LANGUAGE AND RESPONSIBILITY Based on Conversations 1st ed 1979 [Paperback] Chomsky, Noam

by Noam Chomsky

This rare and vintage book is a perfect addition to any bibliophile's collection

Genres: Linguistics, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Politics, Psychology, Language, Sociology

Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Avram Noam Chomsky is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. He is a laureate professor of linguistics at the University of Arizona and an institute professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Among the most cited living authors, Chomsky has written more than 150 books on topics such as linguistics, war, and politics. In addition to his work in linguistics, since the 1960s Chomsky has been an influential voice on the American left as a consistent critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, and corporate influence on political institutions and the media.
Born to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants in Philadelphia, Chomsky developed an early interest in anarchism from alternative bookstores in New York City. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania. During his postgraduate work in the Harvard Society of Fellows, Chomsky developed the theory of transformational grammar for which he earned his doctorate in 1955. That year he began teaching at MIT, and in 1957 emerged as a significant figure in linguistics with his landmark work Syntactic Structures, which played a major role in remodeling the study of language. From 1958 to 1959 Chomsky was a National Science Foundation fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study. He created or co-created the universal grammar theory, the generative grammar theory, the Chomsky hierarchy, and the minimalist program. Chomsky also played a pivotal role in the decline of linguistic behaviorism, and was particularly critical of the work of B.F. Skinner.
An outspoken opponent of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, which he saw as an act of American imperialism, in 1967 Chomsky rose to national attention for his anti-war essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals". Becoming associated with the New Left, he was arrested multiple times for his activism and placed on President Richard M. Nixon's list of political opponents. While expanding his work in linguistics over subsequent decades, he also became involved in the linguistics wars. In collaboration with Edward S. Herman, Chomsky later articulated the propaganda model of media criticism in Manufacturing Consent, and worked to expose the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. His defense of unconditional freedom of speech, including that of Holocaust denial, generated significant controversy in the Faurisson affair of the 1980s. Chomsky's commentary on the Cambodian genocide and the Bosnian genocide also generated controversy. Since retiring from active teaching at MIT, he has continued his vocal political activism, including opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq and supporting the Occupy movement. An anti-Zionist, Chomsky considers Israel's treatment of Palestinians to be worse than South African–style apartheid, and criticizes U.S. support for Israel.
Chomsky is widely recognized as having helped to spark the cognitive revolution in the human sciences, contributing to the development of a new cognitivistic framework for the study of language and the mind. Chomsky remains a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, U.S. involvement and Israel's role in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and mass media. Chomsky and his ideas are highly influential in the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements. Since 2017, he has been Agnese Helms Haury Chair in the Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona.

Reviews

[Guy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Language and Responsibility is delightful because it is a quick excursion that reaps huge rewards. The book is conversational Chomsky, without the formality of his lectures, but with chapters more or less exploring a single theme and variations as the intelligence of Chomsky and Ronat meander through the puzzles of language — that humans acquire them with ease, even in 'dire' circumstances; social issues around ideology; and media distortions of 'the truth'.

What particularly caught my fancy right now is his examination of 'so-called' empiricism. He argues that to an alarming extent today's scholars, in particular those in the U.S.A., have forsaken 'proper' empirical scholarship for the siren's call of a capitalist ideology that has all but eliminated free debate and argument outside of a very narrow range of 'respected' acceptability.

After starting the book in the middle, I have moved to reading it from front to cover. I'm currently on my second reading of the chapter "Linguistic and the Human Sciences."

See egajd books - read and almost read for additional thoughts and citations.

This is an excellent read!

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting little book that sums up Chomsky's views on politics, philosophy, and linguistics. The format is quite unique since we're dealing here with an edited transcript of an interview with Chomsky, where Chomsky himself also acts as the editor! For the most part, this works. The tone remains consistently conversational while Chomsky's discussion of philosophical issues that arise from his linguistic inquiry does not lose any of its sophistication. Take the relation between semantics and truth, for example. Chomsky argues that empirical inquiry on meaning does not need to assume such a relation, on the grounds that the truth-condition of a given proposition is quite often context-dependent. He gives an example of the proposition 'the temperature is falling' and asks whether it's true or not. The answer is that the proposition may be true if the person who utters it has in mind recent time-spans, but false if one considers the effect of global warming. Obviously, this example has immense implications for mainstream philosophy of language where the significance of truth to the study of meaning is quite often taken for granted. Another interesting issue is Chomsky's conception of language, a conception that forms the philosophical foundation of his more technical, scientific work. Chomsky takes public languages like Chinese, or English to be vague, geopolitical notions which one cannot properly (or, perhaps, interestingly) theorise about. His notion of language is something quite abstract, namely a component or faculty of the mind which constantly interacts with other cognitive systems. The purpose of the linguist is to correctly identify this abstract structure and explain its properties. Thus, linguistics is a proper part of psychology and the field's sociological, or historical connotations become irrelevant.

