DOCSLIB.ORG

Anarchy As a Socio-Political Philosophy : Noam Chomsky in Perspective

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Anarchy As a Socio-Political Philosophy : Noam Chomsky in Perspective Odisha Review April - May - 2014 Anarchy as a Socio-Political Philosophy : Noam Chomsky in Perspective Pradeepta Ranjan Pattanayak ‘Anarchy’, as we all know, denotes a state of body or of quicker in mind than some other lawlessness, chaos, free for all situation; has its men. From this equality of ability ariseth intellectual roots in LEVIATHAN, magnum opus equality of hope in the attaining of our ends. of Thomas Hobbes, wherein he visualizes a And therefore, if any two men desire the same deplorable state of nature, where there was war thing which nevertheless they cannot both of all against all— a state or a situation that is enjoy, they become enemies; and in the way entirely devoid of normative thinking. Hobbes to their end, endeavour to destroy or to subdue understood it well that human beings are not one another” (Hobbes: 1651). always devoid of reason. But reason, he asserted, is essentially a servant of the passions—the faculty Consequently, in the absence of any restraining control, men will adopt to this of devising ways and means to secure what one immediate end (of willfully enjoying the recognition desires. Desires are random, and there is no and services of others), which is the most efficient established common rule of good and evil to be available means. These means are force and fraud. taken from the nature of objects themselves. Hence a situation where every man is the enemy Hence the passions, the ultimate end of action of every other endeavouring to destroy or to are diverse and there is nothing to prevent the subdue him by force or fraud or both. This is pursuit which results in conflict. The part played nothing but a state of anarchy. by power is the reason for this danger of conflict. Power, Hobbes argues, is the present means of a The philosophy of anarchy also found a man to obtain some future apparent good. A very place, albeit candidly, in the garb of anomie in important element of power is the ability to the works of Robert K. Merton and Emile command the recognition and services of other Durkheim. Durkheim conceived of anarchy (read men. This ability to obtain the unquestionable anomie) as ‘a social condition of normlessness submission of other men is very limited. Thus, this or the deregulation of the normative structure power, which is the proximate end, is inherently a that is the failure of the collective moral order source of division between men. Hobbes asserts, to restrain the overweening ambition, greed “Nature, in a crude manner, hath created men and unlimited aspirations’. In Durkheim’s with equality of ability, though at times some words, “The collective moral order is the only men are found to be manifestly stronger in legitimate moral force that can effectively 110 April-May - 2014 Odisha Review restrain the indomitable craze for social and The contemporary neo-Marxist economic needs. Society alone can play this intellectuals in India argue that some amount of moderating role. But when society is disturbed anarchy and disorder is a practical necessity even by some painful crisis or by beneficent but when logic would call for the strict application of abrupt transitions, it is momentarily incapable the principle of discipline and order. But it creates of exercising this influence, as a result the confusion with regard to the correct definition and mechanism breaks down and normlessness interpretation of the term anarchy. For instance, ensues” (Durkheim: 1947). the social activists like Arundhati Roy and Swamy Agnivesh who can be confidently accredited to Traces of anarchy can also be discovered have set the ball rolling in terms of a peace from R.K. Merton’s efforts to see how social dialogue between the Indian Maoists and the structures exert pressure upon certain persons in Govt., spare no effort in glorifying Maoist anarchy society to engage in non-conforming than in the name of spontaneous outbursts against conforming conduct (Merton: 1938). From exploitation, injustice and violation of human rights. among several elements of social and cultural According to them since the (so-called) structures, Merton analytically separates two— “Corporate Hindu Satellite State”, in the garb of cultural goals and institutionalized means. The Sovereign, Socialist, Democratic India cultural goals are acknowledged desirables in perpetrates injustice and exploitation over poor, any society. They are success, money, power, weak, homeless, poverty-stricken tribal people, prestige etc. Institutionalized means are the then those poor people have a natural right to acceptable modes of reaching out for these goals. retaliate in whatever and howsoever form they Anomie, Merton defines, is the disjunction like. Thus, in the process of armed struggle of the between cultural goals and the Maoists (the so-called victims of injustice), if the institutionalized means prescribed to reach the Indian State is overthrown then heavens are not goals. The above disjunction (or the anarchic going to fall. But critics say that it is tantamount to situation) can be best exemplified in the following waging war against the Indian State and the State instance. Suppose a game is to be won. Logic has a right to defend itself. All these arguments would make us believe that it (the game) needs and counter arguments cast a deep shadow of to be won under the rules prescribed for it. But in confusion and consternation over the correct the modern industrial society, in many cases, it is interpretation of the term “anarchy”. (The Devil’s seen that the game is won through alternative Advocate, CNN-IBN, August, 2010). means not prescribed for winning it. In such cases winning the game becomes the sole objective The present time is replete with examples without a corresponding importance