As a linguist, Noam Chomsky aims not only at making a technical contribution with his
generative theory of language but also at integrating his linguistic theory into
a wider view of the relationship between language and the human mind. The crux of this
view is his hypothesis that human beings are born with an innate knowledge of universal
principles underlying the structure of human language.

Chomsky's ideas have exerted a powerful influence on other disciplines by restoring
language to a central position in cognitive psychology and in the philosophy of mind.
The wider impact of his redefinition of the subject gives him a permanent place in the
intellectual history of the twentieth century.

Central to Chomsky's analysis is the distinction he draws between linguistic competence
(knowledge of the system of rules that govern language) and an individual's actual
performance as a user of language.

As Dr. Klor de Alva, "...Chomsky's sober text makes clear why avoidance of dogmatism
and reductionism, in the human and natural sciences--as in all things--and a well-
founded recognition of the limits of cognition are not only methodologically useful
but also conceptually necessary."

From the Back Cover
This brilliant essay attests to the aptness of Newsweek's identification of Professor
Chomsky as one of the very few thinkers today whose genius can be compared to that of
Freud, Marx or Darwin. The nuanced arguments put forward concerning the history and
significance of the mind/brain juxtaposition reveal why, as with the three luminaries,
his ideas have helped transform the way we think about the nature of the world.

Download File Size:15.09 MB

---