Matt Crawford

Talk Description

Based on his own experience as an electrician and mechanic, Matthew Crawford makes a case for the kind of work that requires mastery of real things. Surprisingly, such work can be more intellectually demanding than the sort that deals only in abstractions. Maintenance and repair work also cultivate certain ethical virtues, fostering habits of individual responsibility. This is a case for self-reliance, as against the passivity and dependence of consumer culture.

Biography

Matthew B. Crawford received his Ph.D. in political philosophy from the University of Chicago. A fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, he owns and operates Shockoe Moto, an independent motorcycle repair shop in Richmond, Virginia.