Chris Knight

Nicholas Allott

Neilson Voyne Smith

With the publication of "The Responsibility of Intellectuals," Noam Chomsky burst onto the US political scene as a leading critic of the war in Vietnam. Privilege, he argues, brings with it the responsibility to tell the truth and expose lies, but our intellectual culture only pays lip service to this ideal. The essay has been described as the "single most influential piece of anti-war literature" of the Vietnam war period. Since then, Chomsky has continued to equip a growing international audience with the facts and arguments needed to understand--and change--our world. According to the New York Times, Chomsky "may be the most widely read American voice on foreign policy on the planet today." This book revisits "The Responsibility of Intellectuals" half a century later. It includes six new essays written to celebrate Chomsky's famous intervention and explore its relevance in today's world. Nicholas Allott, Chris Knight, Milan Rai, and Neil Smith have studied and written about Chomsky's thought for many years, while Craig Murray and Jackie Walker describe the personal price they have paid for speaking out. The book concludes with Chomsky's recollections of the background to the original publication of his essay, followed by extensive commentary from him on its fiftieth anniversary.

Reflections by Noam Chomsky and Others After 50 Years

The Responsibility of Intellectuals

Noam Chomsky

Neil Smith

With the publication of ‘The Responsibility of Intellectuals’ half a century ago, Noam Chomsky burst onto the US political scene as a leading critic of the war in Vietnam. Privilege, he argues, brings with it the responsibility to tell the truth and expose lies, but our intellectual culture only pays lip-service to this ideal. The essay has been described as ‘the single most influential piece of anti-war literature’ of the Vietnam War period. Since then, Chomsky has continued to equip a growing international audience with the facts and arguments needed to understand – and change – our world. According to The New York Times, Chomsky ‘may be the most widely read American voice on foreign policy on the planet today’. This book revisits ‘The Responsibility of Intellectuals’ half a century on. It includes six new essays written to celebrate Chomsky’s famous intervention and explore its relevance in today’s world. Nicholas Allott, Chris Knight, Milan Rai and Neil Smith have studied and written about Chomsky’s thought for many years, while Craig Murray and Jackie Walker describe the personal price they have paid for speaking out. The book finishes with Chomsky’s recollections of the background to the original publication of his essay, followed by extensive commentary from him on its 50th anniversary.

Reflections by Noam Chomsky and others 50 years

Noam Chomsky continues to be one of the most influential intellectual figures of modern times. His wide-ranging contributions to the fields of linguistics, psychology, philosophy and politics have revolutionised our view of language, the mind and human nature. Assuming no prior knowledge of linguistics, this book explores Chomsky's key theories, especially recent developments in his Minimalist Program, addressing issues such as: how do we know a language? How do children acquire this knowledge? How did language evolve? This third edition has been expanded and thoroughly updated and includes an exploration of Chomsky's contributions to philosophy and psychology, outlining the impact of his radical and often controversial views. It concludes with an account of his political activism and his critique of recent developments such as the Arab Spring, Wikileaks and the Occupy movement. There is also a new section covering his views on climate change and nuclear disarmament.

Ideas and Ideals

Chomsky

The first study of pragmatics with an introduction organised by key terms, including short biographies of key thinkers, and a list of key works for further reading.

Key Terms in Pragmatics

Terje Lohndal

Georges Rey

A COMPANION TO CHOMSKY Widely considered to be one of the most important public intellectuals of our time, Noam ­Chomsky has revolutionized modern linguistics. His thought has had a profound impact upon the philosophy of language, mind, and science, as well as the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science which his work helped to establish. Now, in this new Companion dedicated to his substantial body of work and the range of its influence, an international assembly of prominent linguists, philosophers, and cognitive scientists reflect upon the interdisciplinary reach of Chomsky’s intellectual contributions. Balancing theoretical rigor with accessibility to the non-specialist, the Companion is organized into eight sections—including the historical development of Chomsky’s theories and the current state of the art, comparison with rival usage-based approaches, and the relation of his generative approach to work on linguistic processing, acquisition, semantics, pragmatics, and philosophy of language. Later chapters address Chomsky’s rationalist critique of behaviorism and related ­empiricist approaches to psychology, as well as his insistence upon a “Galilean” methodology in cognitive science. ­Following a brief discussion of the relation of his work in linguistics to his work on political issues, the book concludes with an essay written by Chomsky himself, reflecting on the history and character of his work in his own words. A significant contribution to the study of Chomsky’s thought, A Companion to Chomsky is an indispensable resource for philosophers, linguists, psychologists, advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and general readers with interest in Noam Chomsky’s intellectual legacy as one of the great thinkers of the twentieth century.

Nicholas Allott

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