attached to where people and establishments give their logic the means prescribed for it. As such, when and arguments in favour of violence and anarchy winning the game takes precedence over and have advanced some acceptable sounding winning under the rules of the game, as is excuses as escape routes. Pakistan treating the experienced in the modern industrial societies, the terrorists operating in Kashmir as freedom anomie or the anarchic situation is created. fighters, giving the name of non-state actors to Obviously therefore, force and fraud bolster the its own citizens who were involved in the 26/11 idea of winning the game, anarchy being its Mumbai attacks, Palestine and Israel justifying cardinal principle. violence in Gaza Strip as per their own spirit of 111 Odisha Review April - May - 2014 understanding, Australia treating the series of A Marxist standpoint with class as a violent racial attacks against Indian students as central tenet thus forms the essence of anarchist isolated incidents and organized urban crimes, theory and practice. Chomsky adds to it the idea US military using “Friendly Fire”, one of the of human linguistic abilities that have the power most insidious terms in their so-called war against to resist any social oppression or straitjacketing. terror; etc. are some of the examples where the External authority cannot control the evolution of meaning of anarchy is manufactured and distorted. moral and intellectually rebellious culture. Chomsky was convinced that political control is Except for the rhetoric of nationalism, used by the State at the behest of the moneyed democracy, freedom struggle etc., the philosophy class precisely to the apathetic abuse of the of anarchy has retained its chastity for the masses. purposes of analysis and has received a just and reasonable treatment at the hands of some modern Chomsky’s writings throw light on the 150 intellectual thinkers. Noam Chomsky, one of the years tradition of anarchism that has sought social great authorities on linguistics, started supporting and economic justice without the mediation of the anarchist philosophy at the tender age of 10, bosses, politicians or bureaucrats. He believed spending hours at the bookshops on Manhattan’s that capitalism or capitalistic mindset is not going 4th Avenue, where he engaged himself in anti- to disappear in one go. It needs a protracted authoritarian polemics. Believing that the best way process of struggle to do away with this. He to maximize our genetically endowed freedom is emphatically maintains, “The record of anarchist through anarchism, Chomsky defines his ideas and even more, of the inspiring struggles worldview as Libertarian Socialism. Such a of the people who have sought to liberate brand of anarchism has both a historical force and themselves from oppression and domination, must be treasured and preserved, not as a stands for a deeply positive ideology that aims means of freezing thought and conception in towards the absolute welfare of the public. But some new mold, but as a basis for paradoxically it has been misconstrued by the understanding of the social reality and media and its controllers, and this school of committed work to change it. There is no thought takes a rather destructive and negative reason to suppose that history is at an end, complexion. that the current structures of authority and The libertarian anarchist stance combined domination are graven in stone. It would also with a left wing communalism led his (Chomsky’s) be a great error to underestimate the power attention to the causes of social justice and the of the social forces that will fight to maintain perceptible duplicity of the intellectuals. He felt power and privilege” (Chomsky: 2003, 2007). that the essence of creativity is innate in all humans, This view was also expressed partially in reaction which enables them to think and introspect. to Francis Fukuyama’s (1992) The End of Language being inherently a creative entity, its History and The Last Man. original usage gives one a sense of freedom.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • EMMA GOLDMAN, ANARCHISM, and the “AMERICAN DREAM” by Christina Samons
    AN AMERICA THAT COULD BE: EMMA GOLDMAN, ANARCHISM, AND THE “AMERICAN DREAM” By Christina Samons The so-called “Gilded Age,” 1865-1901, was a period in American his­ tory characterized by great progress, but also of great turmoil. The evolving social, political, and economic climate challenged the way of life that had existed in pre-Civil War America as European immigration rose alongside the appearance of the United States’ first big businesses and factories.1 One figure emerges from this era in American history as a forerunner of progressive thought: Emma Goldman. Responding, in part, to the transformations that occurred during the Gilded Age, Goldman gained notoriety as an outspoken advocate of anarchism in speeches throughout the United States and through published essays and pamphlets in anarchist newspapers. Years later, she would synthe­ size her ideas in collections of essays such as Anarchism and Other Essays, first published in 1917. The purpose of this paper is to contextualize Emma Goldman’s anarchist theory by placing it firmly within the economic, social, and 1 Alan M. Kraut, The Huddled Masses: The Immigrant in American Society, 1880­ 1921 (Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, 2001), 14. 82 Christina Samons political reality of turn-of-the-twentieth-century America while dem­ onstrating that her theory is based in a critique of the concept of the “American Dream.” To Goldman, American society had drifted away from the ideal of the “American Dream” due to the institutionalization of exploitation within all aspects of social and political life—namely, economics, religion, and law. The first section of this paper will give a brief account of Emma Goldman’s position within American history at the turn of the twentieth century.
