Veblen’s “Instinct of Workmanship,” its Cognitive Foundations, and Some Implications for Economic Theory

This paper delivers some findings from the present-day cognitive sciences on man’s cognitive dispositions that support aspects of Veblen’s “instinct of workmanship,” which is an essential starting point of his evolutionary theory of institutional change. These cognitive dispositions partly govern which information will be subject to profound contemplation and be easy to disseminate within a population. Furthermore, they may give rise to a bias in human creativity. As a result, some cognitive foundations of the “instinct of workmanship” may induce a general direction in long-term economic development by influencing the continuous accretion of knowledge during cultural evolution.