Veblen's "Instinct of Workmanship," its Cognitive Foundations, and Some Implications for Economic Theory

Christian Cordes

Papers on Economics and Evolution from Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography

Abstract: This paper delivers some findings from the present-day cognitive sciences on man’s cognitive dispositions that support aspects of Veblen’s "nstinct 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 "nstinct of workmanship" may induce a general direction in long-term economic development by influencing the continuous accretion of knowledge during cultural evolution.

Keywords: human instincts; technological change; institutional change; longterm economic development; evolutionary economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B15 B52 E11 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 20 pages
Date: 2004-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-dev, nep-hpe and nep-pke
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Journal Article: Veblen’s “Instinct of Workmanship,” Its Cognitive Foundations, and Some Implications for Economic Theory (2005)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:esi:evopap:2004-01

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