Noam Chomsky
Generative grammar originator
Noam Chomsky is an American linguist and political commentator whose work spans two distinct domains.
In linguistics, he revolutionized the field with theories of generative grammar and universal grammar, arguing that humans possess innate language-acquisition capabilities.
In politics, he is known for left-wing critiques of American foreign policy and media: Manufacturing Consent (1988), co-authored with Edward Herman, argues that corporate media serve elite interests.
He's basically the Chomsky of the field suggests foundational influence.
Innate linguistic faculty hypothesis
- syntaxRules for arranging words
- language acquisitionDeveloping communication ability
- recursionProcess invoking itself
- competenceAdequate ability to function
performance · minimalist program · morphology · phonology · semantics · pragmatics · government
Study of mental states
- rationalismReason as knowledge source
- epistemologyTheory of knowledge
- cognitive scienceStudy of mental processes
- mind-body problemRelation of mental to physical
nativism · naturalism · Descartes · Humboldt · Russell · consciousness
Opposed to armed conflict
- human rightsInalienable personal freedoms
- social justiceFair distribution of opportunities
- civil disobediencePeaceful refusal to obey
- protestPublic expression of disapproval
solidarity · free speech · labor rights · grassroots organizing · advocacy · Vietnam protests · Occupy movement · boycott
Systematically producing public agreement
- media criticismEvaluating journalistic content
- US foreign policyWashington's international stance
- East TimorHalf-island Southeast Asian nation
- PalestineLevantine coastal region
corporate power · Iraq War · Vietnam War · state capitalism · dissent · power structures · American exceptionalism · war crimes
Opposition to concentrated power
- self-managementGoverning oneself independently
- workers councilsEmployee self-governance bodies
- decentralizationDistributing power from center
- mutual aidCooperative community support
direct democracy · voluntary association · Spanish Civil War · collectivism · guild socialism · workplace democracy · free association
universal grammar
Innate linguistic faculty hypothesis
- syntaxRules for arranging words
- language acquisitionDeveloping communication ability
- recursionProcess invoking itself
competence · performance · minimalist program · morphology · phonology · semantics · pragmatics · government
philosophy of mind
Study of mental states
- rationalismReason as knowledge source
- epistemologyTheory of knowledge
- cognitive scienceStudy of mental processes
mind-body problem · nativism · naturalism · Descartes · Humboldt · Russell · consciousness
anti-war
Opposed to armed conflict
- human rightsInalienable personal freedoms
- social justiceFair distribution of opportunities
- civil disobediencePeaceful refusal to obey
protest · solidarity · free speech · labor rights · grassroots organizing · advocacy · Vietnam protests · Occupy movement · boycott · nonviolent resistance
manufacturing consent
Systematically producing public agreement
- media criticismEvaluating journalistic content
- US foreign policyWashington's international stance
- East TimorHalf-island Southeast Asian nation
corporate power · Palestine · Iraq War · Vietnam War · state capitalism · dissent · power structures · American exceptionalism · war crimes · hegemony
anti-authoritarianism
Opposition to concentrated power
- self-managementGoverning oneself independently
- workers councilsEmployee self-governance bodies
- decentralizationDistributing power from center
mutual aid · direct democracy · voluntary association · Spanish Civil War · collectivism · guild socialism · workplace democracy · free association
- cognitive scientistscognitive psychologist
- Left Anarchismanarcho-communist, anarcho-syndicalist, mutualist, Emma Goldman, syndicalism
- intellectualsscholar, intellectual, academic, thinker, philosopher
- Ivy League AlumniBarack Obama, John F. Kennedy, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George W. Bush
- Political WritersThomas Paine, George Orwell, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson
- Dissident WritersGeorge Orwell, Emma Goldman, Thomas Paine, Voltaire, Emile Zola
Noam ChomskyMilton Friedman
Henry Kissinger · Ayn Rand · Dick Cheney · John Bolton · Rush Limbaugh