    [Show full text]
  • Markets Not Capitalism Explores the Gap Between Radically Freed Markets and the Capitalist-Controlled Markets That Prevail Today
    individualist anarchism against bosses, inequality, corporate power, and structural poverty Edited by Gary Chartier & Charles W. Johnson Individualist anarchists believe in mutual exchange, not economic privilege. They believe in freed markets, not capitalism. They defend a distinctive response to the challenges of ending global capitalism and achieving social justice: eliminate the political privileges that prop up capitalists. Massive concentrations of wealth, rigid economic hierarchies, and unsustainable modes of production are not the results of the market form, but of markets deformed and rigged by a network of state-secured controls and privileges to the business class. Markets Not Capitalism explores the gap between radically freed markets and the capitalist-controlled markets that prevail today. It explains how liberating market exchange from state capitalist privilege can abolish structural poverty, help working people take control over the conditions of their labor, and redistribute wealth and social power. Featuring discussions of socialism, capitalism, markets, ownership, labor struggle, grassroots privatization, intellectual property, health care, racism, sexism, and environmental issues, this unique collection brings together classic essays by Cleyre, and such contemporary innovators as Kevin Carson and Roderick Long. It introduces an eye-opening approach to radical social thought, rooted equally in libertarian socialism and market anarchism. “We on the left need a good shake to get us thinking, and these arguments for market anarchism do the job in lively and thoughtful fashion.” – Alexander Cockburn, editor and publisher, Counterpunch “Anarchy is not chaos; nor is it violence. This rich and provocative gathering of essays by anarchists past and present imagines society unburdened by state, markets un-warped by capitalism.
    [Show full text]
  • 2.4 the Fourth World War: the EZLN Analysis of Neoliberalism
    We Are from Before, Yes, but We Are New: Autonomy, Territory, and the Production of New Subjects of Self-government in Zapatismo by Mara Catherine Kaufman Department of Cultural Anthropology Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Orin Starn, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Charles Piot, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Anne Allison ___________________________ Kathi Weeks ___________________________ Michael Hardt Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Cultural Anthropology in the Graduate School of Duke University 2010 ABSTRACT We Are from Before, Yes, but We Are New: Autonomy, Territory, and the Production of New Subjects of Self-government in Zapatismo by Mara Catherine Kaufman Department of Cultural Anthropology Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Orin Starn, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Charles Piot, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Anne Allison ___________________________ Kathi Weeks ___________________________ Michael Hardt An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Cultural Anthropology in the Graduate School of Duke University 2010 Copyright by Mara Catherine Kaufman 2010 Abstract The 1994 Zapatista uprising in Chiapas, Mexico, created a rupture with a series of neoliberal policies implemented in Mexico and on a global scale over the last few decades of the 20th century. In a moment when alternatives to neoliberal global capitalism appeared to have disappeared from the world stage, the Zapatista Army for National Liberation (EZLN) initiated a movement and process that would have significance not only in Chiapas and for Mexico, but for many struggles and movements around the world that would come to identify with a kind of “alter-globalization” project.
