New Horizons in the Study of Language and Mind
Chomsky, Noam. New Horizons in the Study of Language and Mind. New York: Cambridge UP, 2007. Print.
SummaryThis text explores the philosophical study of language and mind. In these essays, Chomsky suggests solutions to philosophical issues such as the mind-body problem, as well as the unification of science. Chomsky defends the view that knowledge of language is internal to the human mind and argues for “naturalist” approaches. Additionally, he says human language is a "biological object" and should be analyzed using the"hard science" approaches.
ResponseFrom a reader's perspective of the text, it feels as though Chomsky addresses topics too quickly and sometimes leaves more work for the reader to figure out what he means.
Chomsky's concept of language as an organ system makes sense to me. I love the notion of thinking about language as a living system. I also think this would be a powerful metaphor for talking with our students about language and writing. Thinking about our words as living automatically means those words are embedded with value and power. I'd love to bring Chomsky's idea here into my teaching soon. Connections/QuestionsJust as Chomsky views language as a living/organ system, Bakhtin, too, views language as living.
Chomsky is clear that he sees value to learning through art and literature. There is a clear connection to Langer's advocation of art here. Britton addresses Chomsky throughout the last chapter of Language and Learning. The first de Certeau reference is on xv. Chomsky's talk of the meaning making process and language reminds me of Manovich's discussion on databases, narrative, and meaning making. Chomsky says that we are limited by the natural design of our intelligence. This notion of a limited view links to Heidegger's concept of enframing. |
Key Quotes
“The faculty of language can reasonably be regarded as a 'language organ' in the sense in which scientist speak of the visual system, or immune system, or circulatory system, as organs of the body. Understood in this way, an organ is not something that can be removed from the body, leaving the rest intact. It is a subsystem of a more complex structure” (4).
“No one asks whether the study of a complex molecule belongs to chemistry or biology, an don one should ask whether the study of linguistic expressions and their properties belongs to linguistics, psychology, or the brain sciences” (140).
"Philosophical explanation crucially involves access to consciousness" (141).
“No one asks whether the study of a complex molecule belongs to chemistry or biology, an don one should ask whether the study of linguistic expressions and their properties belongs to linguistics, psychology, or the brain sciences” (140).
"Philosophical explanation crucially involves access to consciousness" (141).