The End of Craft

What is a craft? For Plato, paradigmatic craft-practitioners include the doctor, carpenter and navigator; an updated, more generous conception should include the dancer, coder, waitress, painter, chef, professional athlete, and firefighter. Rachel Barney, professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto, discusses how each of these skilled practices is oriented to the achievement of a distinctive end, the goodness of which is independent of the self-interest or inclinations of the practitioner. This Platonic conception of craft as involving disinterested teleological rationality can explain how craft sets objective norms for correct action, and for the excellence of the practitioner. And it shows that to master a craft is not merely to acquire knowledge or skills but to take on the ‘internal standpoint’ definitive of the craft, internalizing its values and treating its reasons for action as authoritative. Barney is joined by Adam Gopnik and Rachana Kamtekar for commentary on the topic of craft. Series: "Tanner Lectures on Human Values" [Humanities] [Business] [Show ID: 39863]