    [Show full text]
  • Filósofos O Viajeros: El Pensamiento Como Extravío
    Astrolabio. Revista internacional de filosofía Año 2009. Núm. 8. ISSN 1699-7549. 16-32 pp. Towards a Reconciliation of Public and Private Autonomy in Thoreau’s ‘Hybrid’ Politics Antonio Casado da Rocha1 Resumen: Tras una revisión bibliográfica, el artículo proporciona una presentación de la filosofía política de Henry D. Thoreau, enfatizando en su obra un concepto de autodeterminación cívica que Habermas descompone en una autonomía pública y otra privada. Sostengo que Thoreau no era un anarquista antisocial, ni tampoco un mero liberal individualista, sino que su liberalismo presenta elementos propios de la teoría democrática e incluso del comunitarismo político. Finalmente, identifico y describo una tensión entre esos temas liberales y democráticos, tanto en la obra de Thoreau como en la vida política de las sociedades occidentales, mostrando así la relevancia de este autor. Palabras clave: Filosofía política, democracia, liberalismo, literatura norteamericana del siglo XIX Abstract: After a literature review, this paper provides an overview of Henry D. Thoreau’s political philosophy, with emphasis on the concept of civil self-determination, which Habermas sees as comprised of both private and public autonomy, and which is present in Thoreau’s own work. I argue that he was not an anti-social anarchist, or even a pure liberal individualist, but that along with the main liberal themes of his thought there is also a democratic, even communitarian strand. Finally, I identify and describe a tension between democratic and liberal themes in both his work and contemporary Western politics, thus highlighting Thoreau’s relevance. Key-words: Political philosophy, democracy, liberalism, 19th century North American literature According to Stanley Cavell (2005, pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Anarchism and Libertarianism
    CHAPTER 10 Anarchism and Libertarianism Roderick T. Long Introduction “Libertarianism,” understood as a term for a specific political ideology, origi- nated as a synonym for anarchism, and more precisely the communist anar- chism of Joseph Déjacque (1821–1864), whose use of “libertaire” in this sense dates to 18571—though individualist anarchists soon picked up the term as well.2 Nowadays, however, the term “libertarianism” is frequently associated, particularly in English-speaking countries, with a movement favoring free mar- kets, private property, and economic laissez-faire, generally resting either on the efficiency of the price system in coordinating individuals’ plans,3 or else on an ethical principle of self-ownership or non-aggression4 which is taken to define individuals’ rights against forcible interference with their persons and (justly acquired) property. This is the sense in which the term “libertarian” will be employed here. (Today French actually has two words corresponding to the English libertarian: “libertaire,” meaning an anarchist, particularly a left-wing anarchist, and “libertarien,” for the free-market advocate.) It is with the relation of libertarianism (in the free-market sense) to anarchism that this chapter is concerned. While sometimes considered a form of conservatism, libertarianism dif- fers from typical versions of conservatism in endorsing a broad range of social liberties, and thus opposing, e.g., drug laws, censorship laws, laws restricting consensual sexual activity, and the like. (Libertarians usually, though not al- ways, differ from typical conservatives in opposing military interventionism 1 Joseph Déjacque, De l’être-humain mâle et femelle: Lettre à P.J. Proudhon (New Orleans: Lamarre, 1857).
    [Show full text]
  • Why Rawlsian Liberalism Has Failed and How Proudhonian Anarchism Is the Solution
    A Thesis entitled Why Rawlsian Liberalism has Failed and How Proudhonian Anarchism is the Solution by Robert Pook Submitted to the graduate faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in Philosophy __________________________________ Dr. Benjamin Pryor, Committee Chair __________________________________ Dr. Ammon Allred, Committee Member __________________________________ Dr. Charles V. Blatz, Committee Member __________________________________ Dr. Patricia Komuniecki, Dean College of Graduate Studies The University of Toledo August 2011 An abstract of Why Rawlsian Liberalism has Failed and How Proudhonian Anarchism is the Solution by Robert Pook Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in Philosophy University of Toledo August 2011 Liberalism has failed. The paradox in modern society between capitalism and democracy has violated the very principles of liberty, equality, and social justice that liberalism bases its ideology behind. Liberalism, in directly choosing capitalism and private property has undermined its own values and ensured that the theoretical justice, in which its foundation is built upon, will never be. This piece of work will take the monumental, landmark, liberal work, A Theory of Justice, by John Rawls, as its foundation to examine the contradictory and self-defeating ideological commitment to both capitalism and democracy in liberalism. I will argue that this commitment to both ideals creates an impossibility of justice, which is at the heart of, and is the driving force behind liberal theory. In liberalism‟s place, I will argue that Pierre-Joseph Proudhon‟s anarchism, as outlined in, Property is Theft, offers an actual ideological model to achieving the principles which liberalism has set out to achieve, through an adequate and functioning model of justice.
