Crawford left D.C. think-tanks and the Committee on Social Thought to open a motorcycle shop.
In this memoir-cum-manifesto, he suggests that knowledge work is ultimately unfulfilling, and recommends manual trades as a more engaging way to both think and do.
Bio
Matthew B. Crawford
Matthew B. Crawford majored in physics as an undergraduate, then turned to political philosophy (Ph.D. Chicago). His writings for The New Atlantis bring the two concerns together, and consider how developments in the sciences influence our view of the human person.
Currently a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, he also runs a small business in Richmond. He has just completed a book about manual competence, entitled Shop Class as Soulcraft after the New Atlantis essay by the same name. The book reflects on the experience of building things and fixing things, and considers the problem of living concretely in an ever more abstract world.
The book was released by The Penguin Press on May 28, 2009.
You message is so needed into today's world! As a mother of one brilliant academic and one gifted journeyman brick layer, I commend you for your rare insight. I ended up homeschooling my two very different children for a number of years. One of the reasons was the popular and prevailing educational attitude that helped my daughter to succeed at every turn, but failed to address the needs, dreams, and brains of my hands-on, tactile learning son.
While I appreciate and am supportive of my daughter's higher educational opportunities,I am also proud of my "State Apprentice of the Year" tradesman. Thank you for this valuable book addressing an almost untalked about issue. You have taken a much needed step in "bridging the gap"!