Noam Chomsky

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Noam Chomsky (born 1928) is a Professor Emeritus of Linguistics at M.I.T., wobbly, and a libertarian socialist intellectual and political dissident. He is usually identified with the rationalist or nativist tradition in psychology.

Contents

[edit] Linguistics and psychology

Chomsky has made important contributions to the field of linguistics, most prominently his ideas of generative grammar (in which the grammar of a language is described by sets of rules transforming one grammatical construct into another) and the Chomsky hierarchy, classifying languages based on restrictions imposed upon the form of these rules. Several of the classes of grammars in the Chomsky hierarchy have proven useful in computer science, so next time you write a regular expression, you'll know whom to thank.[1]

His work in the philosophy of linguistics and the philosophy of mind made him one of the leading figures of the cognitive revolution. This contributed so greatly to the field of psychology that he was listed the 38th most influential figure in the 20th century in the field in the Review of General Psychology despite his specialization in linguistics.[2]

Chomsky argued against the behaviorism of B.F. Skinner on the topic of language acquisition. One of his most famous arguments is the "poverty of the stimulus," i.e. that children acquire language with insufficient input from the environment for language to be learned entirely by a behaviorist stimulus-response mechanism. This argument remains a topic of some controversy, especially among pscyhologists and linguists that take a more empiricist approach.[3] Chomsky posited an innate "language acquisition device," a "mental organ" that allowed for the derivation of syntactical structure and grammatical rules of language.[4] These phenomena were thought to play a central role in a "Universal Grammar."[5] However, Chomsky has backed off some of his harder claims in recent times, reformulating generative grammar in terms of what became known as the "minimalist program."[6] Some empiricist critics of Chomsky, such as Michael Tomasello, maintain that language does have a biological basis, but that this basis is in the ability to imitate rather than in any mechanisms specifically designed for verbal language.[7]

[edit] Politics

Chomsky is also well-known for his political commentary. He is a regular contributor to Z Magazine and its online outlet Z Communications.[8] which is a Left Anarchist news source. Perhaps his most famous political book is his criticism of the media, Manufacturing Consent, co-authored with Edward S. Herman. The book shares its title with a documentary film[9] that has become a popular introductory text to Chomsky's work, despite the fact Chomsky gets somewhat annoyed with the film.[10] He has also written dozens of books critical of United States foreign policy. At a 2006 UN session, Hugo Chávez recommended Chomsky's Hegemony or Survival as an important text on the subject of American imperialism, giving the author some renewed publicity.[11]

Chomsky is not a fan of postmodernism,[12] going as far as to compare postmodernist critiques of "white male science" to the Deutsche Physik of Nazi Germany and its attack on "Jewish physics". He is, additionally, not a fan of Slavoj Žižek.[13]

Chomsky does not accept Illuminati conspiracy theories or the conspiracy theory surrounding the September 11 attacks,[14] and regards the Federal Reserve, Trilateral Commission and Bilderberg Group as being organisations of no real significance or threat. This has led to many wingnut conspiracy theorists arguing that Chomsky is in fact a tool of the New World Order, being used to brainwash the masses into accepting leftist ideas. Or something like that. A few members of conspiracy idiot squad We Are Change even once went to the extent of protesting a Chomsky speaking engagement, expressing these sentiments.[15]

Chomsky was reluctant to apply the word "genocide" to the atrocities of Srebrenica, Kosovo, and Rwanda.[16] He once stated: 'The mass slaughter in Srebrenica, for example, is certainly a horror story and major crime, but to call it “genocide” so cheapens the word as to constitute virtual Holocaust denial, in my opinion. It amazes me that intelligent people cannot see that.'[17] The Srebrenica case, in fact, was the first case in which an individual, Bosnian Serb general Radislav Krstic, was found guilty of the crime of genocide.[18] Chomsky argues that there has been a 'vulgar politicization of the word "genocide"', which is now 'so extreme' that he rarely uses the word at all.[19] Semantics aside, however, he has collaborated with Edward S. Herman[20], who later denied that the Srebrenica massacre ever took place at all.[citation needed]

Chomsky's essay, 'Some Elementary Comments on the Rights of Freedom of Expression', appeared as an introduction to a Holocaust denial book by French writer Robert Faurisson, without Chomsky's knowledge or approval. Responding to a request for comment in a climate of attacks on Faurisson, Chomsky defended Faurisson's right to express and publish his opinions on the grounds that freedom of speech must be extended to all viewpoints, no matter how unpopular or fallacious.[21]

Chomsky attempted to downplay the Cambodian Genocide by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, by basically saying 'but America bombed Cambodia first'.[22] We don't need to tell you that's a textbook red herring as well as a tu quoque fallacy. He also attempted to downplay refugee escapees stories of the events, on the grounds that no independent verification could be done, despite the fact the Khmer Rouge kept meticulous records of the atrocities, as well as records and photographs of their victims (many of which are openly on display at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum).

During the opening stages of the Afghanistan War Chomsky accused the US Military of carrying out a "Silent Genocide" by causing the starvation of 3 to 4 million civilians.[23] He later tried to spin this into him never making this accusation once it became obvious to him (as it was already obvious to everyone back when he made the claim) that the US military was not attempting genocide.[24]

[edit] See also

  • William Blum, critic who, like Chomsky sees US foreign-policy in terms of imperialism.

[edit] External links

[edit] Footnotes

  1. s/t[a-z]{4}/curse/g
  2. The 100 Most Eminent Psychologists of the 20th Century
  3. Stephen Laurence and Eric Margolis. The Poverty of the Stimulus Argument. British Journal of the Philosophy of Science, vol. 52, 2001, pp. 217-276
  4. Language Acquisition Device, J-Rank
  5. Linguistic Universals and Universal Grammar in the MIT Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science
  6. The Minimalist Program: A Bridge Principle in Biolinguistics, Garrett Neske
  7. Michael Tomasello. Language Is Not an Instinct. Cognitive Development, 10, 131-156 (1995)
  8. Chomsky's writings at Z Communications
  9. http://youtu.be/3AnB8MuQ6DU
  10. http://www.chomsky.info/books/power02.htm The film effectively makes his anarcho-syndicalism seem like a political parliamentarian stance, which he opposes.
  11. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/23/books/23chomsky.html?_r=1
  12. Chomsky on Postmodernism
  13. The Slavoj Žižek v Noam Chomsky spat is worth a ringside seat
  14. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwZ-vIaW6Bc
  15. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaeD_mY83Bo
  16. http://www.monbiot.com/2011/06/13/naming-the-genocide-deniers/
  17. http://www.monbiot.com/2012/05/21/2181/
  18. ICTY press release
  19. http://www.monbiot.com/2012/05/21/2181/
  20. http://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Consent-Political-Economy-Media/dp/0375714499
  21. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faurisson_affair#Petition_signed_by_Chomsky
  22. http://www.scribd.com/doc/208800470/Noam-Chomsky-Khmer-Rouge-and-Cambodia
  23. http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=21541
  24. http://la.indymedia.org/news/2004/06/111782.php
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