    [Show full text]
  • Note to the Article “Individualism and Anarchism” by Adamas
    Errico Malatesta Note to the article “Individualism and Anarchism” by Adamas August 1924 The Anarchist Library Adamas’ reply to my article in n. 13 shows that I did not express my thought well, and induces me to add some clarifications. I claimed that “individualist anarchism and communist anarchism are the same, or nearly so, in terms of moral motivations and ultimate goals”. I know that one could counter my claim with hundreds of texts and plenty of deeds of self-proclaimed individualist anarchists, which would demonstrate that individualist anarchist and communist anarchist are separated by something of a moral abyss. However, I deny that that kind of individualists can be included among anarchists, despite their liking for calling themselves so. If anarchy means non-government, non-domination, non-oppression by man over man, how can one call himself anarchist without lying to himself and the others, when he frankly claims that he would oppress the others for the satis- faction of his Ego, without any scruple or limit, other than that drawn by his own strength? He can be a rebel, because he is being oppressed and he fights to become an oppressor, as other nobler rebels fight to destroy any kind of oppres- sion; but he sure cannot be anarchist. He is a would-be bourgeois, a would-be tyrant, who is unable to accomplish his dreams of dominion and wealth by his own strength and by legal means, and therefore he approaches anarchists to exploit their moral and material solidarity. Therefore, I think the question is not about “communists” and “individu- alists”, but rather about anarchists and non-anarchists.
    [Show full text]
  • No State Required? a Critical Review of the Polycentric Legal Order
    No State Required? A Critical Review of the Polycentric Legal Order John K. Palchak* & Stanley T. Leung** TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ..................................... 290 II. THE Two VISIONS OF ANARCHY ........................ 295 III. RANDY BARNETT'S THE STRUCTURE OF LIBERTY ............ 305 A. Barnett's PhilosophicalJustifications: Human Nature and NaturalLaw ..................... 306 B. Barnett's Discussion of the Problem of Knowledge ....... 309 1. Types of Knowledge ............................ 309 2. Methods of Social Ordering ...................... 310 3. Discovering Justice-First-Order Problem of Knowledge ................................. 312 4. Communicating Justice-Second-Order Problem of Knowledge .......................... 313 5. Specifying Conventions-Third-Order Problem of Knowledge .......................... 313 C. Barnett's Discussion of the Problem of Interest ......... 316 1. Partiality Problem ............................. 316 2. Incentive Problems ............................. 317 3. Compliance Problems .......................... 317 D. Barnett's Discussion of the Problem of Power .......... 320 1. Fighting Crime Without Punishment ................ 320 2. Enforcement Abuse ............................ 321 E. Barnett's Solution: The Polycentric Legal Order ........ 322 IV. LAW, LEGITIMACY, AND SOCIAL WELFARE .................. 326 * J.D., University of Illinois College of Law; B.A., Penn State University. Special thanks to Tom Ginsburg for his encouragement and numerous suggestions. Thanks to Tom Ulen, Richard McAdams, John Kindt, Duane Stewart, and Mark Fabiani. Also thanks to Ed Crane and Tom Palmer of the Cato Institute, and to the contributors to the Cato scholarship fund, for providing an opportunity to attend the 2000 Cato Summer Seminar in Rancho Bernardo, California that was the genesis of this Article. Appreciation is also expressed to Jesse T. Mann, Dean of Westminster College for the use of research facilities in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. **. J.D., M.D., MBA, University of Illinois; A.B., Columbia University.
