Avram Noam Chomsky (b.1928) is an American theoretical linguist who transformed linguistics by regarding language as a distinctively human, biologically based cognitive capacity. Noted for expounding the theory of generative grammar, he also posited that linguistic behavior is inborn, not learned, and that all languages share the same underlying grammatical base.
Chomsky also gained a worldwide following as a dissident for his assessments of the power of economic elites on American domestic and foreign policy. He was a prominent activist against American involvement in the Vietnam War and the Gulf War.
Chomsky’s notable works include Syntactic Structures (1957) and Aspects of the Theory of Syntax (1965.)
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In this possibly terminal phase of human existence, democracy and freedom are more than just ideals to be valued – they may be essential to survival.
—Noam Chomsky
Topics: Freedom
We shouldn’t be looking for heroes, we should be looking for good ideas.
—Noam Chomsky
Topics: Ideas, Heroes
The basic idea which runs right through modern history and modern liberalism is that the public has got to be marginalized. The general public are viewed as no more than ignorant and meddlesome outsiders, a bewildered herd.
—Noam Chomsky
The people who were honored in the Bible were the false prophets. It was the ones we call the prophets who were jailed and driven into the desert, and so on.
—Noam Chomsky
If we do not believe in freedom of speech for those we despise we do not believe in it at all.
—Noam Chomsky
Topics: Freedom