Veblens Instict of Workmanship pg. 47-62

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 Veblen is taking us on a tour of the clashing interests of two camps of instincts and then institutions.  On the one side, the instinct of workmanship and the parental bent are bent towards ensuring that human life is undertaken with an eye towards accomplishing goals in an efficient manner and with the future in mind. The other side consists of the coercive and predatory nature of humanity which is reflected in “disserviceable” institutions. As he writes, “human culture in all ages presents to many imbecile usages and principles of conduct to let anyone overlook the fact that disserviceable institutions arise easily” (pg. 48, 1913).


The next few pages Veblen discusses how various other instincts begin to contaminate the instinct of workmanship. He points to various “taboos, consanguinities and magical efficacies” (terms of various cultural and religious practices) come to be involved in the instinct of workmanship and in essence move the individual and the system away from effective or efficient procedures in achieving goals and objectives.


The next section, Veblen explores the issue of humans imputing behavior or behavioral-like characteristics to external objects.  This is another sense of the contamination of workmanship.  The worker believes that he must combine his own knowledge and experience with the fact that this external object also will act of its own will or at least appear to do so. He calls these two types of knowledge: matter of fact and matter of imputation.


From here until about page 62, Veblen works through an example of a Pueblo potter who is combining both matter of fact and matter of imputation knowledge.  The point he is trying to make is that humans often combine these different ways of knowing but ultimately, the instinct of workmanship may be contaminated to a point where the efficient manner of crafting the material means of life becomes increasingly difficult to produce. He consistently uses the term “putative effect” meaning that we as humans think that the spiritual or behavioral; characteristics of external objects is important for our work with them but this is in fact not the case. This idea can become problematic and interfere with the needed means of addressing the materials needed for life sustenance.


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