Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky
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Name	Noam Chomsky
Caption	Chomsky in 2017
Birth date	7 December 1928
Birth place	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania (BA, MA, PhD)
Occupation	Linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, political activist
Spouse	Carol Doris Schatz (m. 1949; died 2008), Valeria Wasserman (m. 2014)
Children	3, including Aviva Chomsky
Awards	Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computer and Cognitive Science (1999), Kyoto Prize (1988), Helmholtz Medal (1996), Orwell Award (1987 and 1989)

Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, and political activist, widely regarded as a foundational figure in modern linguistics. His revolutionary work in the mid-20th century established the field of generative grammar and transformed the study of language acquisition. Beyond academia, he is equally renowned as a leading dissident intellectual, offering a prolific and critical analysis of U.S. foreign policy, corporate capitalism, and the propaganda model of mass media.

Early life and education

Born in Philadelphia to William Chomsky, a scholar of Hebrew, and Elsie Simonofsky, he was immersed in Zionist and socialist political discussions from a young age. He attended Oak Lane Country Day School and later Central High School, where he wrote his first article critiquing the rise of fascism in Europe for the school newspaper. Chomsky began his undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania in 1945, initially focusing on Arabic and Zionism, but his intellectual path was decisively shaped by meeting linguist Zellig Harris. Through Harris, he was introduced to the field of structural linguistics and the political philosophy of anarcho-syndicalism. He completed his BA, MA, and PhD at the University of Pennsylvania; his 1955 doctoral dissertation, *The Logical Structure of Linguistic Theory*, laid the groundwork for his forthcoming theories.

Linguistic theory

Chomsky's 1957 work, *Syntactic Structures*, launched the Chomskyan revolution, challenging the dominant behaviorist models of language learning championed by figures like B. F. Skinner. He proposed that humans possess an innate, biological capacity for language, a "universal grammar" or "language acquisition device." This cognitive approach argued that the rapid and uniform acquisition of language by children could not be explained by stimulus-response conditioning alone. Key concepts he developed include transformational grammar, the distinction between deep structure and surface structure, and the principles and parameters framework. His later Minimalist Program sought to identify the most essential computational operations required for language. This body of work positioned linguistics as a branch of both psychology and biology, profoundly influencing related fields like philosophy of mind and artificial intelligence.

Political activism

Emerging as a prominent critic of the Vietnam War with his 1967 essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals," Chomsky has since authored over 100 books on politics. He applies a consistent anarcho-syndicalist and libertarian socialist critique to institutions of power, arguing they are fundamentally illegitimate unless justified to those they govern. With Edward S. Herman, he co-authored *Manufacturing Consent*, which outlines a propaganda model asserting that corporate media serve as a system-supportive filter. He has been a vocal critic of U.S. interventions in Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, and of Israeli policy toward Palestinians. His activism has included arrests at protests, such as outside the White House, and testimony before the United Nations on issues like East Timor.

Influence and legacy

In linguistics, Chomsky is often compared to figures like Sigmund Freud and Charles Darwin for instigating a paradigm shift, establishing the MIT department as a global center for linguistic research and mentoring scholars like Steven Pinker. His ideas on innatism reshaped developmental psychology and cognitive science. As a political figure, he is a lodestar for the anti-war movement and left-wing politics, inspiring activists and intellectuals worldwide while frequently engaging in public debates with figures like William F. Buckley Jr. and Alan Dershowitz. Critics, particularly from the political right, often label his foreign policy analysis as anti-American, while some academics dispute aspects of his linguistic theories, such as their empirical testability.

Awards and honors

Chomsky has received numerous international awards recognizing his scientific and humanitarian contributions. These include the prestigious Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences, the Helmholtz Medal from the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computer and Cognitive Science. He is a elected member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, and a fellow of the British Academy and the Royal Society of Canada. He has also been awarded the Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language twice, and holds dozens of honorary degrees from institutions like Harvard University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Bologna.

Category:American linguists Category:American political activists Category:American philosophers