    [Show full text]
  • Daoism and Anarchism: Critiques of State Autonomy in Ancient and Modern China
    Rapp, John A. "Daoism as anarchism or nihilism:: The Buddhist-influenced thought of Wu Nengzi." Daoism and Anarchism: Critiques of State Autonomy in Ancient and Modern China. London: Continuum, 2012. 89–104. Contemporary Anarchist Studies. Bloomsbury Collections. Web. 5 Oct. 2021. <http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781501306778.ch-004>. Downloaded from Bloomsbury Collections, www.bloomsburycollections.com, 5 October 2021, 09:24 UTC. Copyright © John A. Rapp 2012. You may share this work for non-commercial purposes only, provided you give attribution to the copyright holder and the publisher, and provide a link to the Creative Commons licence. 4 Daoism as anarchism or nihilism: The Buddhist- infl uenced thought of Wu Nengzi Introduction: The Main Problems Raised by the Wunengzi The ninth century CE Chinese text known by the name of its pseudonymous author, Wu Nengzi (literally, “Master of No Abilities”), was the fi rst (surviving) piece of writing in 500 years to revive the anarchist side of philosophical Daoism. Though starting out in the same radical anti-statist and utopian fashion of earlier Daoist anarchist texts of the third to fourth centuries CE, in the end the author of the ninth century text seems to acquiesce in the idea of rule, as we will see below. Thus, this text creates problems for anyone who would seek to use the radical side of philosophical Daoism to build a modern anti-statist critique. The fi rst problem, more narrowly linked to Daoist anarchism, is whether the Wunengzi demonstrates more openly a fl aw that may be present in all radical Daoist texts or whether the author of this text makes a fundamental shift of his own based on infl uence from his interpretation of Buddhist doctrines.
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding the Zapatista National Liberation Army
    CULTURE AND THE STRUGGLE FOR CIVIL SOCIETY: UNDERSTANDING THE ZAPATISTA NATIONAL LIBERATION ARMY Chris Gilbreth B.A., Simon Fraser University, 1993 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Master of Arts in the Latin American Studies Programme O Chris Gilbreth 1997 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY December 1997 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Christopher Scott Gilbreth Degree: Master of Arts Title: Culture and the Struggle for Civil Society: Undertanding the Zapatista National Liberation Movement. Examining Committee: Chair: n Brohman "P"ssistadt Professor. Geography Department - Senior Supervisor Gerardo Otero Associate Professor of Sociology Sociology/Anthropology Department Marilyn Gates Associate Professor, Anthropology Sociology/Anthropology Deptartment External Examiner Gary Teeple Associate Professor, SoEiology Sociology/Anthropology Deptartment Date Avvroved: 7 SE~Zw%~,/793 .. 11 PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser Universi the right to lend my thesis, pro-ect or extended essay (the title o?' which is shown below) to users o2 the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single co ies on1 for such users or in response to a request from the lig rary o2 any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission.
    [Show full text]
  • Noam Chomsky, New Horizons in the Study of Language and Mind, with a Forward By
    Noam Chomsky, New Horizons in the Study of Language and Mind, with a Forward by Neil Smith. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Pp. xvi, 230. Reviewed by Gilbert Harman, Princeton University Here are seven essays that describe and deplore a philosophical double standard that respects the methods and results of physics, chemistry, and biology but not the methods and results of linguistics and other sciences of the mind. One sign of the double standard is that, while hardly anyone thinks one can do philosophy of physics without knowing physics, it is all too common for to think one can do philosophy of language without knowing linguistics. Chomsky is, of course, the leading figure in contemporary linguistics. Starting in the 1950s, his development of generative grammar was an important factor in the shift from behavioristic to cognitive approaches to language and mind. Chomsky's approach takes the goal of linguistics to be to characterize the human faculty of language, noting its differences from the human faculties for general problem solving science. As Chomsky and other linguists tried to give explicit characterizations of the competence of a speaker of a language like English, it became clear that a child learning language simply does not have the sort of evidence available that would enable it to learn the relevant principles from scratch. There is a "poverty of the stimulus." The child must be prepared to acquire language with these principles in a way that it is not prepared to acquire the principles of, say, physics or quantification theory. It is clear that normal children acquire a language that reflects their particular linguistic environment.
    [Show full text]
  • Foucault and Chomsky on Human Nature, Power and Anarchism
    Foucault and Chomsky on Human Nature, Power and Anarchism By Ana Smokroviü Submitted to Central European University Department of Gender Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Critical Gender Studies Supervisor: Professor Anna Loutfi CEU eTD Collection Budapest, Hungary 2012 CONTENTS CONTENTS ......................................................................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................ iii 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 2. SITUATING THE CHOMSKY-FOUCAULT DEBATE .......................................................................... 5 2.1. Hobbes’s “Hostile Man”..................................................................................................... 5 2.2. Rousseau’s “Savage Man”.................................................................................................. 7 2.3. Schmitt’s “Open question” ............................................................................................... 11 2.4. Kropotkin and principle of “Solidarity” ............................................................................ 14 2.5. Sartre and “Existential humanism” ................................................................................... 17 2.6. Marxism and “Anti-humanism”
    [Show full text]