of good that emerge from the context of a community of use and of practice. Environments that abstract this intrinsic good end up demoralizing the worker.