Language and Thought (Anshen Transdisciplinary Lectureships in Art, Science and the Philosophy of Culture) (Paperback)

by Noam Chomsky (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

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.

J. Jorge Klor De Alva, Professor of Anthropology, Princeton University

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Moyer Bell (April 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559210761
• ISBN-13: 978-1559210768
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #126,282 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good book, good ideas, November 27, 1999

By A Customer

this is a great book. it covers a bunch of very interesting topics, including the meaning of the "/" in mind/brain. includes a lecture by chompsky + 3 responses by a phyisist, a psychologist and a neurosurgeon and how what they are doing relates to what chompsky says.