The book gets a bit heavy-going towards the end where Chomsky's specific theories are discussed in greater detail. I suspect that much of the content here is quite outdated as well (for example, Chomsky's recent work seems to suggest a breakthrough in semantics where a rigorous, internalist program is now being pursued). However, there's much historical info here explicitly detailing Chomsky's intellectual development, and that can still be of interest. Moreover, Chomsky's radical political views which take about a chapter are quite intriguing and well thought-out.

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considered one of Chomsky's more accessible works, in reading this you will get a good grasp of the basic tenets of Universal Grammar, as well as a solid understanding of his political philosophy.
Chomsky's explanation as to how exactly the government's ability to censor and manipulate through the "free press" is very compelling, and he illustrates this point extremely well through some heartwrenching and shocking examples. If you're struggling to understand the power of the media, the first few chapters of this book should be prescribed reading.

Though it may be considered one of his most "accessible" books, to someone looking to start diving into Chomsky's work (like myself), you may find yourself needing to reread paragraphs multiple times and take time to really digest and process what it is Chomsky is trying to say (a large part of it seems to be dominated by his justification for his approaches). Not a bad introduction, but I doubt it'll make scintillating reading to anyone that is not at least aware of, or is intrigued by Chomsky's thinking.

[Adam P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting insights into the story of Chomsky’s theories on language.
Beware: this is an interview transcribed from the 1970s.
Not much mention of what his theories are. He also has chosen to include a rather lengthy part on politics at the beginning which was exactly what I was trying to avoid when choosing this book.

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

pick it up every now and then. read maybe 2/3 of it. dense but approachable. if you are interested in linguistics, chomsky's views on humanity, or philosophy you should read this. there is a reason apart from his political analysis that he is widely considered one of the greatest minds in human history.

[Oscar Billing · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very decent, comprehensible and brief introduction of sorts to Chomskyan thought. The interlocutor is obviously an admirer of Chomsky's, which is sometimes appropriate to move the discussion along, but sometimes rather frustrating. At least at some points it would have been nice to see some push-back, especially on the linguistics (I admit this criticism is mostly based on me adhering to a different school of linguistics). I found the introductory chapters on politics and philosophy highly interesting and sharp! On the other hand, the speculation on the underlying ideology of empiricism was utterly incomprehensible to me (Chomsky, to his credit, admits that this section is indeed speculative). All in all, however, definitely a worthwhile read.

[Spicy T AKA Mr. Tea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently watched Manufacturing Consent--the film about Chomsky--and became interested, once again, in his writings on linguistics, philosophy, and the technical nature of his generative grammar.

Finding this book was very helpful. I was really happy that it was (based on conversations) written in an interview style and the interviewer knew something about the technical nature of Chomsky's work. Ronat asked probing questions and restated answers to make sure there was comprehension.

The conversations were also helpful in breaking down Chomsky's theories and work while allowing him to expound upon the technical aspects which I was curious about.

It does get abstract and having some background in linguistics would have been a definite help, but not necessarily required. The technical aspects and some of the theory still escape me but I also felt that I was able to keep up, in a sense.

Very appreciative of the book and the flow from philosophy and politics into linguistics, which was most of the book. It was good, though somewhat inaccessible.

[Tom Beale · Rating 3 out of 5]

a bit too academic for me, with a breakdown of Chomsky's theory of generative grammar, though his thoughts on ideology and academia still are worth reading

his outrage at the lack of media attention towards COINTELPRO, though i'm sure contextually justified, seems a bit scapegoating tackling other matters. Interestingly he dismisses Watergate and doesn't see the big deal. Yet Watergate was surely a turning point for further distrust in politicians and the political elite we have today. And further it cemented the conflict of media vs. politicians.