Books › Shop class as soulcraft
Shop class as soulcraft
an inquiry into the value of work
First published 2009 · 341 pages
A philosophical antidote to the modern cubicle that celebrates the profound satisfaction of making and fixing things.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping out of a fluorescent-lit office and into a sunlit, oil-scented garage. It moves at a steady, deliberate pace, much like a mechanic diagnosing a complex engine issue, blending high-minded philosophical inquiry with the grease-stained reality of manual labor. The mood is deeply grounded and restorative, offering a lucid escape from the abstract alienation of the modern knowledge economy. The prose is wry, articulate, and refreshingly pragmatic, dismantling the pretensions of corporate life while elevating the dignity of working with one's hands. It is a profoundly satisfying read for anyone who has ever stared at a spreadsheet and wondered what they actually accomplished, delighting makers, tinkerers, and disillusioned cubicle-dwellers alike.
- Mood
- grounded
- contemplative
- restorative
- lucid
- Tone
- philosophical
- wry
- pragmatic
- earnest
- intellectual
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- dignity of manual labor · alienation of office work · mind-body connection · self-reliance · tangible mastery
- The writing
- Blends rigorous philosophical inquiry with the grease-stained, conversational clarity of a seasoned mechanic.
- The arc
- Begins with a shared sense of modern, abstract alienation and builds toward a grounded, empowering appreciation for tangible mastery.
- Who it's for
- Knowledge workers experiencing existential dread and anyone who finds deep satisfaction in fixing, building, or maintaining the physical world.
Content notes
- workplace alienation
About the book
In this wise and often funny book, a philosopher/mechanic systematically destroys the pretensions of the high-prestige workplace and makes an irresistible case for working with one’s handsShop Class as Soulcraft brings alive an experience that was once quite ordinary, but now seems to be receding over the cultural horizon—the experience of making and fixing things. Working with your hands, as Mathew B. Crawford describes it, connects us to the world around us. Those of us who sit in an office often have intuitions of something gone amiss, a sense of unreality accompanied by feelings of impotence. What, after all, do we do all day? In this wholly original debut, Crawford offers a brief for self-reliance and a sustained reflection on this problem: how to live concretely in an ever more abstract world. Shop Class as Soulcraft seeks to restore the honor of the manual trades as a life worth choosing for anyone who felt hustled off to college, then to the cubicle, against their own inclinations and natural bents. On both economic and psychological grounds, Crawford questions the educational imperative of turning everyone into a “knowledge worker.” This imperative, he explains, is based on a misguided separation of thinking from doing, the work of the hand from that of the mind. Crawford shows in precise detail how such a partition, which began a century ago with the assembly line, degrades work for those on both sides of the divide.But he offers good news as well: The manual trades are very different from factory work. They require a lot of thinking and may even give rise to moments of genuine pleasure. Based on his own experience as an electrician and mechanic, Crawford makes a case for the intrinsic satisfactions and cognitive challenges— the soulcraft—of manual work. The work of builders and mechanics cannot be outsourced. They tie us to the local communities in which we live and instill the pride that comes from doing work that is genuinely useful.Speaking squarely to a culture that continues to grapple for a way to reconcile work and life and to find fulfilling work of all stripes, Shop Class as Soulcraft offers inspired social criticism and deep personal exploration. It will change your understanding of the value of work and the work of bringing value and meaning to your life, whatever you do now or hope to do one day.
Description from Open Library.
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