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Anarchism (1950's - Present)
Noam Chomsky considered himself an anarchist, not in the sense of needless violence or massive political riots but in a philosophical impression called anarcho-syndicalist. Anarcho-syndicalist is a form of anarchism which focuses on the elimination of the current wage system and capitalism. Labor unions are thought to be bring a rebellious change, which will eliminate class divisions and injustice. https://youtu.be/oB9rp_SAp2U -
Theory of Universal Grammar
The theory of universal grammar is the idea which languages around the world have some of the same laws. For example, in one language the idea of expressing a past or future event can be done the same way in another language. Like mentioned in another slide, Chomsky believes children have the tools institutionally programmed to learn any language they are exposed too. In conclusion, if children are predisposed to a certain environment the child will absorb and learn from that environment. -
Theory of Linguistics
The linguistic theory seeks to explain the importance of these principles which makes up the human language. Hence the study of linguists is to understand the framework of natural languages. Chomsky devised this theory because he did not believe humans were born with a "blank slate". Rather language development comes more natural and is easier to be learned over time. Later, the Chomsky Hierarchy was created to categorize grammatical abilities to help progress the science. -
Evolutionary Psychology
Evolutionary psychology can easily be described as for many or all situations behaviors can be predicted even if they are the incongruous ones. Chomsky believes evolutionary psychology is simply the study of human nature. Because of this belief, Chomsky rebutted against theories which contradicted this concept. He did not believe evolution had a hand in human speech because of the millions of different genetic combinations which exist. Many scientists do not believe in this field. -
Citations (Page 1)
Davis, Matt. “Noam Chomsky: Writer, Linguist... Anarchist?” Big Think, Big Think, 12 Sept. 2019, bigthink.com/politics-current-affairs/noam-chomsky-anarchist-beliefs. Horgan, John. “Noam Chomsky Is So Anti-Establishment He Disses Himself.” Scientific American Blog Network, Scientific American, 29 Nov. 2016, blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/noam-chomsky-is-so-anti-establishment-he-disses-himself/. -
Citations (Page 2)
BBC. “Science & Nature - Human Body and Mind - Evolutionary Psychology.” BBC, BBC, 2020, www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/articles/psychology/psychology_5.shtml. Benwell, Tara. “Universal Grammar.” EnglishClub, 1997, www.englishclub.com/grammar/theory/universal.htm. McFadden, Christopher. “7+ Interesting Facts About Noam Chomsky.” Interesting Engineering, Interesting Engineering, 7 Oct. 2019, interestingengineering.com/who-is-noam-chomsky-and-why-is-